Mobile Photography vs. the DSLR

There’s an old saying that goes, “the best camera is the one you have with you.” Just spend some time browsing the Internet and you can find beautiful photos taken with a wide variety of cameras, including DSLR and smartphone systems. Now, perhaps you’re a professional who sees a smartphone photo and can’t help but think, “Imagine how much better that would look if it’d been taken with a pro-level camera.” Consequently, maybe you’re a photo enthusiast who is perfectly happy with smartphone captures and can’t imagine why someone would not only want to sell their car to purchase a full-frame rig, but then lug all that heavy gear around. After all, a smartphone will fit in your pocket, right? However, I don’t think it comes down to whether DSLR cameras are better than smartphones. It comes down to which is better for you. Let’s explore.

Smart Smartphone Cameras

Smartphone cameras are powerful tools that have essentially replaced point-and-shoot cameras, and to be able to use one device for basically all your tech needs is incredibly convenient. On top of that, many of the pro-level features that smartphones once lacked are being incorporated into the more recent iOS and Android devices. While older smartphones were limited by a single lens with a fixed focal length and digital zoom—and there still aren’t many phones with optical zoom—it’s now more common to see smartphones with multiple camera lenses. For example, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max each have three rear-facing lenses with 35mm equivalent focal lengths of 13mm f/2.4, 26mm f/1.8, and 51mm f/2.0, while the iPhone 11 has two rear-facing lenses with 35mm equivalent focal lengths of 26mm and 51mm. Each of these phones also has a Portrait Mode to deliver soft backgrounds associated with longer lenses and wider-open apertures. If you’d like to expand beyond that, there are several clip-on lenses available that allow your smartphone to be adapted for fisheye, macro, wide-angle, and telephoto photography, plus anamorphic video. Even if you opt to carry four smartphone lenses with you, the weight will be non-existent when compared to carrying around four DSLR lenses. B&H does offer a wide variety of mobile add-on lenses and filters, which are available here.