HDR Smartphone and Camera Comparison - Photography Tips and Tricks

In this video I'd like to share my experience with HDR photography and how smartphone cameras compare to real cameras such as the mirrorless Canon R5.

It's no secret that smartphones such as the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy produce really nice looking imagery despite the tiny lens and imaging sensors. This is because of computational photography. One of the most used computational processors is for producing HDR or high dynamic range photography.

The new iPhone 16 Pro Max, along with Manu other smartphones, by default records HDR photography and can also produce HDR video in certain formats.

Smartphone cameras basically have to run a load of computational algorithms to compensate for the lack of overall quality due to the extremely small image sensors.

I have personally shot some really nice photographic content using my iPhones over the years, however, I've never really considered using them for serious or professional work. I always prefer to use my cameras to do the job properly.

But did you know that for quite a while now real cameras actually have high dynamic range features built in, and with full frame or even APSC size image sensors, along with a huge range of outstanding lenses, from the older DSLR lenses to third party lenses or the new mirrorless range, the HDR imagery on a real camera is going to be significantly better quality than that of any smartphone, including the very latest models.

I think because all major smartphones utilise computational processes so the photos generally always looks fairly decent, to the point where the average person would think, 'why would I need a real camera, I have my smartphone'. Also, bearing in mind that with real cameras we can shoot in the RAW format in order to make the most of the dynamic range and colour information recorded by the image sensor. This obviously requires a certain process which takes time.

Generally, the average person wants to post their content straight from the phone to their socials without the need for any editing or processing. This is why so many people prefer smartphone imagery over real cameras, as the JPEG files straight out of camera aren't running these HDR or computational processes and therefore, tend to look inferior to smartphones, despite being created using larger imaging sensors with better quality optics, and it's most certainly why there has been a huge decline in the sale of compact and DSLR cameras in recent years.


The gear i currently use:

Canon R5 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Full-Fra...
Canon R6 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Full-Fra...
Canon RF15-35 f2.8 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-RF-15-35...
Canon RF28-70 f2 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-RF-28-70...
Canon RF70-200 f2.8 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-RF-70-20...
Canon RF100-500 f4.5-7.1 - https://www.amazon.com/Canon-100-500m...
Canon RF400 f2.8 - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=RF400mm&am...