# My Nexus 5 phone takes better pictures than 60D in low light



## omar (Dec 31, 2013)

I've got a Nexus 5
I love it
The camera takes some beautiful pics + videos
ESPECIALLY in low light - with absolutely no grain

*Why can't I get the same with my Canon 60D*?
Sure I can boost the ISO up to the total max... but it just won't compare with the Nexus 5

What am I missing? 


Omar


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## dgatwood (Dec 31, 2013)

omar said:


> I've got a Nexus 5
> I love it
> The camera takes some beautiful pics + videos
> ESPECIALLY in low light - with absolutely no grain
> ...



Massive digital noise reduction after the photo is taken. IIRC, the Nexus 5's sensor is tiny compared with the 60D, so given the same level of DNR, the 60D's photo will be much, much better unless your lens is crap.


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## omar (Dec 31, 2013)

i have a 50mm F1.8 lens and the standard 18mm-58mm lens included in a kit (i think that's the one)
are u saying i should be able take better pics??

i'm still an amatuer... but i now all about the triangle and can adjust to take pics in low light

the nexus 5 will take crisp clear pics with lots of definition without a low F stop

what am i doing wrong?


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## omar (Jan 2, 2014)

Anyone?


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## MovingViolations (Jan 3, 2014)

omar said:


> Anyone?


 What can your phone do with a 400 mm lens in low light? Well it is a trade off. Did you turn on noise reduction in the 60D?


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## Dylan777 (Jan 3, 2014)

omar said:


> i have a 50mm F1.8 lens and the standard 18mm-58mm lens included in a kit (i think that's the one)
> are u saying i should be able take better pics??
> 
> i'm still an amatuer... but i now all about the triangle and can adjust to take pics in low light
> ...



Where do you view nexus 5 photos at? on the phone or PC?

Did you compared 60D pics and nexus 5 pics on same monitor?


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## aznable (Jan 3, 2014)

the nexus 5 is worst than my lumia 1020 taking shots at any iso and the lumia 1020 is good considering it's a phone, but it isnt any better than a dslr like a canon 60D; post some samples


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## Menace (Jan 3, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> omar said:
> 
> 
> > i have a 50mm F1.8 lens and the standard 18mm-58mm lens included in a kit (i think that's the one)
> ...



+1 

Good point - interesting to know the answer.


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## Viggo (Jan 3, 2014)

I doubt your settings are right if you get worse IQ with 60d. Wrong WB and undersposure can lead to some unpleasant images that are of no fault to the camera.

As mentioned above, have a look at both on a monitor and you'll see it soon enough.


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## mb66energy (Jan 3, 2014)

aznable said:


> the nexus 5 is worst than my lumia 1020 taking shots at any iso and the lumia 1020 is good considering it's a phone, but it isnt any better than a dslr like a canon 60D; post some samples



Speaking about photos without seeing them is like seeing a good meal without tasting it!

As mentioned above: Noise reduction (algorithms) can do a lot for noisy images. I tried a lot with the DxO Software (v9) before I bought it. It reduces noise very effectively with it's PRIME feature and does that nearly without any loss of detail and gives me a 2 or 3 stop advantage in terms of noise control/high ISO/recovering shadows. Perhaps some handys have PRIME included ... why not?


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## rs (Jan 3, 2014)

aznable said:


> post some samples


+1


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## Canon1 (Jan 3, 2014)

You might be fooling yourself with shutter speed. With a shorter focal length, the phone will take much "sharper" images in lower light because you don't need too fast of a shutter or capture speed for the exposure to render the scene motionless (and eliminate motion blur from your hands). 

A dSLR will require better technique when shooting in lower light with similar focal lengths and shutter speeds. Once you develop this technique (and learn to set the camera software up properly) your SLR will produce much better images.

All of this is meaningless guesswork unless samples can be seen.... Have any comparable samples for us?


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## endiendo (Jan 3, 2014)

I think it's a polluting subject.
Without photos, we can't say anything...


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## retina (Jan 3, 2014)

omar said:


> I've got a Nexus 5
> I love it
> The camera takes some beautiful pics + videos
> ESPECIALLY in low light - with absolutely no grain
> ...



makes no sense 
please share this miracle with us by posting some photos


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## alexturton (Jan 3, 2014)

My 2 cents is that an f2.4 1/3.2 inch sensor of the nexus 5 will give an effective depth of field of somewhere around f11+ (in full frame terms) so everything will always be in focus (because the sensor is so small). However you will still be benefitting from f2.4 in shutter speed terms (because f2.4 is f2.4 in terms of light transmision, assuming there is no light loss)

Whereas on your 60d to get f11 equivalent depth of field you'll need to be around F8 which will kill your shutter speeds.

I agree with the sentiment above that its easier to handhold a camera phone and seemingly take a better still. 

But in IQ and NR terms, in anything less than perfect lighting conditions,. the DSLR should always be better

However...... +1 need samples to truly compare.


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## mackguyver (Jan 3, 2014)

My Nexus 5 does not take better pictures than my SLR. It takes nice photos and has an impressive HDR mode, but can't compare to my EOS M, or 5D bodies. 

If the OP is truly getting better photos on his Nexus, he isn't using his 60D correctly.


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## allanP (Jan 3, 2014)

Sorry, nice fairy tale ...

Just for fun:



NEXUS  (ISO 1700) AUTO


CANON  (ISO 1600 1/6s 17mm Sigma 17-70) AUTO


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## Northstar (Jan 3, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> My Nexus 5 does not take better pictures than my SLR. It takes nice photos and has an impressive HDR mode, but can't compare to my EOS M, or 5D bodies.
> 
> If the OP is truly getting better photos on his Nexus, he isn't using his 60D correctly.



+1

Or his 60d isn't working properly


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## rs (Jan 3, 2014)

alexturton said:


> My 2 cents is that an f2.4 1/3.2 inch sensor of the nexus 5 will give an effective depth of field of somewhere around f11+ (in full frame terms) so everything will always be in focus (because the sensor is so small). However you will still be benefitting from f2.4 in shutter speed terms (because f2.4 is f2.4 in terms of light transmision, assuming there is no light loss)
> 
> Whereas on your 60d to get f11 equivalent depth of field you'll need to be around F8 which will kill your shutter speeds.
> 
> ...


You are right that its the equivalent of f11+. A 1/3.2" sensor has a 7.61x crop factor. Scaled up to FF, its the equivalent of an f18 aperture. (f2.4 x 7.61 crop)

As a result of such a sensor with an area 58 times smaller than FF (7.61 squared), a mere 1/58th of the light lands on the sensor _if_ mounted behind a lens which has an imaging circle big enough for both sensors. That means that ISO 100 on the Nexus 5 is the equivalent of ISO 5800 on a FF DSLR in terms of S/N ratio - hence the very strong detail destroying NR used on smart phones. Using it at ISO 440 gives a S/N ratio the same as pushing a FF DSLR up to ISO 25,600 (assuming the same generation tech between the two).

In 1.6x 60D terms, the Nexus 5 at ISO 100 is like a 60D with a lens at 19mm and f11, shooting at ISO 3600 - with the NR cranked up to 11.

I'd be very interested to see what Omar is experiencing with the shots from both cameras - you get much more freedom with settings on a DSLR, so while it's capable of a lot more, it's also so much easier to get things wrong. Without seeing the images, we can only speculate. Omar - care to post the pictures?


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## Lichtgestalt (Jan 3, 2014)

troll.... nuff said


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## kirispupis (Jan 3, 2014)

Please don't feed the trolls...


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## TexPhoto (Jan 3, 2014)

omar said:


> What am I missing?
> 
> Omar



Sample Photos. Without those we can't tell you what you are doing wrong.


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## endiendo (Jan 4, 2014)

troll troll troll.... go away to Smartphone photographers forums...


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