iPhone 4S Dominates Flickr: Are Apple Cameras 'Re-inventing' Photography?

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If these improvements weren't enough, Apple's iPhone 4S also has some tricks up its sleeve that many smartphones, and most iPhones, lack. The camera has a hybrid infrared filter to stop the smartphone from overheating, built-in face detection, excellent color accuracy, and reduced motion blur, meaning the iPhone 4S can stop the streaking that sometimes occurs when the camera is moved during shooting.

Smartphone Data Missing

Before Apple lovers begin praising the obvious superiority of their iPhones to other models, Flickr did have one piece of grounding news to offer: many smartphones don't actually embed device information into downloaded photos the way Apple iPhones do. This means that many more smartphones, like the fourth-ranking HTC EVO 4G or the missing Samsung Galaxy Nexus, could be vastly underrepresented in the final statistics. Nonetheless, the iPhone 4S's rise shows many on Flickr are increasingly enamored with the new smartphone's camera.

Apple Smartphones "Reinvent" Photography

Beyond the data provided for camera phones on Flickr, the Apple iPhone 4 is also the most popular camera on the image-sharing site overall, beating out powerhouses like Nikon and Canon. The race is closer here, but the iPhone 4 continues to rise, and Flickr continues to be a hub for up-and-coming photographers.

The iPhone 4S meanwhile, is an even sleeker and more sophisticated version of the iPhone 4, and has garnered praise from some of photography's legends. Annie Leibowitz praised the iPhone 4S camera to The Telegraph on Nov. 21, calling it "the snapshot camera of today."

Going beyond the camera-smartphone divide, Leibovitz even told MSNBC on "Rock Center" that she would recommend the Apple product to anyone asking for advice on what camera they should purchase.

Professional photographer and gallery owner Ryan Bolger goes even further. In a post on TiPb, Bolger confessed that he had been "holding out" on getting an iPhone for years, waiting for a smartphone that would satisfy him as a photographer. The iPhone 4S is that camera.

"The iPhone 4s has changed my creative life in a very big way," Bolger gushed. "I've even used it on some paid client assignments. That's how much I trust it as a professional photographer."