Why do my Nikon D5500 photos look less sharp than my smartphone's?
Asked 6/17/2017
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I’m comparing a Nikon D5500 with the 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 VR and 50mm f/1.8G against a Samsung Galaxy Note 5. When I photograph a bottle with text, the phone image looks sharper to me.
On the DSLR I tried several apertures and used single-point autofocus. Some tests were handheld and some with the camera supported on a table. One example with the 50mm lens was shot at ISO 100, f/4, 1/5s, from about 1.7 m away. The phone shot was taken much closer, around 40 cm, to get a similar framing.
I’m wondering whether this is normal, whether I’m comparing them incorrectly, or whether something may be wrong with the camera or lens. I’ve also noticed the DSLR seems much more sensitive to hand shake than the phone.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
9
You're looking at two different magnifications.
You took the dSLR picture from farther away, and then cropped to a smaller area. When you resize that to the same size as a similar crop from an image taken from closer (i.e., filling more of the frame with more resolution), you are basically looking at the D5500's image under closer magnification than the Samsung Note's.
In addition the D5500 has 24MP vs. the Note's 16MP, so at 100% crop, you're basically looking at the D5500 at higher magnification than the Note, given that one pixel in the image becomes on pixel on the screen vs. how you'd look at this if they were both printed out as, say, 8x10 prints.
In addition, unless you were using a tripod, 1/5s is a very slow shutter speed for handholding, even with IS. With a 50mm lens, while handholding, assuming you double for crop factor and have good handholding technique, you should be aiming for something closer to 1/100s. And if you were at f/4 to get 1/5s, then you'd need to go to f/1.0 if you weren't changing the ISO to get a "safe" handholding speed without blur from camera shake.
See also:
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
9y ago
0
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This is most likely normal, and your comparison method is the main issue.
Your phone shot was taken much closer, so the subject filled more of the frame. The DSLR shot was taken from farther away, then effectively examined at greater magnification in the crop. A 100% crop is not a fair sharpness comparison unless framing, distance, and output size are matched.
Also, 1/5s with a 50mm lens is very slow for handholding, so camera shake can easily soften the DSLR image. Phones often hide this with heavy processing and stabilization.
Another factor is depth of field: the phone’s tiny sensor gives much more of the curved bottle in focus, while the DSLR at the same f-number and framing will have shallower depth of field, so less of the bottle text may appear sharp at once.
So the DSLR is not necessarily worse—just less forgiving and less processed. For a fair test, match framing carefully, use a tripod or very steady support, use a faster shutter speed, and compare images at the same final display or print size rather than 100% crops.
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