Testing Samsung Galaxy S10 - When will smartphones catch up with cameras?
Hi, Habr.
Like probably almost all amateur photographers, I am somewhat skeptical about taking pictures on mobile phones. Everyone knows about small matrices, simple optics, and all that. On the other hand, one cannot but admit that the capabilities of mobile photography are improving, matrices are becoming less noisy, optical stabilization is appearing in smartphones, and so on. And finally, when Samsung announced a new smartphone with three cameras (wide-angle, conventional and tele), I could not resist and decided that it was time to take it.
Nokia 9 PureView - smartphones are no longer limited to three cameras.
How it works, and what possibilities a modern smartphone gives the amateur photographer, details under the cut. Caution traffic.
To begin with, let's see what is available to the user in terms of hardware (all further will apply to the Galaxy S10).
Main camera : 12Mpx, switchable aperture F1.5 / 2.4, viewing angle 77˚, optical stabilization (OIS), super-fast (as stated in the advertisement :) autofocus, pixel size 1.4μm.
Telephoto camera : 12Mpx, aperture F2.4, fast phase detection autofocus (PDAF), OIS, viewing angle 45˚, pixel size 1.0μm.
Wide-angle camera : 16MPx, aperture F2.2, viewing angle 123˚, pixel size 1.0μm.
(in the comments there was a question about EGF lenses - they are not given in the specification)
In general, it’s quite good. It’s not ideal of course, but it’s clear that it is difficult to put a full-fledged aperture, for example, into the thickness of a smartphone.
Now let's see what opportunities software gives us.
Surprisingly, the Camera application built into the smartphone has quite a few settings. Preset scenes like “Food”, “Cats”, “Dogs” (yes, there are 2 different modes , although I don’t know how they differ), are not so interesting, let's see the so-called “pro” mode:
Here you can configure the following parameters:
ISO - 50-800.
Shutter speed - 1/24000 - 10s, aperture switching F1.5 / 2.4.
White balance - auto or manual.
Focus - auto or manual (in manual mode, sharp areas are highlighted with a green frame)
Recording format: JPEG or JPEG + RAW.
Everything looks quite good, and quite at the level of advanced “digital dust boxes”. Unfortunately, there is a fly in the ointment - the pro-mode is available only for the "main" camera. Either this is a hardware limitation (maybe only the “main” matrix supports changing the ISO), or the software is just unfinished, it's hard to say so far.
By the way, those who wish can download the alternative program Open Camera from Google Play, which also provides quite a few settings:
So, let's start the tests. For the first test, we choose a typical "tourist" scenario - shooting attractions on a sunny day.
For those who want to see on their own, full-size photos are available as a whole archive .
Wide-angle lens:
Medium focal length:
Television (the “tele” is of course conditional, only 2x):
As a conditional “standard” we take a not new, but quite decent camera, Canon EOS 7D with a lens 18-135:
It is clear that the comparison is not entirely correct ( 7D is more sharpened for other tasks - if you need shooting in the studio, or sports shooting, or controlling external light, then DSLR is beyond competition), but in this case we will only be interested in resolution and color reproduction.
Let's see the crop in 100% resolution (in the pictures the left corner, center and right corner, respectively).
Shirik S10:
All the charms are visible on the edges - and a drop in resolution and aberration. All widths, however, often have a rather mediocre image around the edges - there are certain physical difficulties in making wide-angle lenses.
But the main camera pleasantly surprised me - more or less clearly:
Not “crystal clear” and not L-fix of course, but considering that we are looking at a picture in 4032px wide, this is quite normal.
Televik:
By the way, EOS 7D did not show any significant advantage in microcontrast.
It’s clear that in the corners of all budget lenses it’s not ideal, and the Bayer matrix by its principle doesn’t really transmit details in one pixel, so small branches are a complex object for any camera.
But at the maximum zoom, the smartphone, of course, has no chance against 135mm. Shooting from the same point:
(but there is no such wide angle on this lens either)
By the way, the S10’s width is quite wide-angle, they can shoot something like this:
I’ll say right away - you need to be able to shoot and choose a composition on a wide-angle lens, to be artistic. I personally do not know how. But there is such an opportunity, which is already pleasant.
Color reproduction
On S10, everything is quite good, and the picture looks about the same as it was at the time of shooting:
But EOS 7D allows you to get bokeh, inaccessible to small matrices:
Evening / night shooting
Finally, the most difficult genre for any camera is shooting in low light. Of course, the large matrix here has a huge advantage in the form of size and lower pixel noise. On the other hand, the small size of the matrix makes it easy to make high-aperture optics - lenses wider than F2.0 for DSLR cost quite an unbelievable amount of money, and on a F1.5 + OIS smartphone, as a result, it will give almost the same gain in aperture ratio than any budget Whale F4.5 without stabilizer.
According to personal experience, even on a DSLR, night shooting with hands is very difficult - the noise is very high. On S10, the situation is about the same - you can basically shoot from your hands, but even on the preview in the sky you can see noise:
1/10 F1.5 ISO1250
If you take a tripod (mini-tripods for smartphones can be found on sale) and manually set the ISO50, the frame is noticeably cleaner, but the shutter speed is, of course, longer:
2c, F1.5 ISO 50
In general, the frame in terms of color reproduction is quite good, and is quite consistent to what was visible to the naked eye.
Judging by articles appearing including on Habré, mobile photography is a very actively developing market segment. And the result in general is evident, we can say that for unprofessional amateur shooting, top-end smartphones almost caught up with entry-level DSLRs (especially if they are used with cheap and dark whale lenses).
What awaits us next? Promising can be called a number of areas.
Portrait shooting
Of course, the physically small matrix of a smartphone cannot display full bokeh. However, it can be displayed programmatically, and there are 2 methods. The first purely software - modern algorithms are quite able to distinguish a person from the background of everything else and blur the background. The second method is the use of two cameras (with the same or different focal lengths), which makes it possible to construct a “depth map” due to parallax, and as a result, make the blurring more accurate.
Once again, we can repeat that there will never be perfect bokeh from a smartphone - it is physically not there, maybe only software Blur to one degree or another. On the other hand, small artifacts that are visible only at 100% magnification, and even then if you know what to look at, most users simply will not notice. Although of course flaws are sometimes noticeable:
(source - youtube review )
By the way, since blurring is done programmatically, shooting in RAW gives such cameras a unique opportunity - to choose a place and a zone of sharpness after shooting . An example can be found in the reviews of Nokia PureView.
Dynamic range and HDR The
dynamic range of the matrices of modern smartphones is quite good in itself. More promising is the use of the second lens - taking two pictures at the same time, you can get a picture with a much larger DD. Of course, the fee for this is the need for two identical lenses. Let's see what happens with Nokia with this approach.
Even without a second lens, the high shooting speed allows you to combine pictures into one, reducing noise. This is how night shooting works on Google Pixel. The technology, of course, is not new, astrophobic enthusiasts have been using it for many years, just the computing power allows you to do this almost on the machine.
Shutter lag
Another common complaint about “soapboxes” is the long shutter release. The problem is resolved in Google Pixel - the camera saves the pictures constantly in the ring buffer of memory, and when you press the "shutter" button, the frame is actually ready, you just have to get it from the buffer. There is also a lot of space for post-processing, for example, you can automatically select the sharpest frame out of several.
Of course, there are a number of disadvantages that smartphones are unlikely to be eliminated.
The inconvenience of management. A modern thin smartphone fits comfortably in your pocket, but it is just as uncomfortable in your hand. If we talk about photography, the lack of full-fledged manual control, quick switching of modes, a strap for hanging on the neck, and finally - for a long-term shooting, a professional camera is still more convenient.
Limits of optics. It is clear that a large zoom cannot be placed in a thin case; there are also design limitations on the size of the matrix. About portrait shooting was also said.
Technology is changing. More recently, shooting from a smartphone was only suitable for retaking an ad on the porch door. Today we are already discussing shooting in RAW, optical stabilization and HDR. Yes, however, people with digital dust boxes are now almost invisible on the street. What will happen next, let's see ...
Of course, all of the above applies to amateur photography. Professional photography, of course, remains - sports, reporting, studio shooting and other genres, they will not go anywhere. And for those amateurs who still use theNokia 3310 with an old smartphone, but would like to have a camera that is always with them, it probably makes sense to think about an upgrade.
Several video reviews of the photo capabilities of modern smartphones under the spoiler.
Like probably almost all amateur photographers, I am somewhat skeptical about taking pictures on mobile phones. Everyone knows about small matrices, simple optics, and all that. On the other hand, one cannot but admit that the capabilities of mobile photography are improving, matrices are becoming less noisy, optical stabilization is appearing in smartphones, and so on. And finally, when Samsung announced a new smartphone with three cameras (wide-angle, conventional and tele), I could not resist and decided that it was time to take it.
Nokia 9 PureView - smartphones are no longer limited to three cameras.
How it works, and what possibilities a modern smartphone gives the amateur photographer, details under the cut. Caution traffic.
Iron
To begin with, let's see what is available to the user in terms of hardware (all further will apply to the Galaxy S10).
Main camera : 12Mpx, switchable aperture F1.5 / 2.4, viewing angle 77˚, optical stabilization (OIS), super-fast (as stated in the advertisement :) autofocus, pixel size 1.4μm.
Telephoto camera : 12Mpx, aperture F2.4, fast phase detection autofocus (PDAF), OIS, viewing angle 45˚, pixel size 1.0μm.
Wide-angle camera : 16MPx, aperture F2.2, viewing angle 123˚, pixel size 1.0μm.
(in the comments there was a question about EGF lenses - they are not given in the specification)
In general, it’s quite good. It’s not ideal of course, but it’s clear that it is difficult to put a full-fledged aperture, for example, into the thickness of a smartphone.
Now let's see what opportunities software gives us.
Software
Surprisingly, the Camera application built into the smartphone has quite a few settings. Preset scenes like “Food”, “Cats”, “Dogs” (yes, there are 2 different modes , although I don’t know how they differ), are not so interesting, let's see the so-called “pro” mode:
Here you can configure the following parameters:
ISO - 50-800.
Shutter speed - 1/24000 - 10s, aperture switching F1.5 / 2.4.
White balance - auto or manual.
Focus - auto or manual (in manual mode, sharp areas are highlighted with a green frame)
Recording format: JPEG or JPEG + RAW.
Everything looks quite good, and quite at the level of advanced “digital dust boxes”. Unfortunately, there is a fly in the ointment - the pro-mode is available only for the "main" camera. Either this is a hardware limitation (maybe only the “main” matrix supports changing the ISO), or the software is just unfinished, it's hard to say so far.
By the way, those who wish can download the alternative program Open Camera from Google Play, which also provides quite a few settings:
Testing
So, let's start the tests. For the first test, we choose a typical "tourist" scenario - shooting attractions on a sunny day.
For those who want to see on their own, full-size photos are available as a whole archive .
Wide-angle lens:
Medium focal length:
Television (the “tele” is of course conditional, only 2x):
As a conditional “standard” we take a not new, but quite decent camera, Canon EOS 7D with a lens 18-135:
It is clear that the comparison is not entirely correct ( 7D is more sharpened for other tasks - if you need shooting in the studio, or sports shooting, or controlling external light, then DSLR is beyond competition), but in this case we will only be interested in resolution and color reproduction.
Let's see the crop in 100% resolution (in the pictures the left corner, center and right corner, respectively).
Shirik S10:
All the charms are visible on the edges - and a drop in resolution and aberration. All widths, however, often have a rather mediocre image around the edges - there are certain physical difficulties in making wide-angle lenses.
But the main camera pleasantly surprised me - more or less clearly:
Not “crystal clear” and not L-fix of course, but considering that we are looking at a picture in 4032px wide, this is quite normal.
Televik:
By the way, EOS 7D did not show any significant advantage in microcontrast.
It’s clear that in the corners of all budget lenses it’s not ideal, and the Bayer matrix by its principle doesn’t really transmit details in one pixel, so small branches are a complex object for any camera.
But at the maximum zoom, the smartphone, of course, has no chance against 135mm. Shooting from the same point:
(but there is no such wide angle on this lens either)
By the way, the S10’s width is quite wide-angle, they can shoot something like this:
I’ll say right away - you need to be able to shoot and choose a composition on a wide-angle lens, to be artistic. I personally do not know how. But there is such an opportunity, which is already pleasant.
Color reproduction
On S10, everything is quite good, and the picture looks about the same as it was at the time of shooting:
But EOS 7D allows you to get bokeh, inaccessible to small matrices:
Evening / night shooting
Finally, the most difficult genre for any camera is shooting in low light. Of course, the large matrix here has a huge advantage in the form of size and lower pixel noise. On the other hand, the small size of the matrix makes it easy to make high-aperture optics - lenses wider than F2.0 for DSLR cost quite an unbelievable amount of money, and on a F1.5 + OIS smartphone, as a result, it will give almost the same gain in aperture ratio than any budget Whale F4.5 without stabilizer.
According to personal experience, even on a DSLR, night shooting with hands is very difficult - the noise is very high. On S10, the situation is about the same - you can basically shoot from your hands, but even on the preview in the sky you can see noise:
1/10 F1.5 ISO1250
If you take a tripod (mini-tripods for smartphones can be found on sale) and manually set the ISO50, the frame is noticeably cleaner, but the shutter speed is, of course, longer:
2c, F1.5 ISO 50
In general, the frame in terms of color reproduction is quite good, and is quite consistent to what was visible to the naked eye.
Prospects
Judging by articles appearing including on Habré, mobile photography is a very actively developing market segment. And the result in general is evident, we can say that for unprofessional amateur shooting, top-end smartphones almost caught up with entry-level DSLRs (especially if they are used with cheap and dark whale lenses).
What awaits us next? Promising can be called a number of areas.
Portrait shooting
Of course, the physically small matrix of a smartphone cannot display full bokeh. However, it can be displayed programmatically, and there are 2 methods. The first purely software - modern algorithms are quite able to distinguish a person from the background of everything else and blur the background. The second method is the use of two cameras (with the same or different focal lengths), which makes it possible to construct a “depth map” due to parallax, and as a result, make the blurring more accurate.
Once again, we can repeat that there will never be perfect bokeh from a smartphone - it is physically not there, maybe only software Blur to one degree or another. On the other hand, small artifacts that are visible only at 100% magnification, and even then if you know what to look at, most users simply will not notice. Although of course flaws are sometimes noticeable:
(source - youtube review )
By the way, since blurring is done programmatically, shooting in RAW gives such cameras a unique opportunity - to choose a place and a zone of sharpness after shooting . An example can be found in the reviews of Nokia PureView.
Dynamic range and HDR The
dynamic range of the matrices of modern smartphones is quite good in itself. More promising is the use of the second lens - taking two pictures at the same time, you can get a picture with a much larger DD. Of course, the fee for this is the need for two identical lenses. Let's see what happens with Nokia with this approach.
Even without a second lens, the high shooting speed allows you to combine pictures into one, reducing noise. This is how night shooting works on Google Pixel. The technology, of course, is not new, astrophobic enthusiasts have been using it for many years, just the computing power allows you to do this almost on the machine.
Shutter lag
Another common complaint about “soapboxes” is the long shutter release. The problem is resolved in Google Pixel - the camera saves the pictures constantly in the ring buffer of memory, and when you press the "shutter" button, the frame is actually ready, you just have to get it from the buffer. There is also a lot of space for post-processing, for example, you can automatically select the sharpest frame out of several.
disadvantages
Of course, there are a number of disadvantages that smartphones are unlikely to be eliminated.
The inconvenience of management. A modern thin smartphone fits comfortably in your pocket, but it is just as uncomfortable in your hand. If we talk about photography, the lack of full-fledged manual control, quick switching of modes, a strap for hanging on the neck, and finally - for a long-term shooting, a professional camera is still more convenient.
Limits of optics. It is clear that a large zoom cannot be placed in a thin case; there are also design limitations on the size of the matrix. About portrait shooting was also said.
conclusions
Technology is changing. More recently, shooting from a smartphone was only suitable for retaking an ad on the porch door. Today we are already discussing shooting in RAW, optical stabilization and HDR. Yes, however, people with digital dust boxes are now almost invisible on the street. What will happen next, let's see ...
Of course, all of the above applies to amateur photography. Professional photography, of course, remains - sports, reporting, studio shooting and other genres, they will not go anywhere. And for those amateurs who still use the
Several video reviews of the photo capabilities of modern smartphones under the spoiler.
Spoiler