Hi everyone!
I am
@KeBlam and I’m here to discuss how blurry (or not) have the lines between Smartphone Cameras and a DSLR become. Before we debate whether or not photos taken from a smartphone camera will ever reach the level of a DSLR, allow me to present my piece!
OEMs have been making major strides when it comes to smartphone photography. By taking a software approach, computational photography has brought many new capabilities, allowing amateurs to produce photographs rivaling the quality of professional photographers. Computational has allowed the software to do much of the heavy-lifting, allowing for an unparalleled photography experience in the hands of users.
Computational photography allows for new experiences such as digital panoramas, high-dynamic-range processing or HDR, light field cameras (which allows one to capture 3D images), Electronic Image Stabilization, and amazing digital zoom capabilities. As one can tell, computational photography opens the doors for a whole new world of photography that makes photography fun and accessible for all by lowering the cost of hardware and focusing more on software. A simple example would be buying a wide-angle lens for a couple hundred dollars when there’s a built-in wide-angle on the OnePlus 8 Pro!
Here, I will compare two of my favorite (and dearest) pieces of tech: OnePlus 8 Pro and the Sony A7RIII equipped with a Tamron 28-75mm.
To start, the 8 Pro is equipped with a 48 MP Main Camera f/2.2, a 48 MP Ultra Wide Angle lens with 120º field of view, 8 MP Hybrid Zoom (up to 30x Digital Zoom) and a 5 MP Color Filter Camera. For a price of $899 to $999, you can get 4 different lenses for multiple purposes (though you’re probably not going to use the color filter one!).
On the other side, the Sony A7RIII sports a 42.4 MP sensor and my Tamron 28-75mm has an aperture of f/2.8. While it has a hefty price tag in the beginning, the price has since dropped from 2017! And if you’re the type of person who likes the versatility but doesn’t have the money, it's best to save up a couple hundred or even thousands for multiple lenses, or else, stick to the smartphone for now. (Or in my case, get one lens that's great for multiple occasions!)
Let’s compare a few photos shall we?
![[IMG]](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/fEwrfaXEl-if_drHiD9k4T6tTuA8Cu3evcHiAOX_N9GSAK90OfGROaOBFm7KwDEPX6nE2vETnnuPZUFOc_M5Dw04gXQYmyO4EtDavBHFAARDn_EG6fx2FsbXPVjaY2y1x2mEX8L4)
![[IMG]](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WMgrIdCRS460WuyHe2vRRCYoHZmWV2ubw-aMaodAv25HgeFNgLNE3o5qQ4k47wJc_BLIuEXYAa0d01ywRSVqIXgAI0K9xa4iNuOqCjBQ8ftLrREc6sjg5tzQO90XzFAeybHpBqlX)
![[IMG]](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/omxnkOt70DxreJT34Z2Vx-kNf3c5RbUFwzi23Rc7vugvckYhXaYzomoYar_YFfmt2ZH6sP1QMXAm8DZT3_qdHEudeptf85dD0Z6DCM5zoxQuVDUsnMuaQwDS5EH2BW-AjriSC3o6)
Feel free to guess which device took which!
If you guessed that the DSLR took the first: top, second: bottom, third: top, you're absolutely correct!
Smartphone photography has came a long way. As you can tell in the first example, the OnePlus 8 Pro offers a wide-range of colors and amazing exposure throughout the whole photo. While on the DSLR side (top photo), the trees can get slightly dark, but the colors are a lot closer to the real-world colors.
Whereas in the mouse example, you can see that the photo taken by the smartphone (8 Pro) is slightly distorted but provides a much sharper purple than the DSLR.
Lastly, if you don't play League of Legends, this creature is called a Poro! The image on the bottom is much brighter, while the image on the top (DSLR) is much darker and would take quite a bit of editing before getting a great photo!
In terms of price, the OnePlus 8 Pro seems like a steal now! You can take amazing photos and have 4 amazing lenses. While for the DSLR, you have more features, controls, and options, but that comes at a massive price. Computational photography has made photography, which once used to be an expensive luxury, is now a lot more accessible to various individuals!
So, what's your take? Can smartphone cameras ever reach a point where the photos they take are indistinguishable from one taken with a DSLR? Let us know your thoughts.
Thank you for reading!
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