I’m comparing low-light RAW photos from a Nikon D90 with the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and an iPhone Xs using a manual/RAW camera app. In similar handheld situations, the phone often looks cleaner and more usable, even at lower ISO values. Typical settings: - Nikon D90 + 18-105mm: wide open at about f/3.5-5.6, ISO 3200-6400, around 1/60s - iPhone Xs: fixed aperture lens, about ISO 1000-2500, around 1/30-1/60s The DSLR files show more visible noise, lower contrast, and sometimes color shifts in dark areas, while the phone images appear cleaner. I expected the APS-C DSLR to outperform the phone in low light. Why might the phone look better here, and what factors in this setup are limiting the DSLR?

Your DSLR, the Nikon D90, was introduced in 2008 while your cell phone, the iPhone Xs, was introduced in 2018. So to answer your questions: Because there are 10 years of technology advance between the DSLR and the cell phone. See 1. Probably not. No.

Why can an iPhone Xs look better than a Nikon D90 in low light, even when both are shot in RAW?

Asked 10/11/2021

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2 answers

I’m comparing low-light RAW photos from a Nikon D90 with the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and an iPhone Xs using a manual/RAW camera app. In similar handheld situations, the phone often looks cleaner and more usable, even at lower ISO values.

Typical settings:

Nikon D90 + 18-105mm: wide open at about f/3.5-5.6, ISO 3200-6400, around 1/60s
iPhone Xs: fixed aperture lens, about ISO 1000-2500, around 1/30-1/60s

The DSLR files show more visible noise, lower contrast, and sometimes color shifts in dark areas, while the phone images appear cleaner. I expected the APS-C DSLR to outperform the phone in low light.

Why might the phone look better here, and what factors in this setup are limiting the DSLR?

low-light noise iphone nikon-d90 raw

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

4y ago

2 Answers

Your DSLR, the Nikon D90, was introduced in 2008 while your cell phone, the iPhone Xs, was introduced in 2018.

So to answer your questions:

Because there are 10 years of technology advance between the DSLR and the cell phone.
See 1.
Probably not.
No.

Originally by user10009. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user10009

4y ago

AI Answer

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The main reasons are your specific camera/lens combination and a 10-year technology gap.

Your Nikon D90 is from 2008, while the iPhone Xs is from 2018. Sensor and image-processing technology improved a lot in that time, so it’s not surprising that the newer phone can look better in difficult low light.

Also, you’re not comparing equivalent lenses. The iPhone’s main camera uses a much faster lens (f/1.8), while your DSLR zoom is only f/3.5-5.6. That’s roughly 1.5 to 2+ stops less light reaching the DSLR sensor, depending on focal length. In low light, that forces the DSLR to use higher ISO or darker exposures, which increases visible noise and can make shadows look weak or tinted.

So no, a DSLR does not automatically guarantee better low-light results if it’s an older body paired with a slow kit zoom. A newer phone with a faster lens can absolutely win in this comparison.

You’re probably not doing anything fundamentally wrong. The biggest limitations here are:

old D90 sensor technology
slow 18-105mm lens compared with the phone’s f/1.8 lens
shooting the DSLR zoom wide open in difficult lighting, where image quality can also suffer

Why can an iPhone Xs look better than a Nikon D90 in low light, even when both are shot in RAW?

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