Can You Learn Photography With Your Phone? (Pixel 3a vs Sony A7 III) By Rudy Visuals

So last week I bought this phone. The Google Pixel 3a, it's a phone actually from 2019. It's not a high-end flagship, in fact, there's actually a new version of this phone that just came out. It's a mid-range phone. Furthermore, it cost me about 330 quid, which is about 400, it's pretty average smartphone. All things considered specs wise, but with one exception it comes featured with even to this day what is considered to be one of the better cameras on any smartphone at any price range.

So, as a portrait photographer, I'm very curious to see what this thing actually can do. So just for cakes. Let's compare it to. Oh, I don't know full frame, mirrorless Sony 873 that cost five times the price, because why not so spoiler alert the camera beats the smartphone. I mean you guys already knew that before you even clicked on this video.

So there are no surprises there. Anything like that. It's an unfair comparison, I mean just the body of the Sony alone is like five times the price of the Pixel 3a and even like a budget DSLR or a mirrorless with a decent lens. It's still going to be better than any smartphone on the market period, but the main reason I wanted to make this video is because of the two main questions that I get asked on this channel, which is one what camera should I buy and two can I take decent photos or portraits on my smartphone now, if you'd asked me like a few years ago, I would have said: ditch the phone go one bay grab, an entry level canon or a Nikon DSLR. That's still going to produce better results and be a better long-term pathway into the world of photography.

But, as we all know, the cameras in modern smartphones, they are getting better all the time and the truth is the vast majority of you watching, probably own a smartphone and probably a good number of you own, something relatively modern. More so if you have like a flagship, iPhone, 11 pro or a Samsung s20, for example, that's a lot of impressive technology packed into those things I mean you've already spent significant money on a phone. So if you want to start getting into photography, you already have a pretty decent device that you can shoot and get instant results with right now without having to spend more money on a dedicated camera. So that's where the Pixel 3a comes in, so I want to see if I could actually go out and take some decent photos with this, especially in the portrait mode that this thing comes in, because I've seen pictures of that like fake both that you get on like iPhones and stuff, it's something that I've seen and kind of laughed at, but I actually wanted to see firsthand for myself what it's like to use a portrait mode on a smartphone, because I've actually never done that and then measure that up against a proper camera. So I mean I know, and all of you already know that the a73 is going to be better.

The question is by how much so to find out. First, I need an interesting subject to shoot. Now: hmm, if only there was some kind of political human rights movement going on right now that would make for an interesting subject bye. So, first, before we continue rest in peace, George Floyd wrestling priest, brewer, Taylor and all the needless lives have been lost and shout out to everyone supporting the movement. Okay, so back to the video now I for one, was actually pleasantly surprised by the photo quality that I was able to capture with this thing like I wasn't blown away, but I was pleasantly surprised, and I have to say it was quite nice to just be able to just point shoot and have everything automated it meant.

I could focus less on like the technical side of photography and concentrate more on the creative things like, for example, framing composition, trying to find a narrative running in and out people I mean results, wise yeah, the a7 iii. It kills it in every aspect in terms of that final output. But it's gotten to the point now where us photographers, we shouldn't be sneering at smartphones anymore. I mean these things are legitimately capable of producing very, very good pictures and because of the form factor, I can see smartphones being very useful for like street photography for protest photography. Basically, during times when you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, I mean downsides yeah.

There are quite a few downsides: there's no manual controls like uh ISO and shutter speed and aperture, and even some of the phones that do have those things because of the physical limitations, the sensor size. You know all that stuff, like skin, processing lighting depth of field. None of that is actually real or true to life. It's all processed and computerized by the software in the phone, it's basically fake, so yeah that is kind of a downside. But if you consider that some people just want to shoot and have something ready straight out of the camera for like Instagram Facebook, blogs websites, social media, whatever that automation, that's going to save you a lot of time now, if we pixel peep yeah.

This is where things start to fall apart a little for the smartphone. There is definitely no competition in just straight resolution and detail even shooting in JPEG everything you're. Seeing now is straight out of the camera. No editing there really is no competition between the camera and the smartphone. The portrait mode, which was the mode I was most interested, I found it very like hit-and-miss, so you can sometimes see the edge detection.

It can be a little off and the both and out of focus parts can be a bit of a mixed bag and definitely doesn't look that natural at all. There are other times, for example, here the hand here is behind the phone, yet somehow the phone has been blurred out, so there are times when the computer gets it wrong. Skin tones too can also look quite plastic, and we can see the limitations of the smartphone camera here. In terms of the details, the colors and the dynamic range, the smartphone falls even more apart when you start to think about shooting sports or fast moving subjects. If you want to change the focal length, the durability, it all still leads to a proper, dedicated camera still being the better choice, even like a used DSLR from like half a decade ago, with some good lenses.

It's still what I would personally recommend- and it's still going to be any modern smartphone today, but, like I said earlier three or four years ago, there wouldn't even be a point in comparing them, especially amongst like the mid-range and cheaper camera phones. But now, though, you can't deny that the cameras that come with modern flagships and even these mid-range smartphones they're actually pretty decent to the point now where, if I forgot or didn't want to take my camera with me or if I ran out of battery, I could definitely make do with this, and it could be my like secondary device, maybe not for something like a wedding or anything like that, but for street photography photo journalism that kind of thing yeah. This is definitely a convenient appointment shoot basically, after all, smartphones, are kind of the reason why camera sales, at least at the lower end, have been in like pretty sharp decline for years. Now, so I mean this Pixel 3a it has. It has portrait mode.

It's got a night mode for long exposures. Furthermore, it's got image stabilization. Furthermore, it can do time lapses. Furthermore, it's got proper, autofocus. Furthermore, it shoots 4k, it can record in high frame rates.

I mean, as chase Jarvis said. The best camera that you have is the one you have with you, and if you have these kinds of features into your smartphone, then yeah he's got a pretty good point. So look all things considered. A dedicated camera is always going to be better. We know that you know that everybody here knows that.

But if you want to get into photography, you want to save a bit of money before buying a real camera. You want to go out and start learning and getting instant results. You don't have to wait because you know the one you have in your pocket. Your smartphone is probably already a great starting point me personally. I've always wanted to get into photo journalism, and it was the things outside the camera that made the biggest difference like being in the right position.

Looking for the right moments, trying to find the story, the narrative, those impactful moments and all of those things that make a great photographer- I mean the a7 iii- is by far the better tool. But you know I'm completely new to photojournalism and an expert would probably be able to take way better shots than me just using a smartphone. So that's just some food for thought. So definitely don't sleep on your smartphone cameras. They are actually pretty decent these days.

But what do you guys think I'd love to hear your opinions on shooting pictures with your smartphone? I know a lot of people now are shooting video on their smartphone, which is also another an entirely different topic, but in terms of just shooting stills, can you take great pictures on a smartphone? I think you definitely can anyway guy it's time to wrap up this video if you like, the video give it a thumbs up and if you're new here hit that subscribe. Button follow us on Instagram and Facebook down here, yeah and that's pretty much it. I guess I'll see you on the next video thanks. So much for watching and peace.

Source : Rudy Visuals