Robin, this is the best video I've seen on smart phone cameras vs real cameras. One additional advantage of a real camera you didn't mention is that the real camera you used has an incredible CCD sensor in it. The colors it produces are not only much better than those captured by a smart phone camera; but to my eye are even better than the colors produced by the current flagship mirrorless cameras (all of which have CMOS sensors).
Thanks for the kind words. To me it does not matter between CCD or CMOS, they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The point is real camera is still superior when it comes to photography growth, and can cost less than crazy expensive smartphones!
Love my CCD sensor cameras I have two one from2005 a Pentax *istDL and a Pentax K100D from 2006 and both work flawlessly and use rechargeable AA batteries. The best part is Pentax legacy lenses are cheap and work great n the camera as it gives me focus confirmation when the camera is I focus.
I have some older Pentax cameras with CCD Sensors, the colors are great but the ISO settings were much like film on my K100D super and k10D ,TOPS 1600.
What these old DSL(R) cameras lack is image details. And there is nothing you can do: no matter the glass or whatnot, eventually you will slam into huge pixels of not huge amount that physically cant produce very crisp image.
Yes, Older Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta Digital cameras I’ve picked up for as low as $3 point & shoot, 35mm Film, and DSLRs for $19, a Nikon D50. All great choices. With CCD Sensors & Real Camera feel, I buying all the cameras I couldn’t afford when younger. My favorite places to pick them up Mercari, MPB, KEH, last in the cheapest deals Ebay
Robin, I love to watch your content. You always create a good mood and your contant is well done. Keep going on! The colors of your photos are very nice. Do they come straight out of the camera? Greetings from Germany, Mike
Great video Robin! D50 was my first DSLR, and my first serious digital body I bought back in 2005. Completely agree with everything you say in the video. I'd still chose it over my S22 smart phone for photography any day.
Great video Robin! Had a Nikon D40 about 17 years ago, which produced some of my most loved shots ever, and could print A4 (or even A3 at a push) despite only having 6MP sensor.
I have a Canon 5D classic. Still fun to use. And the colors are so good without much need for editing. Jpegs are so easy. The only negative is the CF card. And that's easy too.
One of the things photographers talk about is how their fits in hand,the grip, how the buttons and dials work, the tilting screens, resolution And view finder and so on, when i look at a cellphone, it looks like nothing, not a phone or camera or anything else. There is nothing in a phone camera that inspires me to drive hours to a location to photograph anything. I own cameras from Panasonic, Pentax , Olympus and Fujifilm, these cover full frame, APSC and 4/3's. Each camera has a unique personality and this makes photography much more interesting. These cameras have been with me to so many different environments allowing me to photograph weddings, baptisms, birthdays, travel, wildlife ,seascapes and landscapes, photos that i could not take or have the opportunity to take had a cellphone camera. If you want to get serious about photography get a real camera, not a phone with a camera function.
Bought a Nikon D700 earlier this year, still delivers top image quality 14 years later! Although it was 10x more expensive than the one in this video :D
The D700 has a cmos sensor which is great too but need more post production than the CCD sensors that nails all the tonal differences very well in the same shot. ( I have both)
Thank you for another great video! D50 accepts AFD lenses such as the fantastic 35-70mm. I'm getting the 18-200mm for mine as a do it all walk around rig. I recently shot over 2,000 pictures on Veterans Day. My friends are shocked that a camera older than RU-vid performs so well
I totaly agree with you. This year I bought two Nikon D50 with together four lenses. It is realy a great old beast and the 6MP are good enough in nearly all situations. The best arguments are viewfinder and manuel controls. Have a nice time :-).
Hi Robin,Yes I believe you,I bought myself a Nikon D200 for 100$/can in the box with all the original papers, 2 months ago, I always buy my cameras used because I dont have money for new one since I am on pension.
The viewfinder is a great aid to steadiness. With my trembly hands, I used to find it stressful if people asked me to take photos with a smartphone, especially before they had big shot image stabilisation, which they didn't have in the past. I would take half a dozen pictures and maybe one wasn't blurred! Holding a real camera against your face is a great way to stabilise it.
Robin, Years ago I wanted a D40 or D50 but could not afford. Now, I have a little bit of everything from M43, APSc and Full Frame. My best purchase for about this price was a used EPL1. I have Nikon full frame and APSc as well as Sony APSC and Lumix M43. My favorite EDC cameras today are a used OM10Mii and an OM10Miiis both purchased from Pawn Shops for great deals. Always great videos, thanks.
One of the few photographers who never disappoints! thank you for making this video. You read my mind! I was annoyed at Tony Northrop's video 2 days ago, where he was saying that only expensive cameras can compete with smartphones, which is a peculiar statement to make. Not to mention his older click bait shameless video (in my opinion) trashing cameras against smartphones. I honestly don't know how he managed to pull images that bad from a real modern camera, must have been all shot on auto settings to make it fair to the phone. So it feels good to have someone make the same point I was thinking! any real camera will get you a vastly different feel from a smartphone! I have been a smartphone shooter all my life till a year ago. Finally owning real cameras has opened my eyes to the difference I always thought was there. Larger sensors and especially the lenses make all the difference in the world! Can you make amazing photos with a smartphone? sure. Can you make even more amazing photos of the same scene and subject with a real camera (if you know what you are doing, read previous sentence regarding auto settings)? absolutely. Btw, I don't have experience with super old and cheap DSLRs, but I did use my gfs Nikon APSC DSLR and it definitely is still a great camera even though it came out in 2010 or so and was a budget model back then. My own Lumix GX80 cost only 300 bucks used with 2 kit lenses, and I still use that ridiculously overpowered thing despite having bought a Sony A7M3 half a year ago. that's how good even old small sensor cameras really are. and I am still a learning hobbyist! imagine what a pro could do with these tools!
I do respect the Northrups and acknowledge some amazing content that they do, but I also find myself disagreeing with them from time to time. I guess, we are free to express our opinion, and what we say is all subjective any way! I won't go as far as to say what they claim is wrong, but I still think cameras are far superior as an imaging device.
I can photograph a wedding with almost any camera I own, no one would have hired me to photograph an event if I only had a cellphone nor would I attempt to.
Very nice video as many youtube talk about the newest camera,they forgot how many old camera outside,all my cameras are almost 10 years old....planning to buy a T 3i soon.😁
Hey Robin, I actually bought a d50 for my son to shoot (secretly for me too) coz of the ccd sensor. Threw on a 50mm and the total is less than 90sgd. Love it still despite its dslr size. The images out from that camera is still lovely. Thanks for sharing
This is so true. Currently teaching my fiancé with a £40 canon 350 and stock lens, she is already producing fantastic images compared to smart phone attempts. Already on aperture priority so they really allow you to learn
Yes! Great points! 🙂I still enjoy using my 12 yr old Nikon D3100 as a backup camera. I only upgraded (Em5MK3) to get better IS for wildlife and sharper video footage. The smartphone is handy for practical archive/record photos; accident, unexpected happenings, text record etc.. but, for me, the photos seem too artificial. 🙂
10:20 The shutter sound on an SLR or that D50 DSLR is actually to me more satisfying than the mirrorless camera sound and much nicer than a smartphone. Needs that mirror slap!
I agree I love shutter sound too, but I also admit the advantage of having quieter shutter or silent shutter, in some situations the shutter can be too loud and intrusive!
@@robinwong Yes. Actually I do lik the shutter sound of my EM10 Mark ii. The old Olympus film SLRs were designed to be quieter than most other SLRs (or DSLRs). I notice that the EM5 Mark iii shutter is significantly quieter than the EM10 Mark ii. You cam almost feel it more than hear it. I'm guessing the weather sealing insulates the shutter sound, like double glazing shuts out the traffic noise in the city! It does make the EM5iii very unobtrusive among people.
I love this, thanks! It makes me appreciate my 2 or 3 year old Nikon D3500 with its 35mm 1.8 (50mm equivalent) so much more. I was thinking I should upgrade but now I'm like, "Wow, this is still perfect for what I do." And your love of the "click" was delightful, thanks again.
Robin, great video as always! Nikon has some great values on the used market. Plus they're free nx studio software that supports all their models. A great value for beginners and others on a budget.
Absolutely love the argument you give. The one thing a smartphone will always have over my lovely Nikon DSLR is ease of transportation. I don't need to carry around my camera bag to take photos when I travel. But I love my D90.
very true, all your points are excellent. not only old dslr, ever a desiccated compact camera like the Ricoh gr series give way better photography experience. agree 100% robin, thanks so much.
Old film SLRs are like vinyl records, the DSLRs are like Compact Discs and the smartphone cameras are like downloaded music. There is a lessening of the experience of the art for my tastes. It's a fairly sad trip into the virtual world from the physical.
I don't enjoy the photo taking experience on a smartphone. So I use my money on older DSLRs and M4/3 cameras that are so much more fun to use. I inherited the D50 from my grandfather-in-law and it is so much fun to use. Only gripe is that it does not accept cards bigger than 1GB, which limits me to 120 raw photos at a time.
I started with my smartphone went to my go pro and now have gone Panasonic mft. I do wish camera manufacturers would open up to more creative apps on their cameras!!! if they want to compete with smartphones of the near future that in my opinion is the future and they need to step up their game!
@@robinwong There is a limit on how much you can put into a phone and still keep it small. Phones will rely on software improvements and not much improvement in the hardware, at least not its size, unless a thicker phone gets trendy. And I don't think that wont happen any time soon, phones has replaced the digital compact camera and if you compare them they are much alike, at least in hardware. -fixed lens -fixed aperture -fits in your pocket (most of the time) By putting more lenses on a phone they are more or less just putting more compact cameras into one device. Phones are and will be the goto camera for the masses and mirrorless and dslrs will be for the enthusiasts and pros
For 30 dollars you got an absolute bargain there. Time for you to be called to take part in DigitalRev's series on Prophotographer, Cheap Camera challenge
Robin i'm really agreed the facts you mention here, cheaper old camera are better than new Phone camera even more expensive nowadays. I'm still using Lumix g6 16mp with olympus 75mm 1.8f lens and better photo than my iphone 14 . Thank you for sharing at least for new comer photographer understand why should be use real camera for photography.
Robin I leave my old Pentax *istDL from 2005 that sells for $20,00 on Ebay in my car I prefer using it compared to my smartphone i use it for street and general photography for exactly all the reasons that you listed I have a old Tamron 28-200 & a 75 -300, 18-55 kit zoom lens I carry with me my primes I carry are a Rokinon 14mm 2.8 , 28mm2.8 and a 50mm2.0
4:59 I hate looking at the back sceen of bridge cameras and the screen of a smartphone. If you need spectacles you can't see the subject and the image properly at the same time. Also the viewfinder is a great aid to steadiness. With my trembly hands, I find it stressful if people ask me to take photos with a smartphone, especially before they had big shot image stabilisation. smartphone
Video is so true, Robin ! I *can't* work without a viewfinder! Touchscreen fake shutter button via display onto the phone is really lame, also taking images at armlength. I always prefer a DSLR over an DSLM, very delicate, light sensitive eyes here. Can't work with grainy, flickering EVFs, also CAs, and all kinds of optical distortions at the very edges. Thankfully, EVFs are better since the at least 3.68mp generation...but still, no comparsion vs. an 100% all glass, bright pentaprism OVF (not speaken of a dimlit, small pentamirror OVF, like the D50 here has, with ca. 92 to 95% frame coverage)
Even better I have a finepix S6500fd bridge camera it has 28 to 300mm optical zoom and is 6.1 mp too plus view finder it's excellent does everything I need if q little old had it from new
I use a Sony A7III but you’re making me nostalgic for my Nikon D7000 and Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8 setup. Maybe I should bring out again just for fun, or try some other Nikon DSLR bodies to use my 50mm 1.8
Robin, what do you think about the computational photography creeping into the enthusiast and pro camera world? I think it has advantages and disadvantages. I can see its uses for special situations but it can go too far in my view. It gets to be like it isn't your own picture any more. Another example of the "You will own nothing and be happy" mantra of the WEF.🤮
Just purchased a Canon 40D near mint for 85 usd, and a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 for 135 usd. 🤣 Long time Nikon user but the made in Japan magnesium alloy DSLR body from Canon are works of art. Tank build, 10mp CCD (likely Sony) sensor. Hate smartphone photography.
I agree that phones are extremely useful, but… Replaceable batteries! Phone batteries are sometimes limited in capacity. I guess you can carry a “power brick” to charge your phone, but usually a second camera battery is going to be more convenient. Ability to bring your own light source with a camera by using a speed light, etc. You can easily use a tripod for long exposures, etc. with a camera.
Yeah for serious photography, a dedicated camera is definitely more versatile and will go the extra mile to get that shot. The smartphone is convenient for quick snaps, but can't be used for anything serious.
Robin, i've had the D50 - biggest Issue, SD Cards only up to 2GB, no more ! Or if i could remember correctly, 4GB SD Cards could being accessed, but not being formatted inside the D50, even with latest Firmware. I love the CCD Sensor colors, and also it shines clearly hereby. Not comparable with any shitty phone camera, APS-C/DX Sensor size, not extraordinary tiny phone sensor...albeit my phone (Note 9 Pro) is with gcam mod good enough as occasional snapshot, for what it is.. :) the D60 & up don't have this issue... I've had and bought the D100, D50, D70s, D60, D80, D90 & D7000 Bodies, then no more - because there was never been a 23/24mm prime from Nikon for DX, always lame duck 18-xx(x) zooms only, since 1999. Still have the D60, D80, D90 & D7000.
Using that camera compared to a smartyphone is almost cheating.🤣 The D50 is still a great camera & I would be hard pressed to find a phone that could keep up to it. My issue with phone vs camera is the fact that you can't get technical with a smartphone. I can take my old Kodak MFT camera, put it on a bellows with a reversed lens & zoom in to around 10 grooves on a record & they will be crisp & clear. Not doing that with a phone. Also not going to zoom in on a deer at 300 yards & have it look like it's standing at the end of the lens barrel. Color rendering is about the same between my camera & phone.... the phone only being a little better with colors using HDR. Then add a Singh Ray clip on CC filter to really knock it out of the park. But that's if there's no filter on the camera.😁 Regards!!
Thanks for the great video Robin. Do you leave metering up to the camera or shoot manual? I'm thinking of getting a cheap DSLR to compliment my bridge camera but worry I may miss the what you see is what you get and live histogram of an Electronic Viewfinder.
I am all for taking photos with a real camera and owns Olympus EM-1 with many pro lenses for many years, but the vast majority of people prefer the portability of a smartphone, the simplicity of UI, the instant share or upload capability, the bigger screen to view and edit right on the spot, the image quality or technical advantage of a DSLR is not even in their thought process. On a few occasion, i shown a guy the image difference taken between the DSLR and a smartphone, he just shrug and so what, so for the masses, a DSLR just can't compete with smartphone, no matter how we try to convince them, it's the reality.
There is no better camera if you will never watch your photos regularly and print some you are proud about. I love my dslr. The shutter sound, the feeling, the time together, the atmosphere, the surprise and great time while develop the pictures. I dont care about colors, sharpness, dynamic, etc.. Nice to have but I care about to remember the moment and the situation; with lucky also with a model who spent time with me and the camera and may be make her happy with the pictures. Good Equipment I like to get sure. But I will always stay at dslr as far as it works. And sometimes I like to shoot analog as well. At the end of my life I hope I can look at the pictures and re-enjoy and think about the day. Sure not about the best and expensive equipment and also -as the final relation to this nice video - I dont believe it is possible with smartphones. In my case.
Hi Robin. I have a totally unrelated question. On my OM-D E-M 5 mark III, when I choose a 5×5 for focus point selection, an "HP" sign appears on top of the screen. I couldn't find any explanation. Can you explain what that is? Thanks
Smartphones look like they are trying to paint the image sometimes, its really strange looking, looks like blobs of paint lol. Especially night time photos.
Make yourself a favor and listen to this Robins video : buy yourself a Nikon D200 or any d80, D60, D40, D50, D70 or even D3000 camera with a glorious CCD sensor and shoot at max 400 ISO with good 1.4-2.8 glass : these CCD cameras look like Kodachrome cameras
If you're not DSLR shooter or SLR it is hard to know the deference between image quality. No side by side comparison oin the video. So this video for DSLR/SLR owner's.
I am a photographer. Comparisons are meaningless. I'd rather take photos in real life. That means, using ONE camera at a time. For comparisons, there are many non-photographers (gadget/tech review sites) that can help you.
@@robinwong but you do compare image quality oral in the video. But there no proofs. You should show comparison in the video and talk on the radio even if you're are plumber. Have a nice day.
I'm a bit torn on this one. I love dedicated cameras, and am a big fan of good cheap cameras. I also think smartphone photography has a great place in photography. I feel some of your claims are a bit disingenuous about things old cameras like that always do better at. A few examples would be bokeh. Sure you can get some fantastic bokeh on a proper camera, but if your subject is close you can still get ok real bokeh on a phone, especially on some of the newer phones with larger sensors, like the Pixel 6/7, the latest iPhones, phones like the Xperia Pro-i and Xiaomi 12s ultra. There's a number of phones these days with 1 inch type sensors and fairly bright lenses too, and 2023 looks set to be full of flagship phones with 1 inch type sensors. Also on a proper camera the bokeh is very dependent on the additional lens you buy, it's maximum aperture and focal length, and this comes at an extra cost. Moving on to autofocus, some older cameras are notorious for slower autofocus, especially if paired with a lens with poor autofocus/slow autofocus motor, whereas focus is pretty much instant on most modern phones, using a combination of dual pixel PDAF and laser autofocus for accuracy and speed, instead of just contrast based autofocus on some older cameras. Likewise phone cameras have had the about to shoot raw for years now, including jpeg and raw, either in the primary camera app and/or a third party app like Open Camera on android. There are also loads of cameras that have a manual mode or again can use one via a third party app, giving you control over at least iso and shutter speed. Being able to edit that raw that you took with manual settings in something like lightroom mobile on the phone is a huge plus, and dodges all that over processing baked into phone jpegs. There's also phones like the Xperia Pro-i with a variable aperture, and I get the feeling with more 1 inch type sensors coming up you'll see this happen more too. I agree the ergonomics of a proper camera are much better, and can provide good battery life if not used on any kind of love view mode. On the other hand the old adage of the best camera is the one you have with you is very important I think, and trying out some of these manual features on a camera you already own, before buying an extra camera with multiple lenses for different focal lengths is a good idea. Anyway I know that was a huge ramble, not meaning to have a go, just felt like you were perhaps slightly over the top on some of your comparisons between the two categories of device, and didn't provide much evidence to back up what you were saying, for example showing a phone and a camera trying to focus on the same object and seeing what the autofocus speed was like, or taking the same raw photo on each device and editing them both to look at how close or far apart they are in final image quality.
Sure I think everything you said could be added to what Robin said. However: he was taking up the average modern cellphone vs a "dinosaur" dslr and in that way it is hard to see him sort of cheating as you said. Yes there are very exprnsive smartphones that have more advanced features than the average phone....and that was his point right? Instead of spending 2000+ usd for a smartphone if you want to get into photography, consider buying an ancient digital camera to learn and experience photography instead of snapping on your phone and let the AI do the rest. Ergonomics including the lack of a viewfinder on smartphones are rubbish: if you are serious about photography that should be a good reason to question the viability of smartphone photography if you are going to be out all day.
You said "I also think smartphone photography has a great place in photography". I said the same thing, did you not see that part? I said smartphone is the future, and I acknowledge the importance of smartphone photography. My point in this video is for those who may not have unlimited funds (II think I speak for the majority of us, normal humans) and will feel strained when forking out thousands for that new spanking flagship smartphone camera. Instead, you can have cheaper alternative. I disagree with older camera with slower AF. Look at D50. How much older are we talking about? The D50 (17 years old now) is still blazing fast, and I dare challenge latest iphone or samsung phones with the D50 to capture action shots. You sound like you love smartphone photography, and that is great. I am not taking anything away from that, feel free to use the tool that suits you. But you also cannot deny the true experience of shooting with a real camera - handling grip, real veiwfinder, actual shutter sound, ability to change lens to do more, having real bokeh (what the Pixel is doing is a joke) and professional looking images, all these at the moment, the smartphones fail to deliver.
Nothing can beat a good glass, it's just physics. Fake bokeh is the worst artificial processing function in smartphones. It's horrendous. My old D60 has better quality than any modern smartphone.