Hi everyone. I do not currently own either of the phones mentioned in the title but I would like to purchase a good stand alone camera that doesn't break the bank. I've seen pictures taken by the latest phones and they look pretty good, so for a amateur like myself what would be a camera (preferably Sony) that would be a noticeable upgrade from a phones camera for taking still images?
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Camera that's better than iPhone X / Pixel 2
- Thread starter Codybby1
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Stand-alone cameras can offer you things that smartphone cameras can't do, but the question is what you're looking to get from the upgrade. Better resolution for large printers? Better dynamic range? Better low-light performance? Shallower depth of field?
Not true. In good light the X camera is looking great but the small sensor is the limiting factor so its low light capability is hampered.
For a "better" camera pretty much anything from a Sony RX100 with a 1" sensor through Olympus/Panasonic M4/3, through Fuji APS-C into Sony/Nikon/Canon Full Frame and beyond is going to be a "better" camera .... in varying circumstances but all come with a compromise of image quality vs weight/size/cost.
The true question is what is it that you are lacking today? what is it that you are looking for? What do you want to shoot?
With that then a recommendation can be made. Without it, we can only resort to the typical consultant response... "it depends..."
If you are looking for a better all round snapper then I would look at a 1" sensor camera like a RX100 or the Nikon 1 system. If you need more reach (zoom) then maybe something like one of Sony RX10 models MKiii is latest and is very good but not cheap. If you are not looking for a changing focal length, then the Fuji X100F. It is a cracker apparently. Owners of X100 series cameras love them.
If you want to get into interchangeable lens cameras (tread carefully, that is a deep dark money hole)... then you cannot go wrong in the Sony A6000/6300/6500 (note the kit lens on the 6000 is rubbish so not a good representation of what this is capable of - for an example of someone making magic on an A6000 series camera look at @needfx 's images on here), Olympus E-M10,5,1, or Panasonic, or Fuji XT10, X-T2, X-Pro2
If you want Full Frame, at this stage, quite simply, don't go there. Notice I didnt say need, if this is your first camera then don't waste money on FF at this stage as you don't know what you need yet.
I think as someone loving the iPhone X, then I think you would be happy with an Olympus E-M5 or E-M10 kit of some sort to start with...
If you look round the Picture of the day threads on here you can see we all shoot with a vast array of differing equipment but we all produce great images.
I know next to nothing about cameras so I'm not sure what features I would even want. I just want something I can pull out of my bag and take a great photo with. One thing I've noticed with the X's camera is that the pictures look excellent until you zoom in on the photos and see that details are lost. I just want to take sharp images with excellent color.
Edit: I checked out some shots taken with an rx100 and it was pretty impressive. Then I went and checked out some taken with an iPhone X and was equally impressed haha. I may just have to break down and buy one.
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Technique (including composition) over gear will always produce better shots. Just bear that in mind when looking at others shots.
If you're not sure what features you'd want, we might be able to help you with that. Two questions:
What do you plan to do with your photos? Just have them for viewing on your computer or phone as memories, or possibly posting to FaceBook? Or perhaps something more demanding, like using them as a desktop background on a 5K 27" iMac? Any plans to print, and if so, small prints (cards) or large (poster-sized) prints?
What types of photos are you taking? Some examples would be people, nature, architecture... and when and where do you generally find that you're taking your photos? Day, night, inside, outside, good lighting, poor lighting...?
The reason I ask is because there's a chance you could get away with a compact camera, rather than an interchangeable lens camera. It'd be cheaper, and probably more on the size that you're looking for. But as a fair bit of warning, if you find that you enjoy it, a compact is kind of like a gateway drug to the bigger camera systems... I started out on cellphone cameras (back before the iPhone existed, when resolutions for cameraphones were 640x480) and won a compact camera at a raffle. Back then the compact cameras were still far superior to cellphones, but I enjoyed it so much that I bought a DSLR about a year later. And now, about ten years later, I've been through about five camera bodies and own more lenses than I can count on one hand... maybe two hands (ah, my wife surely wants to kill me over this at times). But it's a nice hobby!
And for what it's worth, I agree with your observations. My iPhone 7 Plus takes really nice photos in excellent light, good enough that bringing my "real" camera along wouldn't provide much benefit unless I'm trying to do something more than just a snapshot. But in anything less than excellent lighting, fine details quickly get lost and skin tones look smudgy. The iPhone 8 Plus and X are surely better, but they're still not at the level of the "real" cameras. Good enough for most people, and for many scenarios, but still can't handle what many cameras can do.
Smartphone cameras have become a lot better over the years, and they have killed most of the cheap, compact camera market. The problem here is that there is a gulf between expensive cameras that are clearly better and cheap cameras that are marginally better, if at all. Any camera in that no man's land of cameras is probably also not worth buying. So you would have to spend about €/$1,000 to have a camera that is “better enough” compared to a smartphone camera.
Now, what you want is a camera with a large sensor, because that is the main weakness of any smartphone camera — it's just a matter of physics. So please help us understand what you want from that better camera:
- How important is size? (It is probably more important than you think!)
- Do you really need a zoom lens?
- Do you really want to use more than just one lens?
To give you an idea of the types of cameras, if small size is important but you don't need a zoom lens, then the Fuji X100f might be worth a look.
If you want to be able to change lenses, Fuji's X-mount series or Olympus's micro 4/3 cameras may be options for you.
How about a Panasonic-Lumix CM1. It's the best phone camera you are ever going to be able to get your hands on! Especially with its 20 Megapixel 1-Inch MOS-Sensor with 28mm F2.8 Leica Optical Camera Lens!
Just saying!
Just saying!
Lol... I am hoping the suggestion was tongue in cheek...