“Every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera.”

Apple touts the iPhone’s camera as the most popular in the world, but does that make it the best? Flickr’s camera finder page supports the claim, listing the iPhone 5, 4S and 4 as the top three most used cameras on the popular photo-sharing site. When Apple announced the iPhone 5s on September 10, it boasted the new camera as one of the best in a smartphone. The iPhone’s camera is always regarded for quality pictures, but how does it stack up against other cameras this year?

Pixels

While other manufacturers are fighting the battle for the most megapixels, Apple decided to march in a different direction. Companies like Nokia packed a whopping 41 megapixels in the Lumia, while Apple’s 5S sticks with the same eight megapixels as the iPhone 5. Instead of quantity, Apple went for pixel quality and increased the size of each pixel from 1.4 to 1.5 microns. This doesn’t look like much on paper, but the additional surface area in the sensor gives room for more photons and comes in handy for those dimly lit situations. Apple also increased the active surface area of the sense to accommodate for the larger pixels.

The A7 Processor

The A7 is the first 64-bit processor in a smartphone, ever. So what does this mean for taking pictures? Because of the processing power, the 5S is able to pack in features like burst mode, the ability to take 10 shots in one second. The iPhone then automatically suggests the best shot of the group, and a slow motion camera records 120 fps at 720p quality. Some of these features were standard on DSLR cameras for years but are just now moving over to smartphone technology.

Behind the scenes, the A7 chip is able to automatically adjust white balance, auto-exposure, and tone mapping. Again, standard for most cameras and even some phones, but the extra power makes this seamless and leaves processing room for other, more gimmicky features (like live, Instagram-like filters).

New Flash

The 5S will have the first two-tone flash on the iPhone. The new flash consists of two LED lights — one white and one amber — which fire off according to software analysis to figure the right combination for appropriate lighting. Apple reports that there are more than 1,000 combinations for the 5S’s flash. The object isn’t to make the pictures brighter, but to avoid any washing of natural color from the image.

iOS 7

The iPhone 5S with ship with iOS 7, Apple’s newest mobile OS which launched September 18, for existing devices. Aside from a graphical and UI overhaul, the new OS will add better auto-stabilization and smarter photo selection (burst mode) when taking multiple pictures. The combination of the A7 chip and iOS 7 will make the camera on the 5S better overall.

Is the camera on the 5S better than a DSLR or even some point-and-shoots? Of course not. But the fact that we live with a phone by our sides at all times is a good enough reason to get excited about this new camera. If your photography is anything but profession (and even then, in some cases), an upgrade should be in your future.