with phone cameras reaching aperture values of f/1.2, having dedicated image sensors and chips, why and how are most of them still inferior to DSLRs?
In: Technology
Low aperature only gives you nice bokeh (fuzzy background) and good low light perf. It’s still an eraser head sized sensor with a like sized lense.
A good dslr sensor is more like the size of a quarter with a lense 3-4 inches wide to let all the glorious light in.
sensor size still matters. the tiny sensors on those cell phone cameras would have huge amounts of noise in low light. they’re basically only good in bright sunny conditions.
Most cell phone cameras mimic DSLR features and abilities with software.
Image sensor size matters. A cell phone only has dedicated space for a small sensor, whereas a DSLR can have a much larger area.
Lenses matter. There’s a massive difference in quality of digital vs optical zoom, autofocus sensors, and other elements. That’s why many pro-level lenses cost as much as a small car.
And a DSLR is a dedicated blend of hardware and software that does one thing really well, where a cell phone does many things at various levels. Like using a multitool as a screwdriver.
So the f-stop is a ratio. An f/1.7 lens sounds impressive but it’s light gathering ability is comparable to an f/11 lens on a DSLR like a Canon 6D. That’s because while the 1.7 ratio sounds impressive; on a physically small sensor and lens the physical hole the light travels through is many times smaller than in a typical DSLR lens. The massive DSLR sensor captures far more total light.
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