With both in for testing recently, we thought it’d be a little bit of fun to see just how well the iPhone X stacked up against the Nikon D850.
These two devices are ranked at the top of DxO’s sensor capability charts – the former for mobile phones (for stills – the overall top score is for the Google Pixel 2), and the latter for DSLRs. Much has been said about the lack of a need for a real camera these days, as the technology on board smartphones gets ever more impressive.
There’s no denying that traditional compact cameras have pretty much fallen by the wayside, but can we also ditch the DSLRs?
The iPhone X has two 12-megapixel sensors: one which is joined with a wide-angle lens and one which is joined with a telephoto lens. These work together to produce a shallow depth of field effect in “Portrait” mode.
Meanwhile, the Nikon D850 has a 45-megapixel full-frame sensor. For the purposes of this little experiment, I have paired it with a 35mm f/1.4G lens.
To put it to the test, I found a willing model – in this case my dog, Lola (she’s only in it for the treats).
I took a photo of her in the same place, just a few seconds apart, with both cameras. You can see the results below.
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It probably goes without saying that the D850 puts in the better performance – no surprises there, of course.
However, I was also very impressed by what the iPhone X was capable of. If you zoom in, you can see some strange artefacts – true – but for the average person sharing their shots on a smartphone screen, the difference between the two is actually not that huge.
Of course there’s a million other caveats, and things that a DSLR can do that the iPhone X (or any other smartphone) can’t…. but how many DSLRs can you fit in your pocket?
Let us know what you think of the iPhone X’s Portrait Mode – we’ll also soon be comparing the Google Pixel 2 with a D850 too!