November 2024 - Windmills of Consuegra Taken with Sony Mirrorless DSLR
Original
Original 2
About the Image(s)
Sony A-1, Sony FE 24-105mm F4@39mm, 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO 5000, hand held
Last month, I submitted a picture of this scene straight from my iPhone 15 Pro. At the time I was still traveling in Spain. It came right out of the phone without any post processing. However, I also photographed the scene with my Sony A-1 and I thought it might be interesting for the study group to compare the two versions. Furthermore, I am also submitting a jpeg of the RAW image as it came out of the Sony (Original 1).
I am a stickler for not blowing out highlights, so I exposed for the left section of the sky. The iPhone (Original 2) has excellent highlight control, so it did not blow out the sky. But it has much flatter contrast than the Sony picture and the yellow of the setting sun is also rendered differently.
The RAW picture has a much wider contrast range. I pay less attention to the shadows when I expose because unless the shadows are blocked, it is much easier to bring out details in shadows in post processing than fixing blown out highlights. Actually, blown out highlights can’t be fixed.
I hope this comparison will help you compare the performance of an iPhone with that of a high-quality, state of the art DSLR. Notice that the Sony shot was taken at ISO 5000. I wish I could show you how sharp it is in the 40 MB original, despite being a handheld shot. Even at 1/60 sec my hands and the image stabilization of the Sony produce sharp pictures. BTW, the image stabilization of the iPhone is extraordinary. I have taken pictures with 2 sec exposure that are sharp. All done in software.
4 comments posted
Pinaki Sarkar
Excellent comparison. From what I see is that color depth is more for the Sony camera. The sky is more blue in one and purplish in another.Stepping back from the technicalities, philosophically which one is reality, all as they is 'maya'. Posted: 11/12/2024 19:39:08
John Larson
Very nice image. I am not interested at all in a comparison of a DSLR, mirrorless or an iPhone. To me this group is about Travel photos and critiquing what where one can find the best images possible. The best camera is the one you have with you when the scene you want is in front of you. This is a very nice image regardless of what camera was used to take it. Posted: 11/18/2024 13:33:34
Laurie Bergner
Beautiful image! I love how the white lit windmills lead right to the lighted castle. It's quite interesting to see the three comparison photos. This one is the best - lots of contrast but just enough shadows and just enough light. I have an iphone 13 - haven't upgraded yet, though I intend to eventually. I've noticed that the images it takes change the lighting - sometimes I like it much better than what I can get on my fuji camera, and sometimes I like it less. And sometimes I am very disappointed when I enlarge it on the computer screen, especially with landscapes. But check out this one, taken indoors - I knew right away that it would be so extremely difficult to get on my fuji camera, so I just took it withe iphone and I think it's great. Of course some of my problem may be that I'm not technically super proficient on my DSLR. Posted: 11/23/2024 12:28:00
