Extensive smartphone camera test including the new iPhone 4S and several Android smartphones.

The reviews are coming in for the new iPhone 4S and here is a sample of impressions of the updated camera that are giving us much excitement and anticipation:

Thisismynext.com

The sensor is not only larger on the new iPhone, but Apple has further tweaked the optics to deliver better results, even in low-light settings. The company has updated the backside illumination sensor, added a fifth lens element, and increased the aperture to f/2.4 — all of which sounds more interesting if you’re a camera fanatic. Even if you’re not, however, the improvements are obvious the second you start snapping pictures.

The iPhone 4S took some of the nicest, cleanest photos I’ve ever seen from a mobile device. If you’ve ever thought about using a phone as a replacement for your point and shoot, feel free to start taking that concept seriously. The 4S produced crisp, balanced, colorful photos that were surprisingly low-noise and never over-saturated. The iPhone 4 sometimes seemed to be compensating for its limitations by exaggerating colors, but the iPhone 4S looks and feels like a real camera capturing true images.

Slash Gear

The “eye” of the camera is one half of the equation: the “brain” is the other. In the iPhone 4S’ case that’s the image signal processor in the Apple A5 chip, one, which the company reckons, is on a par with what you’d find inside a dedicated DSLR. Not only is it responsible for the overall quality of the recorded photo, but the speed at which the photo is processed and saved.

Does it all work? You bet it does. There are two noticeable improvements – quality and speed – and the best thing is that they’re clearly evident from the start. Sharpness and detail are significantly boosted in the iPhone 4S when compared to what the iPhone 4 can achieve; there’s less noise and less color bleed evident. Aberrations such as fringing around the edges of the frame are cut right back, a benefit of that five-lens array.

In brightly lit environments there’s less over-exposure; in darker scenes the iPhone 4S is less prone to crunchiness in shadow areas. We’ve been able to shoot low-light images without resorting to the single LED flash, and still make out detail thanks to the boosted sensitivity. Apple says colors are 26-percent more accurate now, thanks to the work that’s been done on the processing algorithms, and while we can’t exactly put a number on it ourselves there’s certainly a more natural feel to images taken with the iPhone 4S.

The world’s surface is 70% water.  For those near the water it make sense to own a waterproof camera and we rate the Panasonic DMC-TS3 to be one of the best of the point-and-shoots.   To take a camera in and under the water opens up all new possibilities.

This photo edited with Nik Color Efex Pro using a modification of the solarization filter. 

Until the mobile phone industry starts putting out waterproof devices,  this waterproof point and shoot camera will fill your needs at the beach, pool, kayaking, snorkeling and an upcoming cruise.  I’ve done extensive research and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 (12.1 MP Rugged/Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD) is highly rated with its best competition coming from the Sony TX10.  But for my purposes of underwater photo taking the Panny is rated better for that specific task.  Read the Amazon reviews and see this camera is a winner.