Why carry around a point and shoot when you can just buy the right camera and get the perfect shot with your cellphone?
Done carrying a point and shoot camera around? Fed up having to lug around a DSLR just so you don’t miss that “one” moment? Well, good news is that modern day cellphones have come a long way and their cameras even longer. Some cellphones come with incredibly good cameras built in and could easily be a replacement for a point and shoot camera. Here are our favourite picks. Know: Best Camera Phone
Nokia Lumia 1020
The PureView 808 started it all and the Nokia Lumia 920 was stage 2, but the final culmination of Nokia’s best imaging technology is embodied in the Lumia 1020. It takes the 41 megapixel sensor of the former and pairs it up with the optical image stabilization from the latter (with some tweaks) to give you an incredibly good camera phone in an incredibly elegant and light weight body. The Lumia 1020 is currently available for pre-order from most online retailers and will be available on store shelves come October 11.
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Apple iPhone 5
Apple’s never really played into the megapixel race, in fact, they’ve never really cared much for what the competition is doing, focusing solely on making their product do the best it could. The iPhone 5 is most definitely competent for almost every shooting condition, although its not stellar by any means in low light. The best part about the iPhone 5 happens to be the fact that you can use that amazing camera to create some really amazing Instagram photos. If you’re the sort who must have the latest, then you can have someone carry the iPhone 5S for you from the US.
Nokia Lumia 920
The Lumia 920 may have a small 8 megapixel sensor, but the optical image stabilization (OIS) that’s built into the lens is quite something. We’ve shot footage from moving cars and even while running, but the OIS managed to keep the footage fairly stable. The OIS coupled up with a fast f/2.0 aperture makes this a VERY formidable camera for tackling low light shooting. Not to mention, the IPS screen on the Lumia 920 is as good as it gets for checking the colour accuracy of your photos.
Sony Xperia Z1
Seeing that a rise in megapixels has stopped luring in potential customers, Sony has upped the camera game in the cellphone market with the Xperia Z1 by packing a 1/2.3 inch 20 megapixel sensor into this sleek thing. If a larger sensor wasn’t enough to get you, then get this. The optics on the Z1 are made of the Sony G lens, the same that you would find on most of their point and shoot cameras. If you have deep, big pockets (literally and figuratively), you might want to consider the Sony Xperia Z1 as your trusty camera phone.
HTC One
The first phone that focused on the one aspect of a camera assembly that image quality comes from; the pixel pitch. HTC reduced the pixel count on the sensor to just 4 megapixels, but retained the physical area of the sensor, which allowed them to double the size of each individual pixel. Dubbed the Ultrapixel, the HTC One does take great images, but limits what you can do with them. While 4 megapixels is good enough to showcase your talents, if you want to make some large prints, you might be out of luck due to the relatively small resolution of the HTC One files. Its still better to have good photos with a lower resolution rather than crappy images of high resolution, or no images at all.
Samsung Galaxy S4
The Galaxy S4 is not only a good phone, but it also comes with a rather good camera. With 13 megapixels at its disposal and thanks to all that processing power at its disposal, it also packs in an overload of features. In case you’re wondering what you get from the S4, you’re looking at Dual Shot, Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, 360 Photo, Animated Photo, Eraser, Night, Best Photo, Best Face, Beauty Face, HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama, and Sports as the available modes. Not to mention, the S4 also has a zero lag shutter.
Apple iPhone 4S
Okay so you may not have oodles of cash to doll out on a high end smartphone, but you can still get good image quality relatively cheap thanks to the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S can do HDR and even Panorama straight out of the box, so there’s no need for additional apps.
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Nokia Lumia 720
The Lumia 720 may seem like an unlikely entrant into this list, but we assure you it’s not. The camera on this phone isn’t earth shattering, but thanks to the Zeiss optics the camera phone manages to produce images that are tack sharp and visibly lacking in lens-based defects.
Nokia PureView808
This is the camera phone that actually changed the game. The PureView 808 is out of stock in most places, but if you look hard enough, some stores might still have a few units lying around. The 41-megapixel sensor on the 808 is unmatched (it is slightly bigger, physically, than the one in the Lumia 1020) and ideal for anyone who loves taking photos with their cellphone. You can forget apps, and other modern day smartphone conveniences, and just consider this a camera that can make calls and has a microSD card slot.
