Taking photos with a smartphone has become increasingly popular as technology progresses, and more people opt for the convenience of this device.
It’s no wonder, then, that many of us find ourselves reaching for our phones instead of a traditional camera when trying to capture moments in our lives.
Despite its advantages, however, some common problems can happen with a smartphone’s camera, leading to poor results and frustration.
#1
The first problem is resolution. Smartphones have relatively small cameras with limited resolution capabilities, meaning that images may appear pixelated or blurred if not taken in optimal lighting conditions.
Additionally, since most smartphones don’t feature optical Zoom lenses like those found in DSLR cameras, getting good close-up shots without losing image quality can be difficult. Some users take multiple pictures to get one they are happy with, which leads to duplicates, which is also an issue.
#2
Another issue is shutter speed. Most smartphones come with built-in software that automatically adjusts the shutter speed based on the ambient light in your environment; however, this isn’t always accurate and can result in blurry photos if the shutter speed is too slow.
Furthermore, it’s often difficult to manually adjust the shutter speed or other camera settings on a smartphone due to their lack of physical buttons and dials.
#3
Thirdly, focusing can be an issue as well.
Many smartphones feature only digital autofocus systems, meaning that they rely on software algorithms rather than physical lenses for focus adjustment – leading to slower response times and poorer accuracy than higher-end cameras with dedicated focus motors.
This is particularly noticeable when shooting macro photography or attempting to capture fast-moving subjects such as children or animals.
#4
Fourthly, low exposure levels are another common problem; since many smartphones don’t have adjustable exposure settings like those found on more advanced cameras, it might be hard to get properly exposed images without blowing out highlights or having underexposed shadows.
To make things worse, most phones tend to overexpose images taken outdoors during daylight hours; this means you’re either stuck with loud noise due to excessive exposure or you have to resort to applying filters after the fact in order to regain some detail within your image.
#5
Fifthly, dynamic range is another area where smartphones fall short compared to more advanced cameras.
Because smaller sensors tend not to capture as much light as larger ones do (especially low light), smartphone photos often suffer from clipped highlights or blocked shadows, which greatly reduce overall image quality and dynamic range in standard camera output.
#6
Sixth is white balance; automatic white balance systems found in smartphones are usually inferior to those found in traditional digital cameras and often produce inaccurate colors, which require additional post-processing workarounds – such as applying custom preset filters.
#7
Seventhly is lens distortion; because most phone lenses have fixed focal lengths (meaning they cannot be changed), they tend to suffer from distortion issues due to curvilinear perspective distortion caused by their narrow field of view (as opposed to wide-angle lenses used by DSLRs).
This distortion generally manifests itself when shooting objects at close distances (such as portraits), resulting in an unnatural stretching effect around the edges of objects unless corrected after the fact using software tools such as Adobe Lightroom CC Classic/Lightroom Mobile App/Snapseed, and so on.
#8
Eighthly is ISO performance, while modern flagship phones sport improved low light capabilities over their predecessor thanks largely due advancements made within their imaging sensors’ technology.
Even then, their performance still tends to lag behind DSLRs’ by quite a bit, thus producing noisy images under dark environments necessitating increased vigilance from the user’s side via proper lighting setup prior to taking a picture. Otherwise, the end results will be unappealing at best.
#9
Ninthly comes color rendition; although almost all mobile phones today feature some form of image processing algorithms, these algorithms often fail miserably while attempting tasks like color accuracy & fidelity reproducing life-like colors, thus leaving people unhappy.
#10
Tenthly we have metering issues; metering algorithms employed by mobiles lag behind those used by SLR’s resulting in either underexposed shots (due to inadequate ISO setting) or Overexposed ones (due to an incorrect calculation done during the auto white balancing process), thus requiring users manual intervention most times.
#11
Eleventh, we have motion blur issues occurring because of shaky hands, specifically while attempting to capture high-speed moving objects like athletes.
Blurring here occurs due to increased exposure time required by a sensor (damage control measure employed by hardware manufacturers), resulting in motion smear-type artifacts.
#12
Twelfth, we land onto depth-of-field related problems arising from incorrect Focal length settings set during automated camera modes either, leading into background blurriness(when Focal Distance is too high) or foreground blurriness(when Focal Distance is too low), making net effect amateurish looking, hence becoming necessary adjusting aperture manually in such cases.