Best smartphones for macro photography – capture close-up detail
Which smartphones are best for close-ups? We compare the best of them
You don’t always need specialist equipment for close-ups; the best camera phones are very capable when it comes to macro photography, says Amy Davies.
For those who would like to give macro photography a go but prefer not to buy new kit, there’s always the option of using your phone. A phone has obvious advantages of convenience and cost over cameras, which generally require a lens with macro capability, either for magnification, close-focusing, or both.
Not long ago, clip-on macro lenses and loupes for smartphones were available to buy. These tended to be low in quality, fiddly to use and, since they were usually specific to a phone model, they became obsolete as soon as you upgraded your device. In recent years, flagships and even mid-range phones have come equipped with macro functionality directly in camera. It’s even become a key selling point for many.
If macro photography is of interest to you, and you’re thinking of upgrading your smartphone, consider some of those listed here. These are all high-end smartphones with a price tag to match, but cheaper phone deals can be found by skipping back a generation or more – just check that the older versions offer macro first.
How does phone macro work?
Generally speaking, most smartphones utilise the ultra-wideangle camera for macro work. The phone will detect when you’re attempting to take a close-up picture and automatically switch to macro mode, in most cases. With the iPhone 16 Pro, for example, this gives you the ability to focus as close as 2cm from the subject. The phone will then crop in to give the same angle of view as if shooting with the standard 1x lens, for a more natural appearance. Since you’re switching to a different sensor and lens, there are some situations where image quality may suffer – such as in low light.
Most phones have the option to switch off the macro focusing for each shot if you prefer to use the standard lens – but you will probably need to move further from the subject to achieve focus.
There are exceptions to using the ultra-wide lens, such as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Vivo X200 Pro that use the telephoto lens for macro. Some smartphones have dedicated macro cameras, but in practice, we’ve usually found these to be poor performers, particularly when they’re low resolution – some are just 2 megapixels.
Best smartphones for macro at a glance:
- iPhone 17 Pro – Buy now
- Oppo Find X9 Pro – Buy now
- Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Buy now
- Google Pixel 10 Pro – Buy now
- OnePlus 13 – Buy now
- Xiaomi 15 Ultra – Buy now
Continue reading to find out how we tested the smartphones and why we chose these models…
Why you can trust Amateur Photographer
We spend many hours testing every product we recommend, in detail, in a variety of situations and shooting scenarios, and only use experts for our reviews, so you can be sure that you’re getting the best products. Find out more about our expert writers.
Best overall for macro
iPhone 17 Pro
Amateur Photographer verdict
Great advantages for macro photography, in particular with handling and operation, and the impressive new level of zoom optical quality is a welcome addition on an iPhone.
- 8 x optical quality zoom
- Triple high-resolution sensors
- Tough body
- Relatively minor upgrade overall from Pro 16
- Limited colours
- High price
| Specifications | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Main camera | 48MP, f/1.78, 24mm, PDAF, OIS, (1/1.28" sensor) |
| Ultra-wide camera | 48MP, f/2.2, 13mm, PDAF, (1/2.55" sensor) |
| Telephoto camera | 48MP, f/2.8, 100mm, 4x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS (1/3.06" sensor) |
| Selfie camera | 18MP, f/1.9 with AF, "center stage" |
| Video | 4K 120fps video |
| Screen | 6.3” Super Retina XDR OLED screen |
| Battery | 3998mAh (Nano SIM), 4252mAh (eSIM), Wired, Wireless |
The iPhone 17 Pro employs a triple-lens camera setup, comprising a wideangle, 0.5x ultrawide, and 4x telephoto lens. The main sensor is also 48MP, with a 24mm f/1.78 lens, while the 5x telephoto is 100mm f/2.8 equivalent.
Apple is now in its fourth generation of smartphones with macro capability. As on previous models, this mode enables you to get super-close to the subject by automatically switching to the ultra-wideangle camera. You can record both video and still images with the iPhone’s macro mode, and you can also shoot in Apple’s ProRAW format when it is engaged too.
If you’re finding image quality to be low – such as if light levels are poor – you can switch off the macro focusing and revert to using the main camera. You can still get fairly close, so if the subject isn’t particularly small, this can work fairly well. Another option is to switch to Portrait mode to create a shallow-depth-of-field effect. Again, this uses the main camera, so it will work best with subjects which aren’t super-small. Note there’s no macro focusing capability in this mode, nor can you shoot in raw format.
The iPhone 17 Pro also gains a new Camera Control button, which aims to make using the phone a little more like using a real camera. You can press it one to open the camera, then again to take a photo. Sliding your finger along it zooms in and out, too.
Read our full review of the iPhone 17 Pro
Best Oppo for macro
Oppo Find X9 Pro
Amateur Photographer verdict
The Find X9 Pro has an exceptional set of rear cameras, and the best macro telephoto lens we’ve seen on a recent phone.
- Amazing telephoto close-up performance
- Impressive main camera
- Good value for money
- Fantastic battery
- Unavailable in the US
| Specifications | Oppo Find X9 Pro |
|---|---|
| Main camera | 50MP f/1.5, with 1/1.28inch sensor, OIS, 23mm, PDAF |
| Ultra-wide-angle | 50MP f/2.0, 15mm, AF |
| Telephoto cameras | 200MP f/2.1 3x, with close focus, 70mm, OIS, AF |
| Selfie camera | 50MP f/2.0 selfie camera, with AF |
| Video | 4K 120fps video |
| Screen | 6.78inch AMOLED screen with 3600nits (peak) |
| Battery | 7500mAh battery |
This flagship smartphone by Oppo comes with an impressive triple set of cameras created in collaboration with Hasselblad. All cameras are equipped with high resolution sensors with auto-focus and OIS (optical image stabilisation on the main and telephoto). There’s a 200MP 3x periscope telephoto camera with impressive 9cm macro focus. The main camera and telephoto camera have brighter apertures than most others, and these specs make the Find X9 Pro a formidable competitor to the well-known flagships.
The main 23mm f/1.5 camera features a 50MP 1/1.28inch sensor, which is larger than many other phones. It delivers consistently impressive results with plenty of detail, excellent colour reproduction, and reliable exposure. Moreover, the dynamic range is great with HDR automatically turning on when needed.
The floating telephoto camera is a periscope design, and it gives you amazing looking close-up photos, even in poor lighting, with plenty of detail. It is also backed by a 200MP sensor, helping capture even more detail. Finally, the last ultra-wide-angle 15mm equivalent, f/2 camera provides nice results, with good colour and exposure, as well as good levels of detail. The camera app gives you quick access to 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x and 6x making it feel like you’ve got way more cameras than there actually are.
The upgraded and high-quality camera system offers plenty of photo opportunities, and the 50MP selfie camera with autofocus is also a very welcome addition to the spec sheet. Results across all cameras are high quality, consistent and produce really nice natural colours. You’ll also find that this has THE BIGGEST battery of any current flagship we’ve tested, with a whopping 7500mAh, and this really does last longer than anyone else on the list.
Best for: Macros and close-up, with great low-light performance. The telephoto lens produces some great results, and the battery life is immense!
Read our full Oppo Find X9 Pro review
Samsung for macro
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Amateur Photographer verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra remains an excellent flagship smartphone for photographers, with good close-up capability
- 3x high resolution sensors
- 4x lenses
- Advanced AI functionality
- Excellent screen
- Fairly minor camera upgrade from last model
- Very high price
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Main camera | 200MP, f/1.7, 24mm, PDAF, OIS(1/1.3” sensor) |
| Ultra-wide camera | 50MP, f/1.9, 13mm, PDAF |
| Telephoto camera | 10MP, f/2.4, 67mm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom, (1/3.52” sensor) and 50MP, f/3.4, 111mm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, (1/2.52” sensor) |
| Selfie camera | 12MP f/2.2, 26mm selfie camera with AF |
| Video | 8K 24/30fps, 4K 30/60/120fps |
| Screen | 6.9-inch 3120×1440 pixel AMOLED, 2600 nits peak brightness, Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
| Battery | 5000 mAh, 45W fast charging, wireless charging |
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung’s flagship camera phone, with a vast array of AI photography features inherited from the previous S24 Ultra. Overall it’s one of the best smartphone cameras around, with four cameras on the rear. Of these, three are now high resolution, as the ultrawide camera received a generous 50 MP upgrade from 12MP before.
The AI technology is utilised during image capture and is said to improve night photography, noise performance, zoom quality, and HDR imaging, among others. AI is also relevant in the on-device and cloud-based editing features, like the really useful reflection removal tool. The S25 Ultra also has one of the best screens on any phone, thanks to an excellent anti-reflective coating.
For macro shooting, the good news is that three of the cameras have pretty good close-up capabilities. The bad news, though, is that you’re never quite in control of which one the phone is using. By default, if you point the camera at a close-up object, the phone will switch from the main camera to the ultra-wide-angle camera and give you a cropped (and distorted looking) photo, as well as lower quality results in low-light. Switch to the 3x camera, and the phone now will crop from the 1x camera – giving a pixelated, but relatively pleasing-looking, image. Switch to the 5x or 10x cameras, and the phone will again crop, this time from the 3x camera, giving a pixelated image.
This is all quite frustrating, and the device doesn’t advise you what’s going on until you look at the EXIF data after you’ve taken the shot. However, for the best results, the 5x option (which crops from the 3x camera) looks to give the best results. Other smartphones, though, have really impressive telephoto macro capabilities that use the periscope camera.
