Phone camera vs Proper camera

wijcc · 22 May 2021 at 15:48

I am in the process of wanting to change my phone and have the dilemma whether get a more premium phone like a Pixel 5 or Samsung S20 FE or get a more budget phone and get a proper camera like a Sony RX100, Panasonic DMC-G100, Panasonic DMC-TZ200 or alike. I usually only take pics when I am on trips/holidays.
Have cameras on phones moved on to match traditional cameras yet?
I currently have a Samsung S7 and Panasonic bridge camera DMC-FZ200. If I opt for a new camera and cheaper phone I want something a bit smaller.

robj20 · 22 May 2021 at 15:59

If you just want snaps they're fine. Anything more phone cameras are way behind.

wijcc · 22 May 2021 at 16:18

I want good quality pics for memories and possibly to print out and stick on wall if they are decent. I want something simply to use.
Thinking of getting a mid range phone like Samsung A52 5G and a decent camera or paying more for the likes of the Pixel 5 or S20 FE. Maybe I should wait a few months and see what the pixel 6 will be like??

robj20 · 22 May 2021 at 16:23

Depends on if your want to play with things like DOF, slow shutter speeds. Also auto focus on phones is leagues behind a modern camera. General speed of the taking of the photos.

I think it's generally true if you need the features of a camera you will know it. Otherwise a good phone camera is probably enough.

wijcc · 23 May 2021 at 13:43

Thanks,
Is there a difference in picture quality, between the likes of Nikon D3500, Sony RX100 III, Panasonic DMC-G100 and Panasonic DMC-TZ20?. I don't want to spend more than £500 and want to get the camera which will give me the best overall picture quality.

robj20 · 23 May 2021 at 13:48

I only know the RX100, great pocket friendly camera, 1" sensor.

mrgubby · 23 May 2021 at 14:14

The best camera is the one you've got with you

I'm lucky, I've got a couple of DSLRs , good lenses and a decent phone. BUT on a trip to the lakes last year I never took my 'proper' kit out of the bag and just used my phone, when my wife saw the photos she suggested I sell the DSLRs

wijcc · 23 May 2021 at 14:29

I am wondering what the different sensor types are like, 1 inch, Four Thirds and APS-C CMOS sensor - which produces better results/picture quality in like for like conditions.
I am only used to using my S7 phone and Panasonic FZ200 camera most of the time. I did borrow a friend's Nikon D5300 a few times, that gave so much better quality pics.

clv101 · 23 May 2021 at 14:33

mrgubby said:
The best camera is the one you've got with you

I'm lucky, I've got a couple of DSLRs , good lenses and a decent phone. BUT on a trip to the lakes last year I never took my 'proper' kit out of the bag and just used my phone, when my wife saw the photos she suggested I sell the DSLRs

This, I use my phone way more than my DSRLs. The quality is much better, but for most of my use just not necessary.

Raymond Lin · 23 May 2021 at 14:38

There are so many variables. The one thing phone cameras has going for them is the computer AI, with a normal camera you are the brain, so if you are new to photography, the phone will take better photos. When you are good at photography, knows what the camera can do, then a camera with better sensor, better glass will give you more latitude for better photos.

Phone camera, they are fine.

The A73 just have "more", more alive, more pop.

wijcc · 23 May 2021 at 14:43

What phone are you using there?

If I was to get a better phone as well I am thinking either Pixel 5 or S20 FE. I could wait till around august and see what the upcoming Pixel 6 and S21 FE will be like and their pricing too. There is far too much choice around, making it hard to choose/decide

Raymond Lin · 23 May 2021 at 14:47

wijcc said:
What phone are you using there?

If I was to get a better phone as well I am thinking either Pixel 5 or S20 FE. I could wait till around august and see what the upcoming Pixel 6 and S21 FE will be like and their pricing too. There is far too much choice around, making it hard to choose/decide

It's a Huawei P20 Pro, better camera than my iPhone XR. One thing small phone cameras doesn't do is good bokeh (there are exception circumstances as above) due to the size of the sensor and there are ways that i shoot which a phone camera can't do. Like the speed in which I can hit the shutter from seeing a shot. But the upside is that it is more discrete.

wijcc · 23 May 2021 at 14:50

Thanks, I prefer your camera pics to the phone pics.

Raymond Lin · 23 May 2021 at 14:56

wijcc said:
Thanks, I prefer your camera pics to the phone pics.

One thing I didn't do to the phone pics are I did not edit them at all, i left them as it came out because that was the purpose of the exercise. I wanted to see the difference. It's why they are not true black, the AI applied this algorithm which raises the black point up, drags the highlights down so nothing is black (under exposed) and nothing is white (over exposed). I could do it myself but people who just use the phone to take photos wouldn't do that, they wouldn't know why it is what it is either. I am sure i can edit them to bring them closer. The problem with that is, pushing or pulling a phone image file will create more noise in the image than a RAW file from a FF camera. That's said, it is unlikely you will notice looking at the time on a phone screen and without comparing to a camera photo in the same scene, you wouldn't know the difference.

Barks · 25 May 2021 at 20:22

There’s no competition. My iPhone 12 Pro Max takes excellent photos and they can look incredible when viewed on the phone. However, as soon as you compare them to my Fuji photos they are blown out the water even if I’ve shot the iPhone in ProRaw and edited in Lightroom. I don’t think you need to be a photography fanatic to spot the differences either.

A smart phone will never be able to compete with the larger sensor and optics on a proper camera. As Raymond pointed out smartphones bridge this gap with computational AI and whilst it helps the average joe take pretty good photos, it can get it very wrong and produce horrible looking over processed images. The colours and depth are also inferior, for lack of a better word.

That said I think the vast majority of people would be more than happy with the results from snapping important life moments on modern smart phones. I also think we’ll all look back and wonder why images had to be so fake and over-processed the whole time.

Rroff · 25 May 2021 at 20:32

I think it is a software thing but I find a lot of recent phone camera photos exhibit some kind of chalky look to certain details which ruins the results from otherwise very good hardware - some older phones don't exhibit it so IMO it is an issue with software processing.

Begbie · 25 May 2021 at 20:36

Rroff said:
I think it is a software thing but I find a lot of recent phone camera photos exhibit some kind of chalky look to certain details which ruins the results from otherwise very good hardware - some older phones don't exhibit it so IMO it is an issue with software processing.

Just change the software your using?

Phone cameras are amazing, because it's always on you. I used to carry my RX100 on my all the time, but really my phone does nearly the same thing with the convenience of auto organising onto google photos.

Barks · 25 May 2021 at 20:44

Rroff said:
I think it is a software thing but I find a lot of recent phone camera photos exhibit some kind of chalky look to certain details which ruins the results from otherwise very good hardware - some older phones don't exhibit it so IMO it is an issue with software processing.

It’s definitely the software processing. My old Samsung S8 took better photos than the S9 or the S10 which both had superior hardware ruined by aggressive processing. iPhone 11 Pro takes better photos than the 12 Pro Max in auto mode. The only way I’m able to get truly good results using the 12 is to shoot in ProRaw and edit manually but then that completely defeats the ‘point and shoot’ aspect of why I use the phone camera in the first place.

It’s done on purpose because that’s what the average consumer thinks looks good. Why they don’t give you the option to just turn it all off is beyond me. Particularly disappointing from Apple too.

wijcc · 26 May 2021 at 18:25

What would you guys recommend for a good travel sized (not too big) camera.. Around £500 Max.
The ones I can think of are the Canon EOS M200, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ100/200 and the Sony RX100 are there other I should look at?

Graetzbridge · 28 May 2021 at 19:58

wijcc said:
What would you guys recommend for a good travel sized (not too big) camera.. Around £500 Max.
The ones I can think of are the Canon EOS M200, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ100/200 and the Sony RX100 are there other I should look at?

Have a Canon.
Think it is OK.

Some things you can't do with basic shots.