5 Best Phones for Dental Photography in 2022 – Expert Guide

Best phone for dental photography

Looking for a way to promote your business? You should know that photos of your work are just as important as your work itself. As a dentist, you will need a device that is capable of delivering amazing results. These days, a phone can feature really good cameras that can do the job. Enhance your service and customer experience by providing your customers with awesome shots of their teeth. Launch your service into the 21st century with the best phone for dental photography.

Why is dental photography important you ask? Well, first of all, it is an essential part of your marketing campaign. You need a photo or two to show your work and prove that you did an amazing job. There must be no doubt that you are THE doctor to visit. After all, why should people trust you with their teeth? They need some reinsurance, some sort of proof that you are the best. A couple of photos should do the trick.

So what to look for in a phone? Rear cameras are of key importance here. See the quality of the main camera and check if the phone also has a macro camera. Close-up photography is key here. Phones these days can deliver outstandingly sharp photos. It’s just a matter of dynamic range, resolution, and contrast. So pay attention to these parts as we present each phone.

If you want to read a full detailed review of our recommended phone for dental photography click here. Or if you are more interested in our top budget pick we got you covered here.

DID YOU KNOW: 60% of people are attracted to somebody by their smile alone. So keep that in mind. Teeth are important.

NOTE: Below you can find a comparison table and a detailed description of the best phones for dental photography.


BEST AFFORDABLERECOMMENDED
Samsung Galaxy S21 FEXiaomi 11T ProGoogle Pixel 6 ProSamsung Galaxy S22 UltraHuawei P50 Pro
Perfect ForFlagship performance at half the priceFlagship performance at half the pricePhoto capabilities and graphics performanceMost demanding usersPhotography and all-round performance
DisplayDynamic AMOLED 120 HzAMOLED 120 HzLTPO AMOLED 120 HzDynamic AMOLED 120 HzOLED 120 Hz
Operating SystemAndroid 12Android 11, MIUI 12.5Android 12Android 12EMUI 12
MemoryUp to 256GB (8GB RAM)Up to 256GB (12GB RAM)Up to 512GB (12GB RAM)Up to 1TB(12GB RAM)Up to 512GB (12GB RAM)
Camera12MP wide, 8MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide108MP wide, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP telephoto macro50MP wide, 48MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide108MP wide, 10MP periscope telephoto, 10MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide50MP wide, 64MP telephoto, 13MP ultrawide, 40MP B/W
BatteryLi-Ion 4500 mAhLi-Po 5000 mAhLi-Ion 5003 mAhLi-Po 5000 mAhLi-Po 4360 mAh
SoundStereo speakersStereo speakersStereo speakersStereo speakersStereo speakers
SensorFingerprint opticalFingerprint side-mountedFingerprint opticalFingerprint ultrasonicFingerprint optical
10,793 Reviews187 Reviews316 Reviews232 Reviews14 Reviews
$599.99$449.50$679.50$993.50Price not available
Buy on AmazonBuy on AmazonBuy on AmazonBuy on AmazonBuy on Amazon

What are the best phones for dental photography?

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

  HARDWARE   9/10  
  BATTERY LIFE   8/10  
  DISPLAY   9/10  
  MEMORY   9/10  
  VALUE/PRICE   10/10  
  CUSTOMER REVIEWS  

Key Features

Appealing Design
The design is really nice and shares a lot of similarities with the rest of the S21 line
Pro-Grade Camera
On the back, you will find three cameras that perform an excellent job in almost any lighting conditions
Unmatched Price/Performance Ratio
The Galaxy FE series is known to deliver a lot of value for half the price of their flagship devices

Detailed Review

Just like the previous fan edition, there are only a few small but subtle differences in the S21 FE. The display grows from 6.2 to 6.4 inches – and scores in the test with similarly excellent results. The OLED display offers a Full HD Plus resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, which results in a very good pixel density of 398 ppi – that’s easily enough for a high-resolution display. The maximum brightness is 900 candelas per square meter – also an excellent value. Together with the reasonable contrast values ​​of 150:1 (checkerboard contrast in the dark) and 48:1 (contrast in ambient light), the image content can be read very well under all lighting conditions.

We find one of the biggest differences to the original model in the camera structure of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Because the telephoto lens now only comes with an 8-megapixel sensor with a conventional f/2.4 aperture – instead of 64 megapixels and an f/2.0 aperture. The rest of the lenses remain unchanged.
The photo and video quality of the main lens are still at a high level. In daylight conditions, the photos of the main camera are very detailed, although the Galaxy S21 performs even better in direct comparison. Some details are also lost in low light but the quality is still very good – we criticize this at a very high level. Smartphone photo enthusiasts will definitely get their money’s worth here because the photos are great in a subjective comparison. The FE also has its strengths. For example, the Galaxy S21 FE performs better when it comes to detail and low noise.

With S21 FE you get one of the top high-end chipsets of last year – the Snapdragon 888. Needless to say, with such a chipset top performance is always guaranteed. Whether you are playing games, watching videos, or multitasking. This phone will handle anything.

With Galaxy S21 FE Samsung has done enough to list this phone as one of the best phone for dental photography.

WHAT WE LIKED
  • Under-stated, attractive design
  • Impressive triple rear camera
  • Updates through to Android 15
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
  • Average battery & charging
  • Older tech
LEARN MORE OR CHECK PRICE

Xiaomi 11T Pro – best affordable phone for dental photography

 - best affordable phone for dental photography

  HARDWARE   9/10  
  BATTERY LIFE   10/10  
  DISPLAY   9/10  
  MEMORY   9/10  
  VALUE/PRICE   10/10  
  CUSTOMER REVIEWS  

Key Features

Absurdly Powerful Charging
The phone comes with a 120W charging system which is absolutely insane
Great display
The OLED display convinces with strong contrast and beautiful colors
Strong performance
The heart of the phone is the Snapdragon 888

Detailed Review

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is an excellent device in almost every aspect and is rightfully considered as the best phone for dental photography.

Probably one of the most shocking features is the ridiculously fast 120W charging. According to Xiaomi the phone can be charged from 0 to 100 in just 17 min. Of course in reality it takes a couple of minutes longer but nevertheless, it is at the moment the fastest charging phone on the planet.

The design of Xiaomi 11T Pro looks very sleek. The performance is also impressive. After all, the smartphone is equipped with a Snapdragon 888 that will handle everyday tasks with ease. Gamers should also be satisfied with the performance of the 11T Pro. Complex 3D games are not a challenge for this smartphone.

The OLED panel has a resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels – with a size of 6.7 inches, the 11T Pro has a high pixel density of 393 ppi. This means that the display shows the content beautifully sharp. We also really like the high screen refresh rate of 120 Hz, because everything scrolls smoothly across the screen.

The phone also comes with a triple camera. As with the predecessor, Xiaomi relies on a 108-megapixel sensor in the main camera. An ultra-wide-angle lens (8 megapixels) and a tele-macro lens (5 megapixels) complement the camera setup on the back. The main camera is optically stabilized and shoots videos in either 4K at 60 frames per second or in 8K resolution at 30 frames per second. The camera is top-notch. The photos look good in both daylight and low light.

WHAT WE LIKED
  • Extremely short charging time
  • Outstanding performance
  • High-contrast and colorful display
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
  • IP protection and wireless charging are missing
LEARN MORE OR CHECK PRICE

Google Pixel 6 Pro

  HARDWARE   9/10  
  BATTERY LIFE   8/10  
  DISPLAY   10/10  
  MEMORY   10/10  
  VALUE/PRICE   9/10  
  CUSTOMER REVIEWS  

Key Features

Incredible Cameras
The phone takes stunning photos in any lighting conditions.
Strong Graphics Performance
The heart of the phone is the new Google Tensor Chipset which focuses a lot on AI, image processing, and graphics
Long security updates
Because this is a Google phone you can be sure that it will receive the latest updates for years to come

Detailed Review

Google Pixel 6 Pro is a genuine Android flagship that for sure needs to be on the list of  best phone for dental photography. You immediately notice the high-quality workmanship and the new interesting design.

The 6.7-inch display of the Pixel 6 Pro is covered by Gorilla Glass Victus, which merges flat into a matt aluminum frame at the edges. The QHD-Plus resolution of 3,120 x 1,440 pixels results in a pixel density of a razor-sharp 512 ppi. The AMOLED display also impresses with a maximum brightness of 932 candelas per square meter and strong contrast values.

With a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz, Google confidently rounds off the overall impression of the display. The Pixel 6 Pro is very smooth to browse and play when you need it.

Like the Pixel 6, the Pixel 6 Pro is said to capture up to 150 percent more light thanks to the significantly larger image sensor compared to the Pixel 5, which should be particularly noticeable when taking photos in low-light conditions. The wide-angle camera is optically stabilized.

The software optimization is very sophisticated also thanks to the Tensor chipset. The Pixel 6 Pro takes photos under almost all conditions – and is better than with most top smartphones.

Regarding performance the phone also delivers. Despite Tensor being less powerful than the latest Snapdragon or A15 Bionic it still handles everyday tasks and even demanding games with ease.

WHAT WE LIKED
  • Incredible cameras
  • Tensor chipset performs well
  • We find the new design appealing
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
  • It takes a bit long to full charge
LEARN MORE OR CHECK PRICE

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – best phone for dental photography

 - best phone for dental photography

  HARDWARE   10/10  
  BATTERY LIFE   10/10  
  DISPLAY   10/10  
  MEMORY   10/10  
  VALUE/PRICE   9/10  
  CUSTOMER REVIEWS  

Key Features

Built-in S pen
The S pen is really responsive
Great cameras
The camera will perform under any conditions. Especially low light performance has been improved
Incredible display
Dynamic AMOLED display is super bright

Detailed Review

Samsung Galaxy S22 is for sure one of the best phone for dental photography.

The 6.8 inches dynamic AMOLED display is simply outstanding. It is actually the maximum size for a smartphone. Because the long sides are gently curved, the display appears borderless when viewed from the front. The resolution is extra fine at 3088 x 1440 pixels, as is the display quality.

While Qualcomm’s top SoC Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 from 2022 is installed in the USA, Samsung’s own production Exynos 2200 is used in the models sold in Europe. For the first time, it relies on an RDNA2 graphics architecture from AMD. The GPU, called Xclipse, supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which hasn’t been seen on smartphones before either. According to Samsung, “mobile gaming at console level” is possible.

What sounds promising looks different in reality: In synthetic benchmarks, the S22 Ultra is clearly above its predecessor, but it doesn’t come close to an iPhone 13 Pro. The S22 Ultra with a Qualcomm SoC also achieves better values, especially in graphics-heavy benchmarks. But all benchmarks aside the phone with both chip versions is a powerhouse and you will never experience any lagging even with the most demanding games.

The S22 Ultra is the Swiss Army knife for photographers – you always have the right tool at hand. But as is often the case with a universal tool: it is not perfect. The main camera pleases with excellent (108 megapixels) or very good (12 megapixels) image quality in brightness, and also performs excellently in low light. The telephoto modules impress with optimal light and complement each other perfectly. And finally the super-wide-angle module: very solid even in low light conditions.

Whether you are considering this phone for its cameras of performance, you won’t be disappointed in any case.

WHAT WE LIKED
  • Faster S Pen built-in
  • Super bright display
  • Cameras offer better low light performance
  • Faster 45W charging
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
  • Pricey
  • Shorter battery life than S21 Ultra
LEARN MORE OR CHECK PRICE

Huawei P50 Pro

  HARDWARE   9/10  
  BATTERY LIFE   8/10  
  DISPLAY   10/10  
  MEMORY   9/10  
  VALUE/PRICE   9/10  
  CUSTOMER REVIEWS  

Key Features

Outstanding camera
The camera on the Huawei P50 Pro is fantastic and capable of capturing brilliant shots in any lighting conditions.
Capable hardware
With the Snapdragon 888 and up to 12 GB of RAM, this phone is up for any task
Fast charging
The device charges super fast with the 66W charger or 50W wireless charging

Detailed Review

The OLED screen has a diagonal of 6.6 inches and has a resolution of 2700×1228 pixels, which results in a good sharpness of 450 ppi. The refresh rate is a maximum of 120 Hertz (Hz). The touch sampling rate is at 300 Hz. In the standard “Dynamic” mode, the frequency adapts automatically. The display also convinces with very good brightness.

The so-called “True Chroma” main camera (f/1.8) takes high-resolution photos with 6144×8192 pixels, i.e. 50.3 MP. There are neither effects nor zoom options. It is 3072×4096 pixels (12.6 MP) in the standard-setting. The camera delivers amazing results in any lighting conditions. The telephoto lens (f/3.5) with optical image stabilization has a resolution of 64 MP and enables a maximum magnification of 100x. You may have seen some comparisons of the zoom against iPhone 13. Huawei P50 Pro is truly impressive. The ultra-wide-angle lens (f/2.2) takes pictures with 13 MP. There is also a black and white “True Chroma Camera” with a resolution of 40 MP as further support for image processing. It is worth mentioning that at the time of writing Huawei P50 Pro has the best camera according to DXOMARK.

The phone offers strong performance thanks to Snapdragon 888 and up to 12GB of RAM. In terms of benchmarks, the P50 Pro competes with the fastest mobile phones and also runs performance-hungry games smoothly.

The P50 Pro offers a great display, chic design, top photo quality and lots of speed and is definitely one of the best phone for dental photography.

WHAT WE LIKED
  • Excellent primary camera
  • The device feels premium in the hand
  • Fast wired and wireless charging
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
  • Still no Google services
  • No 5G capability
LEARN MORE OR CHECK PRICE

Additional hardware information

Cameras

The phones these days feature multiple-camera setups. In fact, it is very difficult to find a phone with just one camera. Usually, they have at least two in the back and some even feature four. Now there is a logical explanation behind all this. The companies aren’t just stacking cameras left and right. Each camera is different and serves its own purpose. This is how we get the best results and enhance our photography experience. The most common camera types you will find are wide camera, ultrawide camera, telephoto camera, macro camera and ToF sensor.

Wide camera – It is also known as the main camera that we find on the rear side of the phone. You will notice differences in Megapixels that a certain camera has. A good main camera should have at least 12MP. Furthermore, it is also good if it has good autofocus and an optical image stabilizer, also known as OIS.

Ultrawide camera – It offers a wider field of view than the main camera. This way you can capture more into the image and it is more similar to what our eyes see. It can offer a great advantage when taking wider images such as family reunion photos for example. However, sometimes a photo can appear curved due to a wider angle and some objects might appear abnormally shaped.

Telephoto camera – It is normally used for zoomed-in shots that are taken from a distance. You can zoom in on a scene or subject and get closer without actually having to move. This can serve us well when we don’t want to approach the subject. A telephoto lens increases focal length. It brings objects closer to you.

Macro camera – It is used for close-up shots. We can capture images of small objects, such as insects or plants. These objects can appear big in a photo and we can capture a lot of detail. In fact, we can capture things that are too small to be visible to the naked eye.

ToF sensor – It is a piece of equipment that most flagship phones these days have. A ToF sensor can help you determine the distance between the camera and the object. It is actually a depth sensor that helps the phone create a three-dimensional map of the world. It uses infrared light to determine the distance between the objects and maps 3D space.

Dynamic range

The understanding of dynamic range can really help us improve our photos. Dynamic range describes the ratio between the maximum and minimum light intensities. In simple words, it tells us the difference between the lightest and darkest tones in an image.  Each device has its own dynamic range, which affects the output – that is our image. The wide the dynamic range, the better. You will stumble across this topic a lot in photography. So just remember that a wider dynamic range gives you better results. A wide dynamic range will allow you to capture more detail in brighter or darker areas. Otherwise, those areas will just appear very bright, nearly white or very dark, nearly black. So to create a good exposure, there must not be too bright or too dim parts.

An interesting fact is that human sight has a relatively high dynamic range. No camera can match it. Therefore some pictures of sunsets for example appear different than they are in real life.

Sharpness

Sharpness in photography stands for the overall clarity of the image. This combines focus and contrast. The subject must be clear, lifelike, and have a lot of details. This is when we can speak of sharpness.

Sharpness is very important in photography. Better sharpness means more detail. Furthermore, it also emphasizes the textures of the subject. You should always try and make your photos as sharp as you can. This way the images will appear more professional and interesting for the viewers.

For the best results, you will have to have good equipment as well as the right technique and well-developed skills. However, with the right gear, it can be much simpler. It is also important to know that sharpness is related to the resolution, as the number of pixels and their size affect overall sharpness.

Resolution

The image resolution relates to the number of pixels that are featured in an image. Higher resolutions simply mean that there are more pixels in the photo, whether lower resolutions mean that there are fewer pixels in a photo. The number of pixels also determines how much information is captured in an image. Or in other words, how much detail it can hold. So, the more the better, as it usually results in higher quality photos.

Changing the resolution, you are basically saying how many pixels you want to have per square inch. So it is always good to have a little more than less. After all, it affects the sharpness of the image as well, and you don’t want blurry photos. You want to capture as much information as you can. Cropping the photo, while keeping the same resolution will significantly drop the quality of the photo. That happens because you remove a certain amount of pixels, which basically means you lose a certain amount of information that should occupy that space. So avoid doing that.

There is a lot of talk about Full HD resolution these days. Here we have 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high image. Such resolution is very common among televisions these days. However, there is also Ultra HD, which is also known as 4K. This means that the resolution here is about 4000 pixels, although is usually a bit less – 3840 pixels.

Contrast

Contrast represents a visual ratio between different tones in an image. It defines color characteristics and affects areas such as highlights, shadows, colors, clarity, and textures. A simple way of putting it is to say that contrast is the scale of difference between black and white in the photo. High contrast means that there will be bright highlights and dark shadows, whether low contrast images have little difference between light and dark tones.

We also know different types of contrasts. There is Tonal contrast, which refers to dark and bright areas in the photo. Then we have Color contrast which means pairing warm and cold colors to make them stand out more. We also know Conceptual contrast, which helps us add depth and encourages viewers to engage with the photo. Then there’s also Texture contrast, where we combine rough and soft elements for an extra punch. All of the contrasts are very important if we want the image to look professional and appealing. So we must know how to use them if we want to achieve that magical result. They can help us tell a story and make certain things stand out more. So we can really be artistic with the contrast.

Best phone for product photography – CONCLUSION

As you have learned choosing the best phone for product photography is not a trivial task. The phone cannot compare to a professional DSLR camera with its small sensor size. Therefore, it is important that the sensor quality is at the top level and you will also need to play with some manual camera settings, as standard auto mode usually won’t cut it.

Any phone from our list will give you the best camera experience. So if you stay within our selection of best phones for product photography you are good and ready to go. Have fun taking photos.

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4 Comments

    1. Thank you for your question! Yes, the iPhone 13 is definitely suitable for dental photography. In fact, it has one of the best cameras on the market, with advanced features like a triple-lens system, improved low-light performance, and advanced computational photography capabilities. With its high-quality camera, the iPhone 13 is capable of capturing detailed images of teeth and gums, making it a great choice for dental professionals who need to document their work. So, in short, you can confidently use the iPhone 13 for your dental photography needs.

  1. Here is a thing.
    I shoot dental photography with my iphone 13mini.
    And also own a Tokina 100mm macro lens and a Nikon.

    It’s much simpler for me to do it with a iphone and a cheap LED ring light that clips on the phone.

    However, you didn’t cover any of the issues i run into, that i opened this article for.
    Minimum focusing distance is bad (on iphone at least), you have to crop to 1.3-1.5 to get it right.
    Ultrawide lense with macro on Pro models is USELSS ! It won’t even turn on for the distance you take your photos from, and even if it does, distortion on a wide lense would be too much.

    So, what you need is either a good main camera with excelent 5-15cm focusing distance or even a good x2-x3 telephoto lense (on iphone pro, for example, pictures of teeth look better cropped on main camera then on telephoto lense without crop).
    Also, when i checked minimum focusing distance on pro models, it was worse then on 13 mini 🙁
    So yeah…i am looking to upgrade 13mini iphone , but not sure where to go…

    1. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and personal experience with dental photography. Your detailed observations about using the iPhone 13 Mini and a Tokina 100mm macro lens will surely add value to other readers who are exploring this subject.

      I apologize if the blog post didn’t cover the specific issues you’ve been facing. It’s clear from your comment that you have a nuanced understanding of the subject, and I greatly appreciate your input.

      Regarding the minimum focusing distance issue on the iPhone, I agree that it can be challenging, especially when attempting to capture intricate details in dental photography. Cropping to 1.3-1.5 might be a workaround, but I understand that it’s not an ideal solution.

      Concerning the ultrawide lens and the problems you’ve mentioned with the Pro models, I see how that could be frustrating. It sounds like you’ve identified specific needs related to focusing distance and the usefulness of telephoto lenses. These are essential aspects to consider, especially in dental photography where precision is key.

      Based on your feedback, I’ll look into these issues more deeply and consider updating the article or writing a new one to address these challenges specifically. In the meantime, if you’re looking to upgrade from the 13 Mini, you might want to explore other models that have been praised for their macro capabilities or consult with a specialized photography store where you can get tailored advice based on your unique requirements.

      Thank you once again for taking the time to share your thoughts. Your practical experience has provided valuable insights, and I hope we can continue to learn from one another.

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