What's the most important feature when choosing a smartphone? For me, it's the camera.
Over the last five years, smartphone camera quality has increased dramatically. These days I seldom take my DSLR with me, let alone my compact point-and-shoot. While professional photographers still have a legitimate reason for lugging around heavy photographic equipment, for day-to-day photography needs, smartphone cameras are more than adequate.
So far in 2015, there have been some very strong smartphone contenders in the top-end of the market.
In no particular order, here's a look at some of the best currently available from Vodacom Online.
If you thought the laser camera on the G3 was good, you'll be very impressed by the G4. It has a F1.8 aperture lens, which allows 80 percent more light to reach the sensor. This makes it especially good in low-light conditions. This, coupled with OIS 2.0, means a better range for image stabilisation.
Samsung has improved the camera greatly in the S6 and the S6 Edge. The front-facing 5MP camera takes excellent selfies that don't appear grainy, even at night, while the main 16MP has a simple interface, with options for manual settings for more experienced photographers. It features optical image stabilisation, and a 'fast camera' mode that snaps pictures in 0.7 seconds.
Apple's 5-5-inch iPhone 6s Plus has a large, bright screen and a great camera. Optical image stabilisation gives you much better low-light photography capabilities. The 12MP camera can also record 4K video. Panorama mode creates images up to 43MP large and you can shoot 2160p video at 30fps and a 240 fps slow-motion mode at 720p resolution.
Slightly larger than the iPhone S6 Plus, the 5.7-inch Note 4 has a phenomenal screen and an excellent 16MP camera. It has a F2.2 aperture, optical image stabilisation system and is capable of shooting 4K video. The Note 4's camera has been extremely well-reviewed and produces very detailed, crisp images
Sony's 5.2-inch Xperia Z3 features a 20.7MP camera, F.20 aperture and can shoot 4K video. The Z3 also has a wide-angle 25mm G lens which allows you to fit more of your buddies into one shot. This camera is not the fastest out there, but it takes excellent shots.
