iPhone 7 Camera Test Touts Excellent Exposure, Lower Noise, and Richer Colors

[Karma*Police]

I'm no photographer, but I've heard from a few in my company who work in the camera business that they wouldn't rely on this company for reviews. I'm not sure if it's due to their methodology or because they're too easily influenced by money they get from the manufacturers or both. Maybe some photographers on here can shed more light.

One thing they could have done better is to categorize the phones by size. Larger phones have more room for better sensors, lens, etc. and that's been the trend for a few years now. Lumping them all together is like including point and shoots with DSLRs.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Was really hoping the dual lens would be in the 7 and not just the 7+. I just can't handle the large size. This is the first time I haven't upgraded my iPhone for the camera improvements. Will just wait for the 8.

 

[Nozuka]

So why do they rate the flash and autofocus with less points than on the 6s? But at the same time mostly talk positively about them...

 

[realeric]

It's too sad that iPhone 7 camera still falls behind 6 month old Galaxy S7's.

 

[Nozuka]

It's too sad that iPhone 7 camera still falls behind 6 month old Galaxy S7's.

Looks like it's not too far off though. At least not a big enough gap to choose one phone over the other, in my opinion.
Unless that's the most important thing to you.

No phone wins in every category. Never has, never will.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

WCG is actually supported by tvOS 10, app developers have to enable the library to make use of it. In my testing though, neither the interface nor apple's own apps are currently in an extended range.

The hardware doesn't support it and that's the answer from the original poster. iOS 10 having support is due to the iPhone 7 having it.

 

[imlynxy]

With buzz and hiss mode.

Exactly I like "lower noise" in title. Did they mean hissing noise?

 

[Bubba Satori]

As a professional photographer, I've followed DxO's reports for years. Perhaps this report will quiet down the haters.

What haters?

 

[2457282]

All I can say was that from the first photo I took, it was clear to me that the 7 was better than my 6S. really happy with the quality of the photos. Obviously not as good as my Nikon with a fixed 50mm lens, but I just don't carry it around with me the way I do the phone. When I go to special events, I take my nikon, for everything else, the iphone 7 is really nice. For example, I gave my 6s to my wife, but even now she asks to borrow my 7 to take pictures.

 

[GoodWheaties]

I'm no photographer, but I've heard from a few in my company who work in the camera business that they wouldn't rely on this company for reviews. I'm not sure if it's due to their methodology or because they're too easily influenced by money they get from the manufacturers or both. Maybe some photographers on here can shed more light.

One thing they could have done better is to categorize the phones by size. Larger phones have more room for better sensors, lens, etc. and that's been the trend for a few years now. Lumping them all together is like including point and shoots with DSLRs.

One of the most ridiculous things they have done is rate the exact same lens differently simply due to the sensor behind it. Also no one really knows what metrics they use to calculate the final score, so to me the only useful things are the individual scores.

 

[2457282]

BTW - is that miley twerking away in the photo? LOL

 

[nviz22]

I think the 7+ could be one point behind the S7 or tied with the S7 considering the differences between the 7 and 7+. I just hope that this hiss stuff goes away soon. Messes with my videos for projects already.

 

[KPOM]

Conversely, iPhone 7 photos may look slightly washed-out when viewed on devices that do not support the appropriate color management (DCI-P3), as they would wrongly interpret iPhone7 JPEGs as being encoded in sRGB.

Could this explain why Consumer Reports didn't notice much difference to the 6s?

 

[solace]

That's quite some definition of "only" you have there, MacRumours.

while i agree, it's worth noting that based on scores, there are only 2 higher scores than the iPhone 7.

With very few weaknesses, the iPhone 7 secures a podium position with one of the top three scores among all the mobile phone cameras we have tested.

Based somewhat on the gap between the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (4 points), the iPhone 7 Plus should likely score between an 88-90, making it either tied with or the highest score they've given.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

What haters?

Just visit the iPhone forum, it's filled with people exclaiming that the iPhone 7 camera is not better than the iPhone 6+.

They are pretty knowledgable you know....

 

[velocityg4]

"such as overexposed highlights, but said the instances of these were minimal."

Everyone is after a perfect smart phone camera equal to DSLR's. which is not gonna happen.. Gap is closing, but users demand more... in a phone...

If your that determined, then u look like a professional, in which case get a DSLR, why are u using smart phone to take "professional" shots ?

No professional photographer would leave their expensive DLSR at home for lightening shots..

If I'm backpacking through Tibet and see a Snow Leopard two miles off. I want to be able to whip out my iPhone and see each individual whisker from that range.

On a more serious note. Phone camera have gotten to be quite good. The issue of zoom needs to be addressed. If you want any detail you have to get close. Another issue is wide angle shots or lack thereof.

 

[HBOC]

The DXO site you take with a grain of salt. Ive used lenses that they "scored" low, and I've done ok

 

[citysnaps]

It's too sad that iPhone 7 camera still falls behind 6 month old Galaxy S7's.

It's only sad if your photography is about specs and coveting.

If instead your photography is about making compelling photographs with the power to stir a viewer's mind and imagination, then it makes little to no difference.

 

[dude-x]

I find it funny that the article includes a simulated picture of the sRGB and WCG picture in one single picture! (It should be two separate images with their respective color profiles.)

The iPhone 7(+) takes wide color pictures, but I believe iOS 10 will use the P3 color profile when viewed from Photos, but otherwise applies "Apple Wide Color Sharing Profile" that will display proper sRGB colors on non wide displays.

I don't know how it works though, but it would be interesting for a site to discuss this technical detail.

 

[A MacBook lover]

Here's a photo taken with my 7 Plus this morning!

 

[69Mustang]

TL;DR
Flagship cellphone cameras are pretty good.

 

[magbarn]

Thanks,
I one of the main reasons I got a 6s Plus was for the better camera. I was a little disappointed in the camera and the size.

It is hard to use 1 handed. Hopefully the iPhone 8 will have a decent camera in a smaller size.

As for my photos, almost all of them are taken inside with normal light for a living space. They do not look the best and I was hoping for some improvement with this model.

There's a saying among car enthusiasts "There's no replacement for displacement" The iphone still uses one of the smaller sensors in the flagship smartphone lineup. Until Apple goes with a larger sensor, the Android phones will still beat them in low light conditions. The lens may have a "f/1.8" aperture, but when compared to full frame in relation to aperture and sensor size, it's really closer to f/8.

OTOH, Apple has superior image processing so they make the best they can with that smaller sensor so the results come out 'ok'. If you zoom in on iphone 7 shots taken in low light, there's some serious blurring going on to take out the noise.

 

[Lidar]

I had to pick my Apple Watch up from the local Apple Store that was just in for repair this morning. I was waiting for them to bring it out from the back and started messing with the 7 and 7 Plus. I was amazed by the fact that the camera on the 7 was MUCH BETTER than the camera on the 7 Plus.

I was photographing the back of an iPhone on the other side of the display table. I first grabbed the 7 Plus and did the 2X zoom. The picture looked like crap. So I set it back to 1X and re-took the photo. It was much better but the image still wasn't that sharp compared to my 6 Plus. I then grabbed the 7 and took another photo of the same iPhone across the table. It was night and day difference. It seemed much, much sharper. I then zoomed in and took another photo at what I thought was the same focus as the 7 Plus on 2X zoom. It was even sharper than the 7 plus. I took both phones in each hand and looked at the photos side by side. I was amazed.

I asked the sales guy why the images were so bad. I though they were supposed to be better. He mentioned that there was a new OS coming out that would "make the background blurry" and it was much better. Wow... Thanks guy...

I think this dual camera stuff is a gimmick and not ready for prime time.

 

[cdmoore74]

I'm at the conclusion that both pictures look good. The only benefit really is the dual camera and bokeh effect on the Plus.

 

[kemal]

No camera can make the Centre Pompidou look good.