Most of the seven billion active cell phones on this planet have cameras and 90% of people who take pictures do this with a phone.
Most of the seven billion active cell phones on this planet have cameras and 90% of people who take pictures do this with a phone.
Does this mean it's time to replace cameras with a good smartphone, and if so, which is best?
Here I compare top sellers from four mobile giants and first up, the Nokia Lumia 1020, is all about photography.
The Windows phone device (it was a high time to get rid of that irritating Symbian system, Nokia!) boats an amazing 41-megapixel sensor, enabling you to capture images in detail.
Plus, the ProCamera app offers great manual control of individual settings like ISO, shutter speed, white balance and exposure compensation.
Happy to take your phone swimming?
The Sony Xperia Z1 can be submerged up to 1.5m for 30 minutes at a time – although only in fresh water. Sea salt equals smartphone death.
This Android beauty features a 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS image sensor and Sony's award-winning 'G lens' with 3x image zoom and built-in-flash.
In the Timeshift Burst mode, the Z1 can snap an impressive 61 frames in two seconds.
The absence of optical Image Stabilisation (IS) is disappointing though.
The latest Apple baby only has an 8-megapixel sensor, but combined with IS and a dual-LED flash you get a picture-taking magic wand.
The iPhone 5S also comes with the improved CamApp, which in addition to HDR and Panorama modes also shoots slow-motion video.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is where smartphone and camera converge – literally.
It's the only smartphone with a built-in compact camera with 10x optical zoom, which means better image quality.
It features a 16-megapixel sensor designed for low-light performance, optical image stabilisation and Xenon flash.
It's also rich in features – my favourites are animated GIFs and an option to remove a person from a photo.
So, which is the best?
I'd argue Nokia and a bunch of internet phone-tech junkies agree. But overall, it's simply not one of the best smartphones.
Samsung is heading in the right direction with the optical zoom, but it resembles a camera more than a phone.
And while phone-swimming sounds cool, I wouldn't go for Sony's Xperia without IS.
Finally, and it hurts to say this, despite iPhone's good camera it falls flat compared to Nokia's or Samsung's.
Ultimately though, if you're an instant snapshot taker, the best camera is the one that's with you.
