iPhone 12 (Pro) vs Mirrorless/DSLR | The limits of smartphone cameras

This is a comparison between the iPhone 12 (Pro) and a Sony mirrorless. I will explain why even in 2021 it might be a good idea to use a bigger camera.

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#iphone12 #iphone12pro #mirrorless

0:00 iPhone 12 (Pro) vs mirrorless or dslr: Intro
2:27 iPhone 12 (Pro) colors vs colors of a mirrorless
4:30 iPhone 12 (Pro) dynamic range vs dynamic range of a mirrorless
5:37 iPhone 12 (Pro) vs dslr/mirrorless: details and sharpness
7:07 Low light performance
8:28 Blurred Background and shallow depth of field
10:22 iPhone 12 (Pro) video vs Mirrorless video quality
11:26 Control, lenses....

[Pavan_Aiyappa]

I'm telling one thing all comparisons and frustration happens when an average Joe buys a mirroless thinking he can just point shoot and have an awesome image and his friends iPhones blows it away and make fun of him and his bulky camera 😅

[gamhacked]

The simplicity and clarity with which you explain things, like when you explain how digital image sharpening is done… Masterful! If only more people could inform so coolly, objectively, concisely… Your video is laden with excellent observations yet it never becomes tiresome. Well done!

[anatolipolyakov]

I recently had a discussion with one of my friends about this topic. Him being a phone user, myself being a phone user as well as a Sony A7Riii user. The sensor size and ability to use a fast lens with variable aperture makes things look a lot more natural.

[johnblaze]

I’d love it if mirrorless cameras were also assisted a bit by some sort of AI. Not by default but as a mode.

[howardhughes]

I own a Sony A7C. iPhones are great if you need a quick photo/video or if you don’t have a camera available. Cameras are just tools. I remember those digital rev competitions where pros used underpowered cameras. If you know composition, some tricks to add effects to a fixed lens, and editing in post, you can do a lot with a bad camera or limited camera like a phone.

But for headshots, certain zoom effects, astrophotography, and an endless list of situations, a camera with full manual adjustments and a good lens will always be better than any phone.

The only advantage of a phone is that it’s faster and you’re more likely to have one with you all the time.

[thealphauser]

What I don't like on cameras starting with 11 or 12, is that the post0-processing AI/HDR is so intense, that it makes the photo(most of the times) look cheap, and crispy. Shooting in Xs vs 12, I'd choose the Xs for looking more realistic. My cat's fur looks like it was oil painted. And yes, the AI tries to even out the light in the subject, even though it's not meant to be that way. And there's no way to turn it off.

[garyr]

The main reason I use a Mirrorless Camera is because I can use old vintage lenses that produce a certain look that you won't get on an iPhone, I'm not saying that apple couldn't produce a similar look, but they simply wouldn't because its not mainstream. We live in an age of incredible choices, a camera I just a tool, and no matter if its an iPhone, Mirrorless, dslr, or plate camera, none of them can make you a great photographer.

[Drostvideo]

Thx for pointing out the differences. I agree there is more saturation in iPhone Pro photos than mirrorless however most won't see the difference. The main benefit of the iPhone camera, like the Go Pro is the ease of use and portability. I mostly use my Canon M50 for filming videos inside my studio and use the others when I'm on the go and don't want to mess with a large camera

[nafnaf]

8:56 the iPhone image has blurred out parts of the tree, but left some parts of the background in focus. You can see the floating group of flowers in the middle of the building on the left. I blew up and printed a wedding photo from an iPhone using portrait mode, only to discover that large parts of the background were actually in focus and that parts of my subjects were blurred (hair for examples). At first glance of course things can look great, a closer look though reveals more. Good comparison

[Gaurn]

What the common person doesn't realize is that all their photos from an iphone/pixel/galaxy are "Photoshoped" before they even view the original. That is what computational photography is. This is why a phone is unacceptable to professionals or content creators. Phone people also don't seem to get the experience of using a dedicated camera is part of the appeal. There is more to life than just selfies.

[pokarier]

Excellent video that I will share with people whenever the topic comes up - saving me having to explain the issues over and over again! Thank you.

[ESKATEUK]

The problem is, many people fall into the same trap. And that trap is, thinking over post processed images with huge amounts of sharpening and very vivid bright colours, equals a better looking image. As soon as you blow an iPhone image up to the size of your tv, you’ll see all its imperfections. If you blow an image up from a decent DSLR or mirrorless, it will still look great, and natural. I think iPhone cameras are great and can take some lovely snaps on the go, but even my dads old canon 30D craps all over them in 90% of areas. Let alone a new camera. It’s physically impossible for a sensor that small to produce images equal to that of a much larger sensor with a huge lens attached to it. However as you said the post processing in these phones is astounding and can bring up what would be a poor quality image to look pleasing to the eye. I own an iPhone 13 pro max, and love using the camera and video on it, but will it ever replace my DSLR? Not a chance.

[gc]

i recently watched a really cool movie called "unsane" ( 2018 ) and was later surprised to find out the entire movie was shot on an iPhone. it's a real movie, from a big name director and even has Matt Damon make a cameo appearance that lasts a couple minutes. when i watched the movie i was a little surprised by the black bars appearing on the sides instead of top and bottom and i thought the camera angles were unusual but i never would have guessed the entire movie was shot on a phone. obviously if they could afford Matt Damon they could afford a real camera too but they decided to do something interesting instead.

[uwaychuah]

Thank you so much.. I'm a run and gun street food videographer and I struggle immensely on the stabilisation and dynamic range from my A6400 as compared to my iphone 12 pro max.. footage from 6400 has many dark areas that looks underexposed without using slog. I now use 90% iphone footage and only close zoom ins to 18-105mm from the 6400 APSC. 😢

[khandev]

I was thinking of getting a mirror less camera for taking pics of my new born. Now I am totally convinced that smart phone is what I need .. since I have 13 pro max .. I think smartphone cameras do a dang good job for people who can’t spend a lot of time taking pics and then editing it ..

Basically showed only professionals need these pro camera.

I wish he showed more of what could be achieved if the picture was edited in mirrorless. ..

[briancunningham]

Do you have any videos on the post processing, getting a shot on a Sony Alpha series camera to look comparably better than the iPhone? Just basic stuff to get the "pop" that people are always telling me my pictures are lacking compared to the iPhone :(

[agenericaccount]

With a dedicated camera, you are the computational photography.

[songwriterck]

Incredibly thorough!! Thank you for going through these comparisons in such detail

[simw]

Would love to see an updated version of this video with the 13 pro, using filmic pro.

[rubenasilva]

Great video. You should also add the heavy noise reduction applied by the intensive smartphone processing, noticed when you enlarge the image.