Samsung Galaxy S3 Vs Nikon D5000 DSLR

[SUroot]

Samsung Galaxy S3 Vs Nikon D5000 DSLR

Why?

I have a week off this week and while my fiancee is working, I thought I would charge my camera battery and have a practice. I am a really amateur photographer. By that I mean I own a nice DSLR (Upper Entry-level) and a couple of lenses but I've never really taken much time to get used to it. Today was a great oppurtunity.

Whilst I started taking snaps, i thought "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and here we are.

Disclaimer - Scientific conditions.

Mode:
Whilst I am only an amateur, I am familiar with my camera and its modes. Although I usually shoot in manual mode, adjusting the aperture and shutter speed as I see fit, for a reasonable degree of accuracy, I decided to use Auto mode. This is also what I used on the SGS 3.

Where as I tried to maintain Automode, I did slip into landscape mode a couple of times on the DSLR. Unfortunately I do not recollect which images were taken in each mode. It was mostly Auto though.

Zoom:
I stuck to my 18-55mm lens on the Nikon and used digital zoom on the SGS3. Although these can never be compared, as this is more a "look what the SGS3 can do" thing, I didn't think that should matter.

MegaPixels:
I set both top their top resolution. The DSLR is 12MP so obviously the detail is better when shown on a huge billboard. On a screen which is smaller than that, it shouldn't be noticable. remember, a HD display (1920x1080) is less than 2.1MP

Galaxy Resolution - 3264

 

[breadnatty08]

Thanks so much for this SURoot! Great post.

 

[SUroot]

Thanks so much for this SURoot! Great post.

Just a bit of fun :smokingsomb:

 

[breadnatty08]

One of the things I notice with your washed out SGS3 photos is it's likely not compensating for exposure. My Cannon G10 has an easy dial for over or under exposure. I helped a lot with very sunny scenes where you want to get the details and not have it be washed out. Is your DSLR doing this automatically?

 

[SUroot]

I'm not sure what it's doing automatically to be honest. I assume its doing ISO,WhiteBalance, Exposure and aperture. The SGS3 looks brighter in some shots than the DSLR which actually is a bit disappointing for me (re the DSLR) but then again, on other shots, the SGS 3 is far too bright.

With the DSLR, I usually control the exposure and aperture manually using dials so I'm a bit new to the Auto Mode. I've never thought Auto to be that great on it, buit thats not really what I bought it for.

 

[maverick777]

Thanks for the post. The best camera is the one you have on you. I don't always have my DSLR or my point and shoot, but I always have my phone. SIII photos are mostly useable.

 

[bvbull200]

Interesting experiment, but a tad flawed (yes, I read the disclaimer).

The advantages of an SLR are all in the manual modes. Grabbing an SLR and putting it in auto-mode castrates (nearly) all of the things that make their images so great, especially when then subject is fairly simple scenery. With those shots, on auto-mode, an SLR is only slightly better than a point and shoot.

Glad you had fun with it, but with it being used like a point-and-shoot, and with cell phones approaching point-and-shoot quality, the results aren't really surprising.

You should try the DSLR app that comes for free in the Samsung App store. Don't necessarily use the same settings as your real DSLR, but compare the "best" results from setting up the cameras manually.

 

[SUroot]

Interesting experiment, but a tad flawed (yes, I read the disclaimer).

The advantages of an SLR are all in the manual modes. Grabbing an SLR and putting it in auto-mode castrates (nearly) all of the things that make their images so great, especially when then subject is fairly simple scenery. With those shots, on auto-mode, an SLR is only slightly better than a point and shoot.

Glad you had fun with it, but with it being used like a point-and-shoot, and with cell phones approaching point-and-shoot quality, the results aren't really surprising.

Yes, this of course I know, however the auto mode on a DSLR is more sophisticated than a camera phone, or even some point-and-shoot cameras. The constraint of automatic mode is the hardware it uses.

What really distinguishes a DSLR and a mobile phone is the image sensor quality. To test the quality of the SGS 3, it would be unfair to put all the advantages of the DSLR into this. However some things are unavoidable, such as zoom lens etc.

You should try the DSLR app that comes for free in the Samsung App store. Don't necessarily use the same settings as your real DSLR, but compare the "best" results from setting up the cameras manually.

This is interesting, got a link?

 

[davoid]

You should try the DSLR app that comes for free in the Samsung App store. Don't necessarily use the same settings as your real DSLR, but compare the "best" results from setting up the cameras manually.

Thanks for the heads up on the DSLR Camera app. Looks awesome.

This is interesting, got a link?

Here you go:

Samsung Apps

To be honest it was easier to find in the Samsung Apps app installed on the phone than on the Samsung website. Do you have it installed?

 

[SUroot]

I do. I haven't looked yet though.

 

[t35rk]

I love shooting in b&w on the SG3. The results are great and the interface is much more convenient than on my D40.

 

[SUroot]

I love shooting in b&w on the SG3. The results are great and the interface is much more convenient than on my D40.

I read an article once in a digital photography magazine that its better to use photoshop (or GIMP) to apply the B&W afterwards as the cameras are quite limited at doing that.

The same as jpeg from a DSLR is only 8 Bit but converting it from RAW to Jpeg on a computer would be 16 Bit

Obviously I dont care so much on the phone, but for more serious photography, I always apply greyscale afterwards now

 

[bvbull200]

Yes, this of course I know, however the auto mode on a DSLR is more sophisticated than a camera phone, or even some point-and-shoot cameras. The constraint of automatic mode is the hardware it uses.

Sure it is, but the ceiling on automatic mode for an SLR isn't that much higher than a point-and-shoot or camera. Better, absolutely. By a lot? I'd say no.

What really distinguishes a DSLR and a mobile phone is the image sensor quality. To test the quality of the SGS 3, it would be unfair to put all the advantages of the DSLR into this. However some things are unavoidable, such as zoom lens etc.

That's fair. My point is that the automatic modes don't let you really take advantage of that larger/better sensor. It's akin to putting bicycle tires on a Ferrari. You are severely handicapping the things that make it great, but it'll still beat a golf-cart around a track.

This is interesting, got a link?

As mentioned, look for the Samsung Apps app on your phone and search for it that way. It is called "DSLR Camera". I haven't used it really, and I'm not expecting DSLR quality, but it does look like it adds a similar level of manual mode control.

 

[t35rk]

I read an article once in a digital photography magazine that its better to use photoshop (or GIMP) to apply the B&W afterwards as the cameras are quite limited at doing that.

The same as jpeg from a DSLR is only 8 Bit but converting it from RAW to Jpeg on a computer would be 16 Bit

Obviously I dont care so much on the phone, but for more serious photography, I always apply greyscale afterwards now

Thanks for the reasoning behind it but for more serious color photography you wouldn't use your phone either. I've taken more b&w pics in the last two weeks with my SG3 than I took in 5 years with the D40. For recreational b&w there is no comparison. Its great to see your results on the spot rather after downloading them into editing software, sometimes days later at home.

 

[darkfiregt]

I read an article once in a digital photography magazine that its better to use photoshop (or GIMP) to apply the B&W afterwards as the cameras are quite limited at doing that.

The same as jpeg from a DSLR is only 8 Bit but converting it from RAW to Jpeg on a computer would be 16 Bit

Obviously I dont care so much on the phone, but for more serious photography, I always apply greyscale afterwards now

I'm also against shooting directly in B&W because it's so easy to change to B&W afterwards with different effects and toning. Also, and most importantly to me, what if I want that picture in color? Too late. I'd rather take the picture in color and convert to B&W so that I can have the choice.

 

[SUroot]

Thanks for the reasoning behind it but for more serious color photography you wouldn't use your phone either. I've taken more b&w pics in the last two weeks with my SG3 than I took in 5 years with the D40. For recreational b&w there is no comparison. Its great to see your results on the spot rather after downloading them into editing software, sometimes days later at home.

II see what you're saying. I'm simply saying for serious photography, use your SLR. If you want to make it grey, do so afterwards.

If you make it grey afterwards, not only do you get better quality grey scale, but also you have a colour photo too

I'm also against shooting directly in B&W because it's so easy to change to B&W afterwards with different effects and toning. Also, and most importantly to me, what if I want that picture in color? Too late. I'd rather take the picture in color and convert to B&W so that I can have the choice.

Yup exactly.