One of the most attractive features about smartphones is having an excellent camera wherever you are. Smartphones have offered high-end features for years, with devices as early as the first Motorola Droid being able to capture video at the same quality threshold as DVD video. Most devices have featured eight-megapixel cameras for the last couple of years, but recently manufacturers have begun to differentiate based on camera again. For a photography enthusiast, the decision of which smartphone to buy really comes down to three devices.
The first device for any photography enthuasiast to consider is the iPhone 5. It offers an excellent experience overall aside from the camera, but Apple really managed to make the iPhone 5's camera spectacular. It features an eight-megapixel sensor, which isn't rare. What sets it apart from the competition is its lense, which is manufactured with saphire crystal. That lense allows the iPhone 5 to take low-light photos without losing too much clarity. Another feature that photography enthusiasts will love is Photo Stream, which wirelessly syncs every photo the owner takes to their other devices, such as laptops or iPads.
While Apple's strength is in its refinement and reliability, one of its most prominent competitors takes the opposite approach. Samsung's Galaxy S4 packs a 13-megapixel sensor that captures everything with an amazing amount of detail. Samsung's strategy is to offer countless features: The S4 comes with roughly a dozen shooting modes. These range from simple to complex. For example, Burst Shot allows users to rattle off dozens of photos in a few seconds, while Object Removal actually lets the photography remove elements from an image. The idea with the S4 is that the user will find a few modes that really appeal to them and then use the device's excellent hardware to take great photos.
It makes sense that Apple and Samsung would be two of the top options for photography enthusiasts, given their stature in the mobile industry. However, the phone that is arguably the best option comes from a company that might be a bit unexpected. The Nokia Lumia 928, recently released on Verizon, boasts one of the most impressive cameras ever to be built into a smartphone. It features a Carl Zeiss sensor, immediately putting it in the company of point-and-shoot digital cameras. Furthermore, the camera on the phone features a floating lense. The floating lense helps to drastically improve image quality by reducing shaking or jerking that is normally associated with photo and video. The phone performs exceedingly well in low light, too. In short, there's virtually no room to knock the 928's camera. As far as hardware goes, it currently sets the standard.
To address the original question, then - what smartphone is the best for a photography enthuasiast? The answer is a bit of a mixed bag. If camera is the only factor being considered, the 928 wins in a landslide. However, if users don't want to use a phone on the still-new Windows 8 platform, then it's a choice between the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4. It's a matter of personal opinion, but all three phones stand head and shoulders above the competition and are the devices to consider when camera quality is important.
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