Art and Photography

Locked: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro Takes Better Pictures Than a DSLR, Prove Me Wrong

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Jan 16, 2015
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The Huawei Mate 20 Pro Takes Better Pictures Than a DSLR, Prove Me Wrong

The reviews on the just released Huawei Mate 20 Pro consistently give it high praises for the camera saying it is the best one available, rivaling full sized DSLR/mirrorless cameras. Taking a look at the sample photos in those reviews, I think the Mate 20 Pro is taking better photos than a DSLR/mirrorless, especially in the low light situations. It even has a built in macro shooting mode in addition to telephoto!

The day time, normal range photos taken with the Mate 20 Pro are flawless and I think there is zero that a DSLR/mirrorless can do about it. Out of the camera, the Mate 20 Pro pictures beat/rivals the out of camera pictures from any DSLR/mirrorless. If you are going to use a Photoshopped photo from a DSLR/mirrorless, then that is a non-argument because you are editing your photos. If you are using a speedlite, you could just as well do that with the Mate 20 Pro and it would get even better pictures.

For the telephoto and night shots, they look fantastic on my laptop screen at webpage size. And keep in mind, they were all shot hand held without any tripod! If I zoom in to 100% and pixel peep, I can see that they look at bit smoothed in some spots. But what normal person zooms in 100% to pixel peep? 99.999% of all photos are on Instagram or Facebook in small sizes and no one would notice the little bit of smoothing. You would also miss a lot of shots having to set up your tripod for your DSLR/mirrorless. Thus, I think the Huawei Mate 20 Pro takes better pictures than a DSLR/mirrorless.

https://www.t3.com/reviews/huawei-mate-20-pro-review

https://mobilesyrup.com/2018/12/07/huaw ... ra-review/
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Jan 16, 2015
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Actually, I'm still on the fence on whether I should redeem some of my PC Points to pick up the M100 from a local Shoppers that I know has stock. I wanted somebody to show me side by side exactly what a DSLR/mirrorless can do without any Photoshop compared to a known high end smartphone. There was one poster in that thread that posted a photo comparison he says came from a smartphone but he did not back that up with what model of smartphone was used to take the dimly lit shot he claims came from a professional photographer.

Can anyone do a real photo comparison shot without any Photoshop and using some known high end smartphone with the appropriate settings, all hand held and with the exact same lighting?
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Oct 25, 2008
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Even since few years ago (as example, S7 Edge), the quality of that camera is almost indistinguishable if not better than most DSLR. Many videos / image comparison have been done between cellphone camera and DSLR. Even DPReview has done an article here:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/80379 ... -our-minds

In that sense, it has been proven that an image quality for average consumer from any cellphone is as good as any DSLR camera money can buy. There is not an argument to say that people buy DSLR for image quality.

So why people are buying DSLR / Mirrorless cameras? I think it boils down to few things that are not image quality related.

- Better control -> The experience of taking a picture peering through EVF, changing your composition, adjusting your aperture, tweaking your focus points are all at the heart of romance in photography. There is certain joy and satisfaction of pressing that mechanical shutter button. In fact, some of the most expensive cameras money can buy such as Leica rangefinder has still mostly manual controls (not even an autofocus!)

- Lens interchangeability -> I think this is one of the bigger reason owning a mirrorless is that you can switch between multiple lenses. Mate 20 Pro for instance has 3 lenses: 18mm, 27mm and 80mm which can be classified as super wide, wide and semi telephoto. These are focal lengths geared to consumer, but missing the classic 35mm and 50mm.

So yeah, if you're just concerned about image quality, Mate 20 pro or any flagship phone past 2-3 years will most certainly be sufficient.
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Feb 16, 2006
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Best of all, shortly after you use it to take a photo of your office network wiring closet (before & after shots), or the harbour in Halifax or Esquimalt, there is a backup made in a warehouse in China and if it is a really good shot, it gets immediately viewed by several dozen photo analysts! That is soooooo awesome!! ;)

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JoeStale wrote: Actually, I'm still on the fence on whether I should redeem some of my PC Points to pick up the M100 from a local Shoppers that I know has stock. I wanted somebody to show me side by side exactly what a DSLR/mirrorless can do without any Photoshop compared to a known high end smartphone. There was one poster in that thread that posted a photo comparison he says came from a smartphone but he did not back that up with what model of smartphone was used to take the dimly lit shot he claims came from a professional photographer.

Can anyone do a real photo comparison shot without any Photoshop and using some known high end smartphone with the appropriate settings, all hand held and with the exact same lighting?
You obviously have your criteria for what a good camera is and how to view a picture (you said that most people view picture in a smartphone, iirc from the previous thread) and there's not much to argue about it.
With no photoshop, no tripod, only handheld, 1 jpeg straight out of the camera and viewed on a small device, I can't say that many people will see the difference from a camera vs a smartphone. If you need to share your pictures right away, if you like selfies, a smartphone is obviously better at it.

For me, photography is a hobby. I like using a camera, with accessories and taking my time to edit it on Photoshop. For that purpose, the best smartphone is still way below any of my cameras. I haven't had the occasion yet to meet someone who might tell me: “I like you photo, but how long did it take you to have it after hitting the shutter button? WHAT? a couple of hours because you have to return home and edit it? I don't like it now!”.

Joe, if you hate editing, bringing a tripod with you and the slower pace, then you have your answer. Stick with the Mate 20 and don't buy the Canon M100. Here's your confirmation that you made a good choice buying the Mate 20 instead of a camera.
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May 1, 2006
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if the mate 20 is anything like the p20 pro camera, it probably sucks.
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Every time you take a photo, the CCP edits it and sends it back to you.

/s
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Why not go to a camera store and ask them to show you? Take your P20 there and challenge the camera store to take a better picture than your phone. Then put the pictures on a big TV there side by side and see.

Let me just say that you won't know how much better a DSLR is until you buy one. Because for the longest time I was one of those that use point and shoots for years and believed they look great. Then I bought a mirrorless and it blew me away.

Anyways if you insist on viewing images only on 5.5 inch screens and will never magnify the images or print them, a phone camera is fine.

BTW editing photos is not a torture. It is part of the fun for hobbists. They want to spent the time to make the image look better. It is not a bad thing for them.
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CCHIPSS wrote: BTW editing photos is not a torture. It is part of the fun for hobbists. They want to spent the time to make the image look better. It is not a bad thing for them.
Not only that, it is part of the process of learning to take better photos. There is only so much you can do in-camera, whether it is a smartphone, DSLR, mirrorless, view camera, whatever. Spending time editing, cropping, adjusting colour balance, etc. makes the photographer "more aware" of these compositional and technical factors.
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I don't have to prove you wrong, you are wrong if you are doing anything other than sharing photo's on phones like facebook or snapchat. Try taking a cell phone photo and blowing it up to anything beyond a 4*6. In the hands of anyone that know's what they are doing a DSLR blows a cell phone out of the water.

It's a case of what you want to do. If you cannot think of a reason that you need a DSLR, use your cell phone but don't confuse what you need with 'better'.

P.S. @AncasterRFD already proved you wrong in the M100 thread... You failed to listen there so I don't see you 'getting it' here either.
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Feb 21, 2013
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What's the point of these posts?

- If photography is your hobby, then shoot whatever you want to shoot and be happy with the photos you make. If you're not happy with it, then maybe you need a better camera/editing/composition
- If you're a professional wedding photographer and shooting with any smartphone, good luck getting good, clean images (especially in a dimly-lit reception hall) that you're able to charge lots of money for. Same goes if you're a studio photography taking photos of models, products, food, etc, unless you've found a way to have various off camera flashes triggered by your smartphone camera.

That's not to say that smartphones can't take great photos. I'm always impressed when people can use their phones to produce quality work. Heck, one lady shot Time magazine covers using an iphone and some off camera lighting, and they looked great.

I own a Huawei P10 Pro (a phone that had the best camera two years ago) and my older XT1 produced way better OOC jpgs than I ever could on that phone unless they were black and white, which was a bit of a closer call.
Gear: Fujifilm X-Pro2 | Canon A-1
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Jeez what's with his obsession on proving his (wrong) point?
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dunno about the Huawei but the a6000 from 4 years ago still trounces the PIxel 3

well it better because it costs almost twice the price with quality glass and that's it's only job

phones have come along way though...there's no doubt dedicated cameras cannot touch newer smartphones for image processing

i have access to a display that's higher than 5k and anything taken with a smartphone looks like absolute turd on it, including the M20P
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M1GOmigs wrote: - If photography is your hobby, then shoot whatever you want to shoot and be happy with the photos you make. If you're not happy with it, then maybe you need a better camera/editing/composition
My guess would be that for most hobbyists (i.e. people not getting paid to take pictures), money is better spent on courses, books, travel, etc. than on gear upgrades -- assuming there is a desire to improve and not just a desire to buy gear.

I'm not a pro (a dedicated amateur at best) but I know that my photography improved much more after spending quality time with compilations of work by Erwitt, Salgado, Sexton, Adams, etc., plus composition books by Freeman Patterson and Michael Freeman, than any gear upgrade ever did. Plus the books are usually available at the public library, so this "brain upgrade" is essentially free.
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aerok wrote: Jeez what's with his obsession on proving his (wrong) point?
He probably just discovered the change my mind meme.

2opmp0.jpg
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JHW wrote: My guess would be that for most hobbyists (i.e. people not getting paid to take pictures), money is better spent on courses, books, travel, etc. than on gear upgrades -- assuming there is a desire to improve and not just a desire to buy gear.
Absolutely... I didn't mean gear trumps editing or composition, that's just the order I put them in. But learning how to properly compose photos is important, and there's no way to fix poor composition through gear or editing.

I'm in the same boat as you and I've learned so much from looking at both technical books as well as the works of photographers and artists I like (whether in books or through Instagram) and I think while I take a lot of crappy photos too, the number of good photos has definitely increased by just educating myself. The library is a great resource, and (at least in Toronto) it even gives you access to online resources like Kanopy (There are a few photography videos you can view that can help) or digital books as well.
Gear: Fujifilm X-Pro2 | Canon A-1
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M1GOmigs wrote: Absolutely... I didn't mean gear trumps editing or composition, that's just the order I put them in. But learning how to properly compose photos is important, and there's no way to fix poor composition through gear or editing.

I'm in the same boat as you and I've learned so much from looking at both technical books as well as the works of photographers and artists I like (whether in books or through Instagram) and I think while I take a lot of crappy photos too, the number of good photos has definitely increased by just educating myself. The library is a great resource, and (at least in Toronto) it even gives you access to online resources like Kanopy (There are a few photography videos you can view that can help) or digital books as well.
Tutorials definitely have their merits!

I'm into landscapes photography and the biggest improvement came through tutorials.

Though pricey, I learned a lot from FStoppers Photographing the World series (Part 4 just came out) and Sean Bagshaw/Jimmy McIntyre.

You can always piece together bits of information through various YouTube videos but it's very time consuming since everyone is trying to make a quick buck.

The Locardi series is great since he shows you a lot of out in the field tips. Using Bracketing, Filters, Pano Stitching and more.
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rebel_rfd wrote: I'm into landscapes photography and the biggest improvement came through tutorials.
If you are into landscapes, you should find every Ansel Adams and John Sexton book you can at the library. (Sexton was Adams' assistant for a while.)

Adams used 8x10" view cameras and black-and-white sheet film in a traditional darkroom, but many of his books describe the process of "seeing", or how he imagined the final print in his "mind's eye" before snapping the shutter. He knew at the moment of exposure what he'd later have to do in the darkroom to make the print look like what he wanted. The concept translates directly to modern digital post-processing in LR or whatever. A great exercise in visualization. I found it very inspiring.
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what's up with people taking photography with a phone?

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