photographylife

AI-Free Since 2008

REVIEWS LEARN ABOUT US FORUM SEARCH

HOME → CAMERAS AND LENSES LEARN

• Beginner Photography
Are Smartphones Threatening the Camera Industry? • Landscape Photography
• Wildlife Photography
BY NASIM MANSUROV | 79 COMMENTS
LAST UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 17, 2019 • Portraiture
• Post-Processing
• Advanced Tutorials
As smartphones are getting better at capturing images year after year, one might
be wondering when, if at all, we will see smartphones directly competing with
larger cameras. Are we at the point, or perhaps might be soon approaching one,
where it won’t make any sense to buy a high-end DSLR or a mirrorless camera to Make Every Hour
capture professional-looking images? Now that smartphones like the iPhone 7
Plus are shipping with dual lenses (one standard wide-angle lens and one
Golden Hour
telephoto lens to capture portraits) and some manufacturers are even pushing
larger sensors to specifically appeal the photography market, it is no wonder why
some photographers might think that a smartphone is all they need to get
professional results. During the past few years, I have been using a variety of
different cameras with sensors ranging from tiny 1/3″ all the way to medium
format, so I thought it would be a good idea to write an article about this
particular topic, with some images to represent different cameras and sensor
sizes.
Join Photography Life’s
Member Page Here

REVIEWS

• Camera Reviews
• Lens Reviews
• Other Gear Reviews
• Best Cameras and Lenses

PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS

PHOTOGRAPHY LANDSCAPE
BASICS PHOTOGRAPHY

Captured with my iPhone 6 Plus, ISO 32, 1/950, f/2.2

Let’s take a look at what is and what isn’t possible with small vs large sensor
WILDLIFE MACRO
cameras. PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

1) Do Smartphones Threaten Dedicated Cameras?

As you may already know, pretty much all major manufacturers, including Nikon
and Canon have been reporting decreased camera sales during the past few COMPOSITION & BLACK & WHITE
years. We have written about these trends a few times. My intention is not to CREATIVITY PHOTOGRAPHY

continue the debates, but rather to present my thoughts, accompanied by some

pictures on the current potential of the smartphone industry.

NIGHT SKY PORTRAIT

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEOS

UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 80, 1/15, f/2.2

First of all, I strongly believe that smartphones are indeed impacting the overall
camera industry and sales. The evidence of this change is found in the point-
and-shoot market, which has been rapidly declining during the past few years.
And for a good reason – why would anyone want to buy a point-and-shoot
camera with a tiny sensor, when smartphones already have pretty decent image
quality that is good enough for most people? Having been traveling extensively SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL

during the past couple of years, I see more people taking pictures with their If you like our content, you can subscribe to our

phones and less with point-and-shoot cameras. With a smartphone, one has the newsletter to receive weekly email updates using
the link below:
option to take a picture and instantly share it with the world, so the question of
image quality becomes somewhat secondary in nature. Subscribe to our newsletter

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/250, f/1.8

And with a plethora of options for achieving a fairly good image using various
apps and filters, there is a sense of instant gratification, which also becomes a
key part of the process. If an image looks good enough to be shown on Facebook
or Instagram, why bother with other options? That’s where simplicity, ease of use
and time savings kick in as well. Knowing this, smartphone manufacturers are
also heavily pushing more and more features to make people want to buy their
products, instead of spending money on dedicated cameras. From dumb point-
and-shoot devices, smartphones are transitioning into highly capable image and
video recording devices, with sophisticated and fairly accurate autofocus
systems, improved image quality and lots of options to capture complex scenes
using HDR and other technologies.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 40, 1/15, f/2.2

And the latest smartphone models are now even offering options for RAW image
capture, which opens up post-processing opportunities to yield even higher
image quality. Without a doubt, smartphones are playing a key role in eradicating
the low-end point-and-shoot markets, where big camera manufacturers used to
dominate in the past. And let’s not forget that those are also the markets that
would yield high profit margins…

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/60, f/1.8

However, all this does not mean that the smartphone industry is capable of
competing against large sensor cameras (and by “large sensor”, I mean relative
to smartphones, with 1″ diagonal sensor and larger), at least at the moment. We
have seen a few attempts at creating large sensor smartphones, but those
attempts pretty much failed overall – an average consumer does not know or
care about sensor size and various camera specifications. Megapixels still sell,
and as long as the number is larger than 8 MP, the size of the sensor is not
something most consumers would even look at. An average smartphone user
does not know how the size of the physical sensor would correlate to things like
pixel pitch, resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance, or how the
physical size and optical construction of a camera lens could influence the look
of their images.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 50, 1/120, f/2.2

We as photographers, on the other hand, are much more well-versed in this area
and we understand what differentiates a high-quality image from a dedicated
large sensor camera, compared to results obtained from a smartphone. Most of
us understand the limitations of smaller vs larger camera systems and we found
our ways to work around those limitations. This means that when it comes to
choosing camera gear, we are certainly going to factor in all those features and
specifications. An average consumer would not be able to understand our
considerations without proper education first, which is not something that is
going to happen.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/120, f/1.8

Even if camera manufacturers attempted to educate the general population, their

marketing efforts would fail against the marketing budgets of much larger
smartphone manufacturers. If Apple shows that the iPhone is good enough to
capture beautiful images through those massive billboard-size “Shot on iPhone”
campaigns, why wouldn’t people believe? Such powerful marketing works and
we know it does, because the world has already purchased a billion of those
iPhones and the iPhone constantly dominates top photography charts in terms of
the most used camera capture tool.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 80, 1/4, f/2.2

So camera manufacturers now have a tough dilemma – unless the world is

educated about things like sensor size and optics, they will continue to lose out
in selling their lower-end offerings to that same crowd. However, I personally do
not anticipate any significant changes in large sensor camera sales to the
photography community, which is educated enough to understand the above-
mentioned terminologies.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/40, f/1.8

During the presentation of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple specifically
pointed out that the iPhone would not be able to match the quality of a DSLR,
even with all the fancy technology the company integrated into the new model,
including a telephoto lens for portraiture.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/1800, f/2.2

2) Sensor Size Matters

The question of sensor size comes up all the time, but at the end of the day, how
important is it? We have all seen our share of photographers “down-scaling” their
equipment to go for smaller and more compact camera systems, claiming that
those cameras are “good enough” for their needs. Indeed, even 1″ camera
sensors are capable of yielding superb results when compared to what we have
had a few years back. If one determines what their target resolution and
acceptable high ISO working range for their particular work is, along with the
relevant lenses and accessories, perhaps moving down to a smaller system
would make sense for them.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/320, f/1.8

However, it is important to keep in mind that the technology does not necessarily
move slower with larger sensors and camera systems. For those who need better
overall image quality, larger camera systems have a lot more to offer. And the
best part of it – larger camera systems are not out of reach in terms of
affordability anymore. A full-frame camera can be bought for around $1,500 and
even lower in the used market, and we are now starting to see medium format
cameras under $8K. A medium format digital camera system used to be reserved
only for those with deep pockets and it looks like medium format will soon start
hitting the mainstream market, just like full-frame did a while ago.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/2000, f/2.2

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, f/1.8

Sensor size does matter, because a larger surface area allows for larger pixels,
which yield better high ISO performance. At the same time, more pixels can be
crammed into a larger sensor, yielding more total resolution, which can translate
to more details, especially with solid lens offerings that are capable of resolving
that much detail. Larger sensors generally tend to have more dynamic range,
better colors and better subject isolation capabilities due to differences in depth
of field (read more about this in an excellent article on sensor size, perspective
and depth of field by Francois Malan). So bigger will always be better when it
comes to overall image quality.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 150, 1/30, f/1.8

However, how much image quality does one truly need? Now that’s an important
question, because it all depends on the intention of the photographer and the
end result / output. If I were to only shoot images for this website, I would
certainly downsize my gear – probably to a camera with a sensor as small as 1″. I
have been quite happy with the results I get from the Sony RX100 IV, for example,
which is a pretty impressive camera:

DSC-RX100M4 + 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 @ 10.15mm, ISO 200, 1/13, f/11.0

DSC-RX100M4 + 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 @ 16.17mm, ISO 125, 1/160, f/5.6

You have already seen Thomas Stirr do some incredible work with his Nikon 1
cameras and Sharif has numerously demonstrated that the Micro Four Thirds
system can yield superb results, even when capturing fast action.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/15, f/2.2

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/15, f/1.8

Having shot with both systems, I would not hesitate to use either one – they are
both very capable in their own ways. And if I wanted to go a bit larger, I would
stop with a solid APS-C camera system like the Fuji X, which shines in many
areas for me, especially when it comes to lenses. But I still choose to shoot with
a full-frame system. Why? Because I want to have options. I spend countless
hours visiting and scouting various locations. I put a lot of energy, time and
money for traveling the world. If I came back with a winning shot, I would like to
be able to showcase the image in its full glory, and not just in a web-sized version
that I share with our readers.