"Smartphone Cameras Will Be Superior to SLRs by 2024" - Sony

[gourav]

What appears better to the eyes, and closer to what our eyes see - is the one that will be preferred.
You are right about using algorithm on cameras, but who is gonna sit on desktop and do stuff these days?

Yes, that's true. But that doesn't make the camera itself better. And a person who understands photography can take advantage of this and bring out the difference using a DSLR.

Last year during my engagement, due to covid related issues, we couldn't manage a photographer. So I handed over my DSLR to my cousin and asked her to take a few pictures. We were sitting on a sofa which had a textured single colour cover. Most phone camera photos of the sofa made it look like a plain fabric, making the sofa look very bad. But the DSLR picture easily captured the texture and the sofa looked much better. And this was when:

1. The camera was in the hand of someone who had held a DSLR for the first time that day (with about 10 minutes of training from me, a beginner)
2. There was no tripod
3. The lighting was improper
4. It's an entry level DSLR (Canon 200D)
5. With one the cheapest lenses from Canon's stable (Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Lens)

It's an outright insult to the field of photography to say phone cameras are similar/superior to DSLR. Just because people prefer phone camera photos, having been bombarded with them over the last 10 years, doesn't mean they are superior.

 

[dafreaking]

Yes, but please check if the DSLR sensors have really improved so significantly from 2012 till now?

Yes they have. CONSIDERABLY. Having said that Phone Sensors have also improved dramatically in the same time period. In fact the rate of improvement is quite remarkable given the size/are they have to work with.

 

[t3chg33k]

It is ridiculous to believe that phone cameras will match up to SLR with respect to the sensor and glass. It is simply physically impossible.

Computational photography will continue to evolve and make amateur photos look better in general, but that is not the same as how you would be able to frame photos with extensive ISO, aperture and shutter settings with different lenses, combined with a large sensor.

 

[technofast]

Any mobile camera that can take astro photography clearly? Need a wide apperature and ISO with 3200 for some clarity. The best Iphone 11 captured was the Orion Nebula which was decent but not even close to any beginners SLR.

 

[ssslayer]

Yes they have. CONSIDERABLY. Having said that Phone Sensors have also improved dramatically in the same time period. In fact the rate of improvement is quite remarkable given the size/are they have to work with.

Samsung NX 1000 vs Nikon D3400 vs Canon EOS 2000D | DXOMARK

www.dxomark.com

I can see less than one stop improvement in sensor's abilities in low light.

 

[blr_p]

Agreed about the flash and using flash curtain for creative effects, but it can be done on mobile phone also, not sure if any phone comes with it.

No, it cannot be done. LED flashes are much slower than xenon and are no match

When i mention xenon i'm referring to freezing motion. Its how fast the flash can fire that freezes motion. This is programmable in dedicated flashes and multiple units can be synchroised to fire at the same time.

 

[chiron]

I'd like to go the other direction and put the improved algorithms, sensors and processors in into the p&s cameras, MFT, bridge and SLR's. However, Sony and Samsung are the biggest sensor makers by far. So, it might in fact be a business decision on their preferring to focus on phones, coz they are the far bigger business into which they want to put R&D and mfg resources in them instead.

Sigma's foveon sensors produce images which give incredible detail, but through hours of clunky processing, fiddling on the few photos where all things turned our right. Therefore it never managed to be commercially sucessful.

Obviously, vast majority of people would prefer the convenience of a slim phone that can produce good enough looking photos reliably for viewing on the phones or monitors and I guess smartphones these days are good enough to def hide noise and make it look good.

 

[blr_p]

I'd like to go the other direction and put the improved algorithms, sensors and processors in into the p&s cameras, MFT, bridge and SLR's. However, Sony and Samsung are the biggest sensor makers by far. So, it might in fact be a business decision on their preferring to focus on phones, coz they are the far bigger business into which they want to put R&D and mfg resources in them instead.

They could add this sort of 'auto' effects into dedicated cameras but it would require processing power that isn't necessary for the bulk of the users who prefer manual

I also expect pushback from purists who just don't like, even hate how unnatural HDR looks and that this auto business does things they do not understand or can fix when it goes wrong.

 

[asingh]

What a surprising article.

 

[dafreaking]

Samsung NX 1000 vs Nikon D3400 vs Canon EOS 2000D | DXOMARK

www.dxomark.com

I can see less than one stop improvement in sensor's abilities in low light.

LOL... you've used to 2 cmeras that didn't upgrade their sensors for ages. Anyhow. If you are so convinced about smartphones being "better" or whatever.. Enjoy...

 

[chiron]

They could add this sort of 'auto' effects into dedicated cameras but it would require processing power that isn't necessary for the bulk of the users who prefer manual

I also expect pushback from purists who just don't like, even hate how unnatural HDR looks and that this auto business does things they do not understand or can fix when it goes wrong.

When I go on treks and the sort, you want to capture landscapes, the folk with you, max zoom for birding, protection from dust and rain and humidity, low light. If the tiny lenses in phones work then tech is already there for incredible photos from a dedicated camera.

I also expect pushback from purists who just don't like, even hate how unnatural HDR looks and that this auto business does things they do not understand or can fix when it goes wrong.

Actually, this discussion is sort of similar to manual vs auto transmission in vehicles

 

[blr_p]

Any mobile camera that can take astro photography clearly? Need a wide apperature and ISO with 3200 for some clarity. The best Iphone 11 captured was the Orion Nebula which was decent but not even close to any beginners SLR.

Andromeda 4 U

https://imgur.com/a/CpTGG60

When I go on treks and the sort, you want to capture landscapes, the folk with you, max zoom for birding, protection from dust and rain and humidity, low light. If the tiny lenses in phones work then tech is already there for incredible photos from a dedicated camera.

Sometimes all you have is a phone

https://imgur.com/a/835RVlh

Pretty good tracking there and never lost focus

 

[shakesbeer]

Why not. It wouldn't be a surprise if phones with custom camera lenses start releasing in next 2-3 years.

 

[PoBoy]

Nikon will reportedly stop making DSLRs to focus on mirrorless cameras

Nikon will reportedly discontinue production of its SLR cameras as per Nikkei Asia. Increasing competition from smartphone cameras continues to shift the camera industry. The Japanese camera maker will be focusing on new mirrorless camera models and the Nikon D6 DSLR will be Nikon’s last SLR....

“Nikon’s cameras have been losing out to smartphones, which increasingly feature powerful cameras,” writes Nikkei. “Nikon aims to beat them by offering products with more unique features.” Canon is also expected to stop making SLR cameras within the next few years.

 

[Ramadhir Singh]

Nikon will reportedly stop making DSLRs to focus on mirrorless cameras

they are struggling in their camera business for quite long time.
if they stop DSLR its their business need.

It is ridiculous to believe that phone cameras will match up to SLR with respect to the sensor and glass. It is simply physically impossible.

100% agree. digital cant match the classic analogue quality. these mirrosless does so much post-processing to the image, skewed from natural but that what impress this tik-tok generation.

after spending a bomb in sony mirrorless , i still dot see it matching up to 5ys old Canon lineups, which cost way way less.

 

[salian]

Reminds me of folks who kept saying "this will be the year of Linux for the desktop" every year.

Ultimately consumers want slimmer phones and physics wants larger sensors with longer lenses, and these demands cannot reconcile.

Cameras on smartphones are great at what they do, and often the best camera is the one which you will carry with you regularly and use often, but calling smartphone cameras "superior" to dedicated cameras seems a bit of a stretch even if it is Sony themselves saying this.

 

[Stronk]

these mirrosless does so much post-processing to the image, skewed from natural but that what impress this tik-tok generation.

I totally disagree regarding the post-processing of images. I don't have a Sony but a Fujifilm X-T20 and by default it takes very neutral and balanced photos, even on auto mode. Sure, you can mess around with settings to tune basically everything from saturation to shadows to highlights to graininess, or even edit the RAW photos in-camera, but that is all optional. Maybe try fiddling around with settings? In low-light settings, my smartphone still takes more "Instagram-pleasing" photos (and it's a shitty Vivo V15 Pro), but there is absolutely no detail in the photo. On the other hand, my Fuji takes not-so-pleasing photos but there is so much detail that it can be fixed very easily in post, even with just jpeg files - shooting a photo, transferring JPEG to phone wirelessly and increasing birghtness + exposure and playing around with saturation and contrast give me infinitely better photos than an instant smartphone photo, and takes like 4mins or so extra and it's so worth it.

 

[vyral_143]

This is kinda clickbait article. If you click photos on phones from current gen which have great help of AI/ML for processing pictures to look better, AND view them on a phone; they will look great for most of people. But put them on monitor and do pixel-pip, one can notice lack of details. Since set of people who belong to latter group are in minority, companies can get away with such claims/statements.

Going forward, if camera manufacturers can cram such AI/ML tech and support it with good processor-tech; things can change. However, warmth of reception to such move is debatable.

Having said that, like PnS market is finished with phone cameras; they will continue eating chunk of people on edge from the minority group mentioned above.

Nikon will reportedly stop making DSLRs to focus on mirrorless cameras

This was supposed to happen sooner or later ! Mirrorless is the way forward.