Apple iPhone 7
Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, discusses the camera on the iPhone 7 during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016. Reuters/Beck Diefenbach

When the HDR modes of Apple iPhone 7, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S7 were put to test, they produced different results. It will be wrong to suggest which one has the best camera as it depend entirely on personal choice. Here, the differences between the cameras, focusing more on HDR, have been put forth. In HDR mode, all three takes brilliant photos where iPhone 7 tries more to keep the natural look in its images, even when the image is darker than expected. iOS’ advanced photo-editing software is a bonus to make the darkened spots pop out.

According to PhoneArena, the Google Pixel’s HDR mode successfully balances light and shadow and produces some really impressive photos. However, at times, some of the images are heavily doctored and may look cartoonish despite simple photo edits. Samsung Galaxy S7’s HDR mode favours boosting the brightness of images, including the bright spots. At times, it sacrifices finer details to produce well-lit images. While this is a bonus for many, some professional photographers may not want to sacrifice details in favour of brightness.

According to GSMArena, the Apple iPhone 7 has a 12MP primary camera with f/1.8, 28mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS and quad-LED (dual tone) flash. Other features include 1/3" sensor size, geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 8MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection and HDR (photo/panorama). The camera supports videos at 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps and 720p@240fps. The secondary camera is of 7MP with f/2.2, 32mm, 1080p@30fps, 720p@240fps, face detection, HDR and panorama.

The Google Pixel primary camera is of 12.3MP with f/2.0, EIS (gyro), phase detection & laser autofocus and dual-LED (dual tone) flash. Other features include 1/2.3" sensor size, 1.55µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and panorama. It supports videos at 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps and 720p@240fps. The secondary camera is of 8MP and comes with f/2.4, 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size and 1080p video recording. The Samsung Galaxy S7 primary camera is of 12MP with f/1.7, 26mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS and LED flash.

Galaxy S7’s features include 1/2.5" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto HDR and panorama. Videos are recorded at 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR and dual-video rec. The secondary camera is of 5MP with 1/4.1" sensor size, 1.34 µm pixel size, f/1.7, 22mm, dual video call and Auto HDR. Stay tuned on IBT AU for more updates on Apple iPhone 7, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphones.

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