Good smartphones for photogrammetry?

Justo

Posted in the Photogrammetry general, but might as well ask here too. 

Black Fri/Cyber Mon is almost here and I was wondering if I could buy something old and cheap with a good camera. Was really intrigued to start exploring photogrammetry through those devices, like the Allego guys are doing here. How many MP are needed these days to get good-looking results, 12? Was looking into the Nexus 4, I wanted something Android and Cyanogenmod compatible, but that camera is only 8 MP...Any thoughts?

Justo

Some very good info here, though mostly on cameras: http://polycount.com/discussion/153940/question-list-of-cameras-for-photo-sourcing-textures

From what I gather, people agree that most phones nowadays cut it ok in this, since you never rely on a single picture's quality, but rather many, many photos to get the asset. Not really looking to go full-on photogrammetry mode anyway, just dip my feet into this with (hopefully) a good enough phone. 

ZacD

The Nexus 4 is 3 years old, and the camera isn't great compared to newer phones. High megapixel doesn't mean a good camera, it's a useful number for when you are comparing 2 very similar cameras (like the Canon 7D vs 5D), but for phones, it doesn't say anything about the actual quality of the pictures, their cameras vary so much. 

You are better off getting a newer budget phone that has a decent camera, something like the OnePlus X or Moto G4 $200, or a used digital point and shoot camera. 

Justo

Thanks for the input @ZacD  Yeah, I saw Joe EQ say that same thing about MPs in the linked thread...How can someone find out if a phone's camera is good or not?

Also, I don't have a problem buying a newer phone so long as the features are worth it, but I chose a 3-yo phone because they're damn cheap by now (70 usd vs OnePlusX' 300 usd on Amazon), and I'm not really looking for cutting-edge mobile devices. Moto G4 does look good.

ZacD

There's plenty of sites that do camera reviews, http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/nexus-4-1108999/review/7
https://recombu.com/mobile/article/moto-g4-plus-camera-review-and-comparison-vs-moto-g4-camera

Cellphone cameras have came a long way in the last 4 years, I think you'll get the best results with a used 1-2 year old flagship or a new $200 budget phone with a decent camera. 4 year old phone cameras reminded me of 15 year old point and shoot cameras, modern cell phones are basically a replacement for point and shoots, minus the zoom.

Justo

Ohh, that's perfect. Thank you for those links Zac Time to read more. 

Millenia

Nexus 5X is a pretty good bang for your buck phone if you can find one on the cheap.