Smartphone camera vs Canon 650D with shocking result

Let's try this one more time. This is what I wrote to the OP (original poster):

"I think you could have taken a better photo with the Canon 650D. Would you agree with that? The shocking difference was not caused by either camera, but the photographer behind the cameras."

And then you wrote "I really don't agree".

I was referring to the DSLR camera photo. You also couldn't have taken a better picture than the one shown here with a DSLR camera (for a similar scene)? I know a lot of people could for those that understand how to properly use these cameras.

Digirame wrote:

Let's try this one more time. This is what I wrote to the OP (original poster):

"I think you could have taken a better photo with the Canon 650D. Would you agree with that? The shocking difference was not caused by either camera, but the photographer behind the cameras."

And then you wrote "I really don't agree".

I was referring to the DSLR camera photo. You also couldn't have taken a better picture than the one shown here with a DSLR camera (for a similar scene)? I know a lot of people could for those that understand how to properly use these cameras.

Your totally right..

DSLR, tripod, F11-F22 depending on hyperfocal distance, expose for highlights, pull shadows in PP. Or do what an iphone does and shoot multiple images and HDR process. Big pixels, low noise, more DR... much better photo!

Digirame wrote:

I think you could have taken a better photo with the Canon 650D. Would you agree with that? The shocking difference was not caused by either camera, but the photographer behind the cameras.

Not true. I have tested the phone against the DSLR in a variety of situations and the phone generally comes out on top, although not with such shocking difference. This particular scene had a huge dynamic range and I've learnt from the comments here that the phone used HDR processing while I did not turn on HDR on my DSLR. So it can be said to be not a very fair test.

You are absolutely right. If someone takes the time with a DSLR and has sufficient skill, they should be able to get better photos than the phone. But too many travellers lug around an entry level DSLRs like the Canon 650D thinking it will give them better pictures simply by pointing and shooting. A high quality phone camera now does the job just as well if not better.

There is indeed a tendency for laymen to correlate the skill of a commercial photographer with the size of their camera. Under no circumstances should a wedding photographer turn up with just an iPhone!

To be exact, yes, the way people use a phone cam vs they way many use a DSLR, they do get better results  'straight out of cam photos)' with their phone. The DSLR can always get a 'better picture' (less noise, more dynamic range, depth of field control), but it has to be used right.

Clara,

Yes, it was not a very fair test.

I don't take pictures with a phone, but any time I'm with people who do take pictures with phones of the same things, my DSLR photos are always better. They tell me that with a smile, for that is typically what they would expect. I make an effort to get the right exposure with good settings (as best as I can), so that I have minimal post processing to do later. I have probably shown over two thousand pictures on this forum. I couldn't imagine taking a photo as bad as the one you took with the Canon (T4i) 650D camera and then showing it here as part of a test. I would have deleted it immediately for I know I could have done better. Except in rare occasions, if the scene is blown out or blurry, I don't want to even load it on to the computer. It's just a waste of space. I don't have the time nor want to have the time trying to fix it.

There are people who do create nice HDR photos from their DSLR cameras. You might want to try it, if a lot of your photos require it.

photosen wrote:

Your unthinking phone is better than you with a DSLR, I would take up knitting.

Moderator, this is a sexist reply.

I posted the same observations about smartphones in the EOS-M forum.  The fact is, the superior computational photo processing abilities of phones are indeed creating better out-of-camera results in a lot of situations.  Obviously a dSLR provides a better tool for general photography with more effort.  But the camera makers really need to up their game and adopt the techniques that Google and Apple are employing. A phones ability to take a rapid sequence of photos and then to average out the noise is simply awesome.

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The best bokeh goes unnoticed, grasshopper.

The only thing is, I don't think DSLR's are designed or meant to be heavy jpeg processing machines.

Ron777 wrote:

The only thing is, I don't think DSLR's are designed or meant to be heavy jpeg processing machines.

... or have the shutter ability to do so.  The electronic shutters in smart phones makes this technology possible where mechanical shutters are too slow to get the same results.

True also.

Smart phones are setup to 'point and shoot', DSLR's are for photographers.

Take a phone image and a properly exposed DSLR image into PS or Lightroom and work with them, it's seen right away which has the leeway to process and which has the best pixels.  And my big thing is DOF control, especially with subjects (flowers, people, pets, etc.), nothing worse to me than a flower or a person's photo with 200 feet of 'in focus' background instead of beautiful colorful bokeh like a fast lens on a DSLR can do.

The problem is that people like us are few and far between.  Most people find a smart phone's image quality just fine and rightfully so for what they use their photos for.  We live in a world where instant gratification rules and that is one thing a smart phone delivers in spades.

MikeJ9116 wrote:

The problem is that people like us are few and far between. Most people find a smart phone's image quality just fine and rightfully so for what they use their photos for. We live in a world where instant gratification rules and that is one thing a smart phone delivers in spades.

Very true, and I guess each to his own!

Like I compared way earlier in the thread, it's like some who can't or don't want to learn to create/cook a meal, find a frozen premade dinner better than what they can make in the kitchen, so for them, the frozen dinner is better. But for those who enjoy making and learning to make REALLY good meals, preparing and creating a meal yields far superior food then any frozen premade meal ever could.

I use that analogy as it actually rings true for me. Many years ago, me and my wife would go out to dinner for 'good food', a homemade burger, or steak was 'good' but not as good as a restaurant. That bugged me, so over the years I learned how to make foods that are way better than any restaurant we ever went to. I grind my own meat for burgers, chili, tacos, I can make a steak that is way better than a steakhouse, etc.

With photography, learning to use a DSLR, (lens choice, aperture, exposure, comp), and how to process it after can always beat any image my iphone might take and process 'its way'.

Plus, phones take the artistry out of the equation. 2 people with iphones take the same photo, the photos look the same. It's Apple's version of your picture. But, two people with DSLR's take the same photo in raw and process it, now you have 2 different renderings that reflect the photographers feelings, emphasis, mood, etc. It becomes 'art'. Just like people who carve, do wood working, make their own clothes, etc.

Just took these, cropped DSLR just to try and match comp with iphone

Look at full size with 100% Loupe view also

Canon SL1

Iphone

Canon SL1

Iphone