I'm a big fan of smartphone filmmaking, because -- well, because it's easy. The best camera is the one you have with you, and most of us always have our phones with us. And since 4K is en vogue and becoming increasingly more important in the industry, it seems natural that filmmakers would also enjoy having that capability available on the camera they spend so much time with. But, how many are out there?

There are quite a few, actually. We've talked about a few before: the Panasonic Lumix CM1, a device that gives users better portability than a compact camera, as well as better image quality than a smartphone thanks to its real compact camera lens and large sensor (the largest smartphone camera sensor to date, in fact). Then there's the Chinese OnePlus One smartphone that actually beat out the Canon 5D Mark III in a video comparison.

Both of these, as well as 18 others, are included on a list compiled by Phone Arena.

  1. Acer Liquid S2
  2. Asus Padfone X / Padfone S
  3. Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
  4. LG G Pro 2
  5. LG G3
  6. Motorola Google Nexus 6
  7. Motorola Moto X (2014)
  8. OnePlus One
  9. Oppo Find 7 / Find 7a
  10. Panasonic Lumix CM1
  11. Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  12. Samsung Galaxy Round
  13. Samsung Galaxy S5
  14. Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  15. Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  16. Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  17. Sony Xperia Z2
  18. Sony Xperia Z3
  19. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  20. Vivo Xshot

So yes, this is kind of a grab bag of smartphones and phablets with varying specs and prices -- and not all of them are currently on the market. However, from looking at the list, one thing is pretty clear: There are a lot of 4K smartphones for Android. And for Apple -- not so much. Well -- technically this doesn't count, but I'll mention it anyway. 

The iPhone 6 doesn't shoot 4K, even though many users were hoping it would, but the iOS app Vizzywig 4K will give it that ability. At the time we originally reported on it, the price for this thing was astronomically high at $1000. However, Vizzywig, most likely realizing that if people had a grand to to pay for 4K capability, they might as well just go out and buy a legit 4K camera for pretty much the same cost, has lowered the price by 95%, so now you can download it for $50.

Do you use smartphones for filmmaking? Is shooting 4K on your phone something that is important to you?

Source: Phone Arena

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Cinematography & Cameras