They Take Great Pics, But Can Smartphones Replace DSLRs Yet?

While we agree the photography abilities of smartphone camera have grown by leaps and bounds, to say that smartphone cameras have rendered professional cameras or DSLRs useless would be exaggeration. 

By Akriti Rana and Nimish Dubey

Smartphones have become those versatile devices that have literally eliminated the need of carrying multiple gadgets. A smartphone is this one pocket-sized digital gadget that can do it all — it can be your computer, your gaming console, your camera, your music player and more. Just a tap and you can literally access hundreds of features and functions on this handheld device. 

The smartphone horizon is expanding in every dimension possible, but if there is one area where smartphones are becoming increasingly impressive it is cameras. Cameras on phones are becoming more and more powerful.

Phone cameras: from add-ons to USPs

Back in the day, smartphone cameras were considered as an add-on feature which came in handy when one did not have access to a proper camera. You could not expect much from a photograph taken by a phone’s camera. The results used to be noisy, blurry and inaccurate in terms of colours. 

But as time passed, smartphone cameras have gone from an add-on feature to a full fledged USP and for good reason. Cameras on smartphones are now not only capable of capturing professional level pictures but even videos and are equipped with editing features that otherwise had to be performed on computers. Hence, it comes as no surprise that many phone manufacturers claim that their devices can even give full-fledged DSLRs a run for their money. 

DSLR killers? Not yet!

While we agree that the photography abilities of the smartphone camera have grown by leaps and bounds, to say that smartphone cameras have rendered professional cameras or DSLRs useless would be a slight exaggeration. 

Yes, the multiple lenses on smartphones can be quite resourceful, especially the telephotos and the ultrawides as compared to a DSLR, where you have to have additional lenses. The user interface of smartphone cameras is much simpler than that of a professional camera, which can confuse even some pros, let alone beginners.  But there are still areas where smartphone cameras just cannot match DSLRs. 

Big sensors beat big megapixel counts

Smartphone brands may keep raving about the number of megapixels they can pack into our phones but if it is quality that your heart seeks, then perhaps going the DSLR way would be the right choice for you. This is because of one simple thing – big sensors. Phone makers might squeeze in more than a hundred megapixels on our smartphones but because the space inside a smartphone is limited and it has to do more than just photography, the camera sensors are generally smaller. The significantly larger sensors on DLSRs  capture more light, detail and more accurate colour as compared to the small sensors on smartphones which results in better image quality.  This results in photograph quality which is often manifold better than that of a smartphone.

With immensely better image and video quality up its sleeve, photographs or videos taken by a DSLR also makes them much better options for printing and broadcasting. This is because DSLRs capture much more detail and the pictures taken by these professional cameras do not get pixelated easily even when printed on a large surface. The same cannot be said about pictures taken by a smartphone.

One of the many features that smartphone brands keep going gaga over is low light photography prowess,  but even that is a department where DSLRs beat smartphones quite comfortably. Smartphones might use artificial intelligence, OIS or some devices might even allow you to tweak settings to deliver good low light pictures but the large sensors on DSLRs allow them to capture more light than the sensor of a phone would. To top this, DSLRs also come with superior flashes (Xenon flashes) that can light up settings in a more natural way. 

Some phones now come with the feature that allows you to capture images in RAW format but if you want more information in your RAW images, you ought to use a DSLR as they simply capture more detail and less noise, again thanks to those big sensors. 

More lense options to play with

Another area where DSLRs have an edge over smartphones is in the case of modifications. Yes, smartphones come with cameras that can be used in different circumstances but the abilities of those lenses are often limited. This is because most smartphones have different sized sensors for different cameras that come on a single smartphone - the main camera generally has the biggest sensor, while secondary cameras (like ultrawide, telephoto, depth and macro) often have smaller sensors. This limits their ability to capture more information, colour and detail.

With a DSLR, the story changes completely. You can have one DSLR body with a single, large sensor, that can be coupled with multiple lenses.  You can pretty much use that sensor with a lens of your choice to capture any kind of setting. The quality of the image is unlikely to be compromised because you are using the same large sensor with different lenses. You just have to pop one lens out and put another one on and you are all set to go. 

DSLRs ain't perfect, but they ain't dead

That said, it is not all hakuna matata for DSRLs either. There are areas where smartphones have the upper hand. DSLRs may come with big sensors but they come with big real estate, making them big and bulky, which makes them difficult to carry and use as opposed to a smartphone which can simply be carried in a pocket. 

Unlike a smartphone which is a one time investment and is a usually more affordable option, DSLRs require deep pockets, not only to be carried but to be owned as well. This is because you have to invest not only in the body of the camera, but also purchase lenses for it separately. The lenses can cost a fair deal as well, making DSLR photography a rather expensive affair. 

And as we mentioned before, DSLRs come with really complicated UIs which can be a pain to learn and get used to. To top that, transferring files from a camera to another device can also be a hassle  as compared to transferring files from a smartphone. You can just click a picture on a phone and upload it on your social media, something you cannot do easily with a DSLR. 

Smartphones also come with some basic (some with advanced) editing options which are not present on a professional camera. With DSLRs, images and videos need to be transferred to another device and then have to be edited. 

So is it time to retire your DSLR yet? 

Well, if you look closely enough there is no real debate here. Which device suits you the best depends on your required results and the resources you have at your disposal. If you have a bigger budget and need high-quality pictures then a smartphone’s camera will not be able to deliver what you are looking for. But if your budget is low and you just want to take social media worthy pictures and videos, then sticking to a smartphone would be a good option for you. Smartphones might be trying to dig their graves, but DSLRs are not ready to be buried just yet.