This year has seen the launch of some really good camera phones in the Indian market. Whether it’s more pixels, powerful sensors, advanced autofocus mechanisms or anything like that, these smartphones have them all. So, are you a photography enthusiast looking forward to buying a new smartphone with a really good camera experience as the year ends? Our curated list of the 10 best camera smartphones of 2016 is just what you need.

1. Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Apple iPhone 7 Plus is the first iPhone to sport dual 12MP camera modules at the back. One 12MP module has a wide-angle lens and the other has a telephoto zoom lens. The second camera can be used to click photos zoomed at 2X, bringing objects closer. Apple has made the camera experience smart in a way that if the OS thinks that the digitally enhanced (2X image) has no noise in it, it will not activate the second camera. It comes to life only in certain lighting conditions. The images captures using the iPhone 7 Plus are really sharp and vibrant. They pack a lot of detail.

2. Google Pixel XL

Google Pixel XL comes with a 12.3MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture. To assist the camera, a two-tone dual-LED flash, Phase Detection Autofocus and Laser Autofocus are thrown into the mix as well. The camera performs exceptionally well in brightly-lit conditions. Consequently, daylight shots come sharp and full of detail. Colour reproduction is largely spot on, and the camera is near instant to lock focus. One of the impressive things about the Pixel XL’s camera is that it does a great job of stabilizing jerky videos, despite not having Optical Image Stabilization.

3. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 edge flagship smartphone has with a 12 MP rear camera with LED flash. It comes with Dual Pixel technology and has a bigger aperture size of f/1.7, along with larger pixel sensors. These enable lightning fast focussing for all the pixels.
There is also a 'Pro' mode in the camera app that enables users to control shutter speeds and ISO values.

4. Motorola Moto Z

The newly-launched Motorola Moto Z sports a 13MP rear camera, coupled with laser autofocus, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and dual-LED flash. The camera focuses really quickly and shutter speeds are quite fast as well. Captured photos have ample amount of resolved detail and are quite vibrant. The camera app has features like Auto HDR, the ability to switch between front and rear cameras via a flick of the wrist, 4K video recording and slow-motion recording. There's also a Professional mode which, as the name suggests, lets you tweak everything from ISO levels to white balance as per your liking.

5. OnePlus 3T

The recently-launched OnePlus 3T comes with a 16MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and HDR.
The company has tweaked the camera software for more natural looking results. Users get enough manual controls in the camera app for getting the best-looking images. The camera works great for low-light images too.

6. Nubia Z11

Nubia Z11 packs a 16 MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture, Optical Image Stabilization, and PDAF. It is accompanied by a dual lens setup at the back. The handset offers various shooting modes for a better photography experience. It also has an interesting mode called Electric Aperture, which enables users to select an aperture ranging from as wide as f/2.8 to as narrow as f/44. Shutter speed can be configured between 0.3 to 72 seconds.

7. Huawei P9

Huawei P9 comes with a dual rear camera setup developed in collaboration with Leica. Of these, one shoots colour photos and the other does its thing in monochrome. The camera app offers three, self-explanatory coloured shooting modes - Standard, Vivid and Smooth. The images clicked using the P9 pack substantial amount of resolved detail and the colour reproduction is almost spot-on. As for the monochrome shots, they are nothing short of incredible. Low-light images are pretty good as well. The P9 can use its 'Wide aperture effects' to refocus the images and adjust the blur after they've been clicked, making for some really creative images.

8. Xiaomi Mi 5

Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a 16MP rear camera with dual tone LED flash, Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and 4-axis OIS. The PDAF boosts the speed of Auto Focus while 4-axis OIS offers more stability to videos. This combo enables users to capture moving objects while retaining best possible stability. The rear camera has enough potential to click some stunning images. It can also record 4K videos without any problems.

9. HTC 10

HTC 10 boasts of a 12MP UltraPixel 2 camera with a pixel size of 1.55um, which means more light is captured in one shot. There is also a Pro mode that enables users to adjust things like white balance, ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation and manual focus easily. The images captured using the device have a dynamic colour range and enhanced details. The camera app is also very clean and easy to use. It incorporates features like Auto HDR, HTC Zoe, Hyperlapse and slow motion.

10. Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe

Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe claims to be the first smartphone to come with a Sony IMX318 sensor. It is also the first handset in the Zenfone 3 line-up to come with a 23MP rear camera. Images clicked with the Zenfone 3 Deluxe’s rear camera are quite crisp and detailed. Colour reproduction is accurate in HDR mode and the phone offers several shooting modes like Manual, Beautification and HDR Pro. 4K recording functionality is also included.