Comparing DSLR and iPhone for bird photography

Barrow's goldeneye shot last year (left) and this year (right) in the same place with different cameras.

There is much to be said about the capabilities of cell phone cameras; their popularity certainly supports the idea that they are both convenient and effective.  However, they cannot match DSLR and mirrorless cameras in a few areas.  These include high ISO exposures, exposures with flash, and long lens shots that you may find in sports and wildlife photography.

My sport-shooting days are over as my children are grown, but I still do a lot of wildlife photography (if you look at my blog history, you will see what I mean).   Last year I got a great shot of a Barrow's goldeneye duck (click here to see the post).  This year I saw another male in the same pond and it was about in the same position.  I took out my iPhone 15 Pro and zoomed in to its maximum magnification at 15x.  Although it looked OK when viewed as a thumbnail, it was lacking details and the same colour sheen found in last year's shot.

There are a few reasons for this, most of them involve the differences between the two cameras.  I will explore them below.

  • The large sensor allows for clearer images (less noise) for the DSLR I used.  The ISO was 100 for the shot while the iPhone used an ISO of 25.  The low aperture allowed lots of light in the camera and so a very low ISO was possible.  Smartphones use notoriously small sensors that function best in good lighting and struggle at higher ISO values.
  • The DSLR shot was done in RAW format which meant no artifacts while the cell phone shot was done as a jpeg.  I could have switched to HVIF format (no compression artifacts) or used the RAW format available to me for the Pro series.
  • The D500 I used has a 20 mp sensor while the cell phone produces a 12 mp image.  Now, it is possible to create a 48 mp image from the iPhone, but only on the 1x camera.  The smaller image means less ability to crop and still retain details.
  • You can buy telephoto add-on lenses for cell phone cameras, but they do not speak to the quality, speed, and accuracy that a good DSLR lens does.  Of course, they also don't cost thousands of dollars.  I have used other peripheral lenses for smartphones, but have not actually used a telephoto, so I can't speak from experience.
I do use my smart phone camera for certain shots and find it does a very good job.  It does not match the capacity of DSLR or mirrorless equipment in certain areas, although I am certain someone is working on that.  I imagine I will eventually be more impressed by their ability.  But not today.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harjit Bahia - Science teacher and colleague from Garibaldi died August 2, 2024

Image
You will be missed Mr. Bahia.  You made a difference and we are sad you are gone. I keep in loose contact with my fellow retired teachers from Garibaldi Secondary School.  I talked with my long-time friend, Mike Lynch, today, and discovered that Hargit died over the summer.  Unbeknownst to him, he had an underlying heart condition and passed away after working out on his treadmill.  The date was August 2, 2024. I was shocked to hear this.  He was only 49 years old, turning 50 some 3 months later.  It was a shock to everyone, for he was loved by all who knew him.  As a teacher, Mr. Bahia was kind and fun.  He contributed to students in many ways and was always available to help those in need.   For myself, I knew him as a fellow science teacher and taught in the adjoining room to him.  He was always available to help, share ideas, and work together.  Easy to approach, I found that I could talk to him about anything and appreciat...
Read more

The passing of a generation

Image
Kathryn's mom and dad with our children, Josh and Leanne. A generation, for North America, tends to be between 20 and 30 years.  During that time a couple will give birth and raise children to see them repeat the pattern as they themselves have done.  Each generation has its own set of standards, values, and ideals based upon their experiences and culture, and some of that is passed down to their offspring.  What changes are the life experiences of the following generation and the new customs and ideals that are blended together as a couple becomes a family. Kathryn's mom passed away a few days ago, she was predeceased by her husband several years ago.  Both of them were the grandparents of my children, the mother and father of my wife, Kathryn.  It was my pleasure to know them and to love them as my own, for to me they were Mom and Dad.  And they were there to welcome my children into the world just as my children were with them in spirit when they left it...
Read more

I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

Image
The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual. The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.   The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.   In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there ...
Read more