For tBragg Guy Loc: Fort Bragg Ca

My son has a Nikon D80 with a DX 18-135 lens and I am not familiar with Nikons. He has recently taken pics of waterfalls and scenery along the Columbia Gorge and finds that his son takes better pics with his Google cell phone than the Nikon in auto mode which is about all he uses without knowledge of how to use the dslr features.
Any advice or thoughts about the Nikon and its capabilities.
Thanks

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

To explain how to better use the camera will require you posting an example with 'store original' to comment on how to better use the camera based on an example image and analysis of the camera settings used to create that image.

FL Pics

How are the phone pictures “better,” and has he A-B’d images from both cameras of the same scene, with identical in-camera fields of view, under same lighting conditions? Were the cameras setup to enhance or not enhance the images differently? For example, if the phone had been set to, say, landscape, producing a JPEG file, and the Nikon a RAW file, it certainly could be that the phone pictures might look better because the Nikon RAW images would need PP.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Sounds like the processing algorithms were different and as such rendered the scene differently. A smaller sensor as in the phone will also render deeper DOF. Now if you were to enlarge both images, the phone image would deteriorate more rapidly. Viewed on the web,, images loo better than they actually are. Have them print out the images as 8 X 10's. Plus, have your son tweak his in camera settings from the defaults.

BebuLamar

The Google Pixie has more Pixels than the Nikon. Of course it's not all the reason but for some subjects the phone would beat the D80 easily.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Pixels are overrated, at least the number of them are. That said, bigger pixels are better than smaller ones. I've got an iPhone 6s. Pics are nice from it viewd on it's screen, but when sent to Lightroom CC and edited, they suffer.

delkeener Loc: SW Rhode Island, USA

Could the person behind the lens of the smart phone have the better eye for a scene?

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Your son is shooting with an antique (10 years) camera and kit lens. His son is shooting with the latest and greatest camera phone technology.

JPL

He needs to learn about the camera. To get optimal results he must take pics in raw and jpeg-fine. In the menu he can also pop the colors and adjust lot of other things. I have one of those D80 and use it a little bit every year and it takes a lot better pics than any camera phone. I also have this same lens and that is no problem to get good pics all the time. But I am not using mine a lot anymore as I have more cameras with higher resolution and other features I like. But there is no quality problem with the D80 in comparison with smartphone if the user knows what he is doing. A photo course is maybe the solution for your son.

tramsey Loc: Texas

True the camera is ten years old but it does has ten mp enough for a decent 10X12. It does have a decent sensor size. There is nothing wrong with the camera, it can take spectacular photos as least as good as a phone camera. I would suggest your son to get off 'auto' and learn how to use his camera. Take the camera in one hand and the manual in the other and spend a couple of days shooting. If he can't find a manual go to Amazon and buy a field guide. They are twice as good as the manual any.

Stop whining about the camera and start with the creative juices.

boomer826 Loc: Florida gulf coast

Amen to that !!!!!

For tBragg Guy Loc: Fort Bragg Ca

It saddens me to think that this blog would criticize a beginner for asking for help and calling it whining.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

The best thing your son can do is learn to make full use of the camera he has. He should get one of the aftermarket books on the camera, to begin with, and start reading it thoroughly. There are lots available from Amazon. There's nothing wrong with the lens he has, he just needs to get out of the full auto mode and learn how to use the other modes. Aperture priority is a popular mode to use, as you control your depth of field and the camera sets the shutter speed. In that mode, ISO can be set to auto or he can manually select the ISO he wants. Another thing he can do to improve his images is learn how to accurately focus using single point focus. Left in full auto, the camera will decide what to focus on, and it may not be what you want to have in focus. But the books on the camera (not the user's manual) tell you what the different functions and controls are, how to use them and when to use them. I wish him the best, and when he masters that camera, then he can consider moving up to something newer. No way should a cell phone camera out perform even a 10 year old DSLR with a good lens.

boomer826 Loc: Florida gulf coast

I wasn't really backing the whining part of the statement. That is a little strong. I was backing the part of getting your son educated about his camera. There are plenty of good books available that go into how to use the D-80. They are better than the stupid manuals that Nikon puts out. The books explain why you should do this or that. The sooner he understands how the camera works, the sooner he can make it take killer photos.

For tBragg Guy Loc: Fort Bragg Ca

You are correct about the education and I have already gotten him the proper manual to study. It is a new experience to try to teach a camera you are unfamiliar with. Now if it were a Canon so much the better!