I’ve had the new XPERIA Z1 phone – SONY’S latest ‘pro-phonetography’ mobile powerhouse – for around a week now. I’ve played with it (lots), stared at it (in amazement), fiddled the knobs (repeatedly), taken it into the ocean (not really allowed), and had my kids show me 712-odd functions (that I would probably never have picked up on).

All in all, I’m gobsmacked. Not because of my allegiance to SONY, but rather because this little imaging tool is seriously making me think about where photography as we know it is heading. To paraphrase the words of CANON Camera’s CEO: “Producing cameras for the masses is no longer viable, and within the next 5yrs mobile phones will do everything that a consumer camera can do” …

Well, scrap that thought. Forget five years, because that time is here right now, and if I had to go and shoot an event tomorrow using the Z1 as my only imaging device, I would be damn confident of my ability to walk away with a serious selection of kick-ass images, ready for disemmination through Social Media, all electronic publishing platforms, and for up to 70% of my print usage requirements.

DISCLAIMER: A phone will never replace a professional camera – that’s not what I’m saying. Different tools, with different uses, for varying projects … Hear this: a waterproof, shock-proof and utterly life-proof phone like the XPERIA Z1 is of incalculable value in capturing (and enhancing) your life as and when it happens in all it’s technicolour and split-second glory. Now go play! #bestofSony

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