Recently I saw a post in my Instagram-feed from Rafi Saleh a streetart/landscape photographer I really like. He took a picture with his smartphone and edited it mobile. This pic is pretty cool and you can’t really separate it from his Instagram content which is normaly taken with a Sony Alpha 6500.
So, I was wondering whether photographer these days really need a professional camera or are smartphones already at the same level? This is the camera vs smartphone check!
Advantages of a smartphone
Ubiquity and easy workflow
The smartphone is a perfect example of media convergence, it’s an “all-in-one” advice and that makes it interesting. Wherever you are you can take pictures, edit them and upload it to the internet. That’s such a smooth and quick workflow people can follow your pics in realtime.
For editing mobile I can highly recommend VSCO for people with less editing skills and free mobile Lightroom version for people with advanced skills.
Smartphone cameras are getting better
Back in the early days you could count the pixels in the pictures taken with a cell phone camera. Nowadays, the big smartphone companies improving the quality a lot. But don’t be fooled by technical details like a high number of mega pixel, due to their small sensor the smartphones today can’t reach the quality of a camera. Nevertheless, it works for internet and social-media purposes.
Different lens angles
Since Apple, Huawei, Samsung and co. offering smartphones with different lens angles people can easily zoom without cropping their images which has led to quality losses.
Smartphones with the best camera read here.
Shooting RAW-files
It’s even possible to shoot pictures in RAW-files with certain phones and apps. That’s crucial when you want to edit your images in a professional way because RAW-files are not compressed. You will get more information here.
Advantages of a camera
Bokeh/Sensor
In 2019 everyone is talking about depth of field and bokeh. And yes, it is a cool way to shoot beautiful pictures. The depth of field is related to several parameters like aperture, sensor and focal length, but in this case I only focus on the sensor. In professional cameras they use big sensors which also leads to a nice and creamy bokeh.
- APSC-Sensor is 9x bigger as in a smartphone
- Full-Frame Sensor is 21x bigger as in a smartphone
These sizes of sensors will never fit in a smartphone. Therefore, a smartphone camera has to add a fake bokeh to the picture which looks kind of unnatural and not professional.
Zoom/Focal lenses
When you shoot with a camera you can work independently with prime lenses or zoom lenses just like you want to shoot. Lenses are quite important in photography and of course there are really expensive ones on the market but you can also buy them cheap on flea markets or at second hand shops. You can adjust lenses individually and it depends on what you are shooting, for example:
- Architecture and landscape: 15mm – 50mm
- Portraits: 50mm – 85mm
- Animals and sports tele lenses: 80mm – 200mm
Focal lenses have the big advantage that they have a low aperture to get a beautiful bokeh.
Workflow like a pro
Due to the big and bright sensor you can shoot high quality pictures in raw-files which you can edit in Lightroom or any editing program you want. That’s how you can get the best result and best quality out of you image.
Viewfinder
Don’t underestimate the viewfinder on a camera. For me it’s a must to shoot with a viewfinder only then you can determine the light correctly and get the right framing in your image.
Processing
The processing of the body is also really important. As a photographer you need a proper camera-body to hold the camera save in your hand without shaking around to get the framing you want.
To sum it up - camera vs smartphone
When it comes to the advantages of camera vs smartphone it depends on what you want to shoot and how deep you want to go into photography.
For someone who wants to get all the knowledge about shooting beautiful pictures at a high quality level I would recommend to get a digital camera or a DSLR. In these days there are not even expensive cameras for beginners (here you can get an overview of the best cameras for beginners).
But keep in mind to take your camera with you, sometimes it’s hard work and you have to force yourself but trust me it will be worth it.
For people who lose desire quickly and for those who only want to take some snapshots for social-media. I would recommend to stick to your smartphone. You won’t buy a camera and be able to shoot beautiful pictures, it’s a long way to reach the knowledge for how it basically works.
At the end the photographer takes the picture and not the camera or the smartphone. But the camera gives you much more creative opportunities to reach your goal.