why does it seem my smartphone camera takes better images than a pro dslr?

[D7K]

I’d say that you’re struggling here due to not understanding fully the basics of shooting with the dlsr, I know you say you know the basics but are you putting them into practice when you’re shooting? Have you got any example images? I’d certainly not be shooting anything at 25600, if you’re shooting indoor then yes the light will come into play, are you using a tripod? What is your setup and share a few images with the settings and equipment used and I’m sure we can help out!


Sent from my mobile device because I’m either outside or too lazy to get my MacBook..

okay, so this pic was taken with my iphone 8
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this was taken with a mark 3 5d with the kit lens 24-105mm
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settings are
f 1/50

shutter 1/16

iso-3200

both are lit in front of the window illuminating natural light with my silk curtains covering it.

You have a camera more than capable of outshining an iPhone, - I'm guessing that is not the f stop? but 1/16 is too slow to shoot handheld and get a sharp image and I'd say that's the issue here.

 

[weepete]

You've underexposed in you DSLR shot, there's a colour temperature difference too and you've created a situation where the painting is backlit. Your shutter speed is too slow for handholding and your ISO is higher than it really needs to be.

You are also not taking advantage of where your DSLR will shine. The 5Dmk3 is an extremely capable camera. Phone cameras are pretty much set up so most people can take acceptable shots in most conditions, it's a small sensor with a very fast lens.

So, the first thing you can do is get your camera a stable platform, a tripod is ideal but a table, chair, beanbag or whatever can work as long as it'll keep the camera perfectly still in the shot. the next thing you want to do is put your camera in partial metering mode, select Av mode on the dial and set your ISO to 100. Set the AF/Drive to 2 sec timer. Set up the painting so it faces the window so the light is on the face you want to photograph. Set up your stable platform, set the camera on it and push the button half way to meter and hit the AE lock, focus the camera using the AF and hit the shutter button. Then let go. Your shot should be taken 2 seconds later. The shutter may take a long time to trip, but as long as there's no movement and no vibration it should still be sharp.

That should get you a decent shot

 

[AlanKlein]

The DSLR is underexposing because of the backlight. It's fooling the light sensor in the camera thinking the scene is bright. Also, it probably is also fooling the camera that there's plenty of light slowing the shutter so you get blur. Turn the painting around so the outside light illuminates the painting. You'll then be able to raise the shutter speed and expose properly and reduce blur.

 

[Solarflare]

Easy rule of thumb: the larger the sensor of a camera, the higher are the demands towards the photographer.

A DSLR has a MUCH larger sensor than a smartphone. Thus, to get good images from a DSLR, you really need to know what you're doing. Mirrorless would be exactly the same problem, by the way.

A smartphone on the other hand is designed that you always get "good" images, even if you dont have the fist clue what you're doing.

I would also like to add that before opening this thread, I was expecting the OP to use one of these infamous third party superzooms, like the Tamron 18-270mm. These lenses are so poor that the results are indeed so bad, they are hardly better than a smartphone picture, if not worse.

 

[AlanKlein]

Easy rule of thumb: the larger the sensor of a camera, the higher are the demands towards the photographer.

A DSLR has a MUCH larger sensor than a smartphone. Thus, to get good images from a DSLR, you really need to know what you're doing. Mirrorless would be exactly the same problem, by the way.

A smartphone on the other hand is designed that you always get "good" images, even if you dont have the fist clue what you're doing.

I would also like to add that before opening this thread, I was expecting the OP to use one of these infamous third party superzooms, like the Tamron 18-270mm. These lenses are so poor that the results are indeed so bad, they are hardly better than a smartphone picture, if not worse.

I think a cellphone is much harder to get good shots compared to a P&S. Phones are grainier, especially at night. Harder to hold and aim. Harder to operate. You can enlarge regular camera shots better. They're OK for simple snapshots during the day to pos on the web or for small prints. That's about it.

 

[NGH]

With a shutter speed of 1/16 you are at risk of camera shake, are you using a tripod to take these images? Even so slow shutter speeds can be affected by mirror slap where the action of pressing the shutter can shake the camera enough to blur. Try a locking the mirror up once you have everything framed and using a remote or self timer might help.

Alternatively adding more light would allow for a faster shutter speed.

The phone pictures probably look better because there is processing inside the app that compensates for all of the above.

 

[Solarflare]

I think a cellphone is much harder to get good shots compared to a P&S.

I wasnt talking about P&S so I have no clue why your posting is an answer to mine.

Compact cameras, just like cellphones, are usually designed to be operated by clueless people. Thats why we call them "point and shoot", after all.

Yes they can have larger sensors and thus more reserves than cellphones. Especially current ones do, for obvious reasons.

My posting however was about cellphone (or P&S) vs system camera, or compact cameras with more sophisticated operation and larger sensor, such as the Ricoh GR or the Fujifilm X100.

 

[AlanKlein]

FIrst off, any camera can be a P&S. Just switch to P or A mode. In any case, I understand you were talking about larger cameras. But I thought people might be interested in knowing that small size cameras like the Sony RX100iv are easier to shoot better pictures than a cellphone.

 

[ebyelyakov]

settings are
f 1/50

shutter 1/16

iso-3200

both are lit in front of the window illuminating natural light with my silk curtains covering it.

I an confused a little here with your f-number.

Generally a good rule of thumb is to keep you shutter speed at least equal or above you focal length. In your example, 1/16 is just too low. I do not shoot Canon so cannot say about its stabilisation capabilities, with Sony this rule can be violated halving the SS, but well, lets not go there. Your SS is just too low even if you were shooting at the wider end of your lens, 24mm.

For this image, since a picture is the subject, you want to use the lowest F to allow the most light, your DOF, considering the surface of an image (assuming it is perfectly vertical) shouldn't be a concern.

As someone already mentioned early, your exposure is off due to the backlight, essentially you want to expose to the picture. I guess Mark 3 will allow you o use spot/centre measurement mode?

Besides the focus and blur issues, are you shooting JPEG or RAW? Whilst the iPhone seems to have better colours, only you (and people who saw that painting) can say whether the colours are correct there. Shooting in RAW would allow you to ensure the image represents real colours. iPhone has default algorithms and adjustments done to the final image, so comparing a "developed" JPEG vs a RAW or "less developed" JPEG will generally favour the developed copy.

A quick one on the focusing -- since phones have tiny sensors equipped with minuscule lenses focusing is not an issue -- the hyperfocal (a point after which everything to infinity is in focus) begins at one metre.

If I were to shoot there, I'd keep my SS as low as practicable to avoid any blur, using the lowest F and then compensating with the ISO to achieve the correct exposure, I'd accept minus 1 EV (depending on the situation -- maybe even minus two but unlikely lower than that) pulling the details in post. But underexposing really depends on your camera and how your RAW processor handles your files -- since I have no recent experience with Canon - I dunno. I believe its RAWs 8-bit anyway?