What phone camera features matter most for reducing noise in low-light HDR photos?
Asked 12/3/2017
8 views
2 answers
0
I currently shoot HDR photos on a Samsung J7 (2017) using a Pro HDR app. I like the results overall, but in low light—such as blue-hour outdoor scenes—the images show noticeable monochromatic noise, and tone mapping makes it worse.
If I upgrade to a new phone, which camera features are most important for getting cleaner HDR results? For example:
- larger sensor
- wider aperture (smaller f-number)
- more megapixels
- dual camera setup
- RAW capture
- sensor type
I’m mainly interested in low-light outdoor HDR, not full night scenes or dim indoor snapshots.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
1
A larger sensor and smaller f-number (larger aperture) will generally yield better results in low light. However, mobile phones heavily rely on good software these days to produce the final JPG image, which may have just as big of an impact on the final image as all the technical specifications of the camera.
DxOMark compare mobile phone cameras and can be a good place to look for a phone that scores well for low noise.
RAW capabilities will definitively give you more control, but to fully utilise it you might have to do more than what is practical. Mounting the phone on a tripod, putting the camera to manual mode, control the shutter speed and ISO manually to lower the noise level, over and underexpose, load files into Lightroom or similar application and then create the HDR photo will probably give you a quite good result, but given that you are using a mobile phone that is probably not the way you want to do it.
A higher resolution (for the same sensor size) will often reduce the dynamic range a bit, so if resolution is not important you might actually achieve a better result with a lower resolution (given that everything else is equal).
Last, better cameras (in general) tends to have more "new" stuff, so although features like dual camera might not make a difference technically, it it likely that a phone with such a feature also has a better sensor that can produce better HDR photos.
To summarise, I would recommend looking at DxOMark scores, look at some of the sample photos and use that to find out what suits your needs within the budget.
Originally by user70578. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70578
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For cleaner low-light HDR on a phone, prioritize a larger sensor and a wider aperture (smaller f-number). Both help the camera gather more light, which generally reduces noise.
Beyond hardware, image processing matters a lot on phones. Two phones with similar specs can produce very different HDR results because of their software, so real-world camera performance is often as important as the spec sheet.
RAW capture can help because it gives you more control over noise reduction, exposure, and HDR blending. But to really benefit, you may need a slower workflow: tripod, manual exposure/ISO, and processing the files yourself in software such as Lightroom.
Things like more megapixels or a dual-camera setup are not, by themselves, reliable indicators of lower noise.
In short, look first for:
- larger sensor
- wider aperture
- strong real-world HDR/low-light image processing
- RAW support if you’re willing to edit manually
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI8y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
What should I look for in a camera if I mainly want sharp, clear family photos?
How can I get sharper sunrise photos with a phone camera?
How can I photograph very subtle color differences accurately in lab samples?
How dual native ISO works and why the two base settings have different noise/latitude tradeoffs
What camera phone specs matter for fast autofocus, especially in low light?