Seven DSLR cameras, from entry level to mid-range, and why you still need one in the smartphone age
Smartphone cameras’ tiny sensors, fixed lenses and smart software are no match for cameras, whose lenses let in so much more light. Here’s a beginner’s guide to the models available – Hong Kong is a great place to buy one
Smartphones are taking over photography. The 6.1-inch Huawei P20 Pro and the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus claim multiple lenses, automatic scene selection, and even hand-held lowlight long exposures. So why would anyone need to invest in a manual digital camera?
To be creative, that is why. Smartphones may be getting better with every incarnation – and what they’re now able to handle is incredible – but the only way they can improve is to take more decisions out of the hands of users. They only do what they think you want them to do.
What really limits smartphone cameras is their tiny camera sensors and fixed lenses. Consequently, almost all advances are down to software, from digital zoom and image stabilisation to automatic scene selection and noise reduction. Convenient, yes. Does it give you full creative control? Absolutely not.
“Keep using your phone if you just want to take snapshots,” says Peter Stewart, a Hong Kong-based fine art travel photographer. “Upgrade to a DSLR if you want to start taking photographs.”
With a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) or a mirrorless camera, you get something no smartphone can offer: endless possibilities by having full control of that one critical ingredient – light.
All photography is essentially about finding the right balance between the camera’s aperture (which determines how much light reaches the camera’s image sensor), ISO (the light sensitivity of the imaging sensor) and shutter speed (how long the image sensor is exposed to light).
Keep using your phone if you just want to take snapshots. Upgrade to a DSLR if you want to start taking photographs