yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] P650SE:
I often hear people being negative about the Axon 7's camera but it's not bad really, providing you have good lighting conditions. In fact, I have been rather impressed with the results even after enlarging the pictures on my laptop. :)

Sure, it's not as good as my old LG G4, but the difference is relatively minimal and it's worth the compromise for all the advantages the Axon 7 has over that phone like the stereo speakers, AMOLED panel and capacitive buttons. Admittedly I haven't tried using the Axon's camera in low lighting conditions because I know the results will be disappointing with that small pixel size from the 20MP sensor. I still feel confident when going out without my DSLR camera that the Axon 7 will provide decent results as long as there's adequate daylight.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Dodgexander:
So no one has seen better results with stock camera compared to using a different one?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] gecko702:
to me its snap imo
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Pruikki:
i use now Open camera,works fine.

Will try diff apps too.

Open camera is really decent. much sharper
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] RobboW:
I found stock camera app will usually prefer to underexpose and preserve detail rather than brighten up excessively and blow highlights.

Snap is good.

Haven't tried open camera on the A7 as I usually find it has issues with the screen preview not matching the recorded result in regards to the captured area. It ruins photos or requires cropping too often.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] cyrusharding:
Log on edge of frozen lake, bright sunlight, auto settings beat manual
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] gecko702:
ohh nice pic but if you guys missed out on this heres some tips to improve images here as stated: https://xdaforums.com/axon-7/how-to/tips-to-improve-image-quality-lineageos-t3668011

it actuall does help a bit i get really nice shots in outdoors

edit: forgot to mention that its for the default LOS cam or ROMs that uses snap cameras app
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] RobboW:
I just got back from a 10 day cruise to Noumea, Lifou, Port Villa, Mystery Island and Isle of Pines. We missed out on Mystery Island due to the rough and poor weather. All up we had 3 camera's and my Axon 7. Most consistent device was the Axon 7. It has quite a capable camera and the processing on Nougat B10 is good. It's better than people often say and I think many people are just flash happy with regard to ROMs and don't give the OEM software a decent go, wanting to mod then complaining when this or that doesn't work and crying because Gcam is no good on it.

My next phone will be purchased with stock camera performance firmly in mind as I now rarely use a dedicated camera with the Axon 7 being better than expected. It even does decent bokeh.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] kountry83:
Shot using latest Google camera mod!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] muzzz33:
Picture I took of my dog hiding under the TV unit Tring to avoid going out a walk . Used new gcam V8 on stock Oreo b12 .
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mtyler7807:
Oreo b20
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] robstunner:
Photo of my Moruga scorpion pepper plant.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
Could you post picture at full size or redirect to them ?

Just want to see and judge the quality more :).
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] robstunner:
https://plus.google.com/103981168037338892826/posts/66A4xbB3RV7
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
Thanks !
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Looks great
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
[youtube]AxogWUT1e8Y[/youtube]
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Killerdog:
it's not better at all, it try to adjust the autofocus continuously
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Adiyel:
Looks good. I downloaded and examined the photos on the TechRadar review (lowlight, specifically). Between the GS7E, Axon 7, and the iP6S+, on the photo of the guy playing the claw game, if this is an example of the Axon 7's so-called poor lowlight then I have nothing to worry about when this phone arrives.

The iPhone does the best in noise control and preserves good detail, but the picture is too dark. The Galaxy is the purported lowlight king, and produces the brightest picture with the most pleasing colors, but the corner noise is higher than the iPhone (and arguably the Axon as well) and there are obvious signs of oversharpening and heavy post-processing (look at the area around the "Barnes and Noble" on the wall). The Axon blows out some highlights, and has a less pleasing color balance than the Galaxy...both are better than the iPhone.

Without pixel peeping, I like the Axon and the Galaxy photos better than the iPhone for everything. The Galaxy wins I think because of the obvious things like color balance and brightness and control of dynamic range, whereas I have to give the Axon the win for overall texture. That's without pixel peeping. The smoother gradients and less noise look good on the Axon.

I wonder how much better the Axon would be with slightly less noise reduction? Perhaps the next update will show us.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Adiyel:
I looked at some of TechRadar's day photos. The scene in the city with the white car shows how well the Axon does preserving detail in daylight. The car (which I believe is the subject of the picture) is rendered the best on the Axon, whereas overall the Galaxy does the best rendering the entire picture. Brightness is good here, but I like the iPhone's color balance the best.

This is perhaps the most shocking of the day photos, and you'll see why. Take the bridge photo with the walkway and the people. If you look at the beams over the cars, there are posters/stickers on them. The iPhone is the worst, but even the Galaxy can't touch the Axon in how it actual renders readable text. The pole between the walkway and the beams is another example. The iPhone and the Galaxy show blurriness on it, while you can make out the words and graffiti on the pole in the Axon. Finally, the people on the walkway are more detailed on the Axon at a distance. If you use the people standing near the trash can/bench in the distance, the Axon clearly renders the most detail on faces and bodies.

Overall, the Galaxy produces the most consistent pictures with the best overall balance. But this defeat when it comes to detail by a $400 phone comes as a testament to the disadvantages that come with a lower megapixel count and having every pixel split into two (dual pixel tech)...faster focus and brighter pictures (due to aperture?), but you lose a lot of potential detail.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] meboy:
Someone try Snap Camera on play store please.

Usually see big improvements with this app.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] andios help:
I heard that the camera is not the best so you will not able to take photos in low light are in High light just medium light for a perfect look.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] meboy:
Please someone.

Test snap camera from the app store.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] rczrider:
Okay. What do you want to see?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] meboy:
Just feedback even.

Does it help some or a lot with photo and video? Compared to default camera app.

I'm sure it will be better by some amount though.

Thanks.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] fryingpan0613:
A few from today
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] trace1er:
Auto or manual? Nice pics
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] fryingpan0613:
All on automatic, the software knows better than I do lol
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] baymon:
I do believe a lot of the inconsistencies are due to zte's built-in image processing algorithm and software. Coming from the V10 (which IMO as a photographer has the best manual mode implementation and image processing engine), zte's camera app is a big letdown for me with the subpar preview frame rate and the tendencies to really shoot for crazy high ISO.

I also think that the 20mp is a little overkill, and we're paying for it in terms of ISO sensitivity. The v10 captures so much more light under same shutter and ISO setting compared to zte.

Check out these two pics for comparison.

1st pic is delicious salt and pepper squid. ISO 350 at 1/11 shutter speed. Moderately lit restaurant condition.

2nd pic gyro from tonight's dinner. Brightly lit restaurant... Camera had to go to ISO 1646 at 1/13 sec - which caused the excessive NR processing to clean the noise at high ISO. That's almost 2 full stops slower. Granted yes, the v10 has Lower MP count and higher aperture lens, but that's still a massive difference in light gathering capability.

We really can't have it all huh. ?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mjoshi123:
After playing with it for a week now I can say that photo quality is not anywhere near by LG G4 - which is bit of a letdown compared to rest of hardware being extremely well put together. Pictures in low-light especially front facing camera suffers really bad to the point that most of it is not even anywhere near what LG G4's front camera produces.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] xgerryx:
In comparison to other models, past phones, even my Galaxy S3!!! This camera is complete garbage. Sorry to sound so harsh, but it's awful. Open Camera makes it a little better, but without a bright light from the sun or very well-lit room, it suffers. I hope some of this can be fixed with software tweaks, but after reading a lot about the hardware and how low-light pictures are captured, I doubt it improves too much.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Thanks so much for letting us know man. I still have my G4 but have been through most recent phones including one plus 3 and the camera on the g4 just cannot be beat looks like I will have to wait for the V20 or nexi devices. Gutted to hear the camera is that bad (:(:(
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mjoshi123:
I still have my LG G4 and I think I enjoy camera on it lot more especially in challenging light conditions. With sufficient light Axon 7 does okay job but nothing that will suggest that it blows big players out of park (even with similar or somewhat better hardware as big guys).

I'm still contemplating if I should return it or keep it as camera is one of biggest draw for me personally.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] vision33r:
My problem is the software is bad. I think anyone who holds the phone steady and let the software under ideal conditions will take a good shot. My issue is whenever I pull out the phone for a quick indoor shot under decent lighting the quality is a mix bag. The software is slow to get OIS to lock and the those quick shots become blurry and I hate to resort to use burst mode just to find a decent photo. With LG G4 the OIS is so fast and locks the pic. My wife uses a S6 Edge+ and her sensor is only a 16 but night-time shots are good as well as quick shots are all clear and sharp. She's not even that good with taking photos. On a hot sunny day, holding it steady you'll get some fantastic photos.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] dorj1234:
The flash won't work for even when I try forcing it. The software only activates flash on complete dark scenarios. Any amount of light and instead of flash I get "night mode"

Anyone managed to force flash?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Where did you buy yours from and is it gold ?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] test878:
Just did a very quick test, and turning flash from auto -> forced worked. Was in a dim but not dark setting.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Aimara:
its mention as 20 mp , but what brand ? any teardown video so far ?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Unjustified Dev:
Front camera is Omnivision ov8856

Alternative front sensor is Toshiba t4k35

Back camera is Samsung s5k2t8 (can't find any spec sheet)
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mjoshi123:
Anyone know if the camera quality will improve on this one in near future ? More I use this, more I miss my LG G4.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
I have a g4 and love it. The v20 is now looking very tempting if I cant get an axon.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] dprimic:
There is a very good Axon 7 camera review camerapro.gq
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Hampa_D:
^^ link to that? Because I sure can't find it. Seems to be a crap site imo.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
Don't bother, it's only a reference to the pocketnow camera review from YouTube.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ChazzMatt:
Unpredictable camera quality

One reviewer noted this:

http://mobilesyrup.com/2016/09/06/zte-axon-7-review-cant-quite-kill-the-flagship-killer/
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] wuziq:
that quote pretty much nails it on the head with what i've experienced. i really hope MR2 fixes those issues.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] lexluthor721:
Hey the software update today (B03) supposedly contained some "optimization" of the camera.

Have you guys noticed any difference? Or is the blurry bug of OP fixed?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Let us know .. Pls
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Aimara:
i saw this review video, now i am confused , the pics taken by azon 7 is way more vibrant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVcu-9_ddkU
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] viky_paws:
have anyone tried using a 3rd party app for the camera? Do it makes things better?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] viky_paws:
Just some fix on a bug in 1080P video. Nothign for still photos :(
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] rczrider:
Eh, I have high hopes for the update mid to late next week.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
The camera is very poor and not just in low light. Noise reduction is disastrous with the paintbrush effect and washed out colours . The reviews were right. The camera is on a par with 2012 standards, as is the radio which is practically constantly on 3G despite there being 4G everywhere here.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Oh no :( was looking forward to this phone.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] meboy:
Try "Snap Camera" from play store.

---------- Post added at 01:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 AM ----------

Could have handled the camera with Snap.

UI with development.

But the wide spread reports of antenna issues are deal breaker.

Too bad.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] strifej:
I took pics with the a7 and Samsung Note 3 and the a7 is noticeably better. Zoomed in, it's much sharper whereas the note 3 is a messy blob. So, I wouldn't say it's 2012 era since Note 3 came out latter half 2013. I would say this is prob. around the Note 4 level (I had a Note 4 and sold it for this).
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
I like the photos with my Axon 7. :)

These were some random pictures I took while out and about at work, church, and life. I think some people are over exaggerating.

With the photo of the sound board, I intentionally focused far away, to get the closest side blurry..
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] imp3r10:
I would agree that 20 MP is too much. I turn mine down to 12 MP in the settings that but still doesn't change the pixel size on the sensor.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] strifej:
People don't realize how good the min focus is on this phone. You can get really close up to things and it will still focus. On my Note 3 / 4, no way.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
Right?? This is where I focused on the second or third row.. We have those lovely incandescent lights which are so great for taking photos. :p I really love this phone. :victory:
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] strifej:
Haha, I wouldn't say I love the camera. It's still pretty mediocre in the dark. But it's good enough for the price it is.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
What phones are you guys comparing the camera to. I know it won't beat my LG G4 but hoping it's not as bad as the moto x style was with the 21mp sensor. If it is as good as the note 4 then that would be good
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
It's worse than the Honor 7 both in low light and HDR. There's no need to pixel peep to notice the smearing effect from the noise reduction.

I'm out with a Nexus 5x also today taking pictures and I've given up on the A7. HDR totally blows out the sky. I think this is a sensor issue, not software. The Honor 7 also has a 20mp sensor and does the job fine.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
I don't agree.

Here are four shots of two scene. In a low light environment (TV and a dimmed lamp) for the first and in an extreme low light environment for the other (a very dimmed LED desktop lamp), in both case one in auto and one in manual.

Altough i can't compare with the honor 7, it isn't as bad as what you describe. Didn't have any issue with daylight shots in auto.

I'll try to post some shots of comparison with my old Oppo Find 7.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
As i said, posting some pics in low light situtation, between the Oppo Find 7 (2014) and the Axon 7 (2016). Both on official app and B02 on A2017G for the Axon 7.

Situation is pretty dark, with only a LED desktop lamp lightly dimmed. For the Axon 7 (20Mp 16:9), Auto and Manual (Shutter speed at 1 sec and ISO 1200) and for the Find 7 (16Mp 4:3) auto and nightmode, in that order in the attachments.

The Axon 7 is clearly at a similmar level in auto (a bit better) but when tweaking just a bit in manual you get a far better shot. It's far from as bad as pictured by all the reviews in dark situtions... The captor is capable, it's the automode of the software that's suffering.

I'll try to add some daylight shot, maybe comparison later.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] joaste:
Thanks for the pics. In fact, I think the quality is still not the best. The exposure has changed making a brighter image indeed (using manual mode), but the noise level is still pretty high.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mh127:
My findings are the same as [MENTION=4812294]djona12[/MENTION], manual mode improves low light pictures considerably. I usually just set a shutter speed and let everything on auto and pictures come out better. It appears that the automatic nigh mode is wrong.

[MENTION=4812294]djona12[/MENTION]: Which options do you set manually to get the best shots? Did you really use 1 second shutter speed or is that a typo (seems too long without a tripod)?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] djona12:
It might not be the best but it's getting good for the light in the room, it was quite dark. I'll try to borrow a Sony Xperia Z5C to do comparison shots tonight.

Not a typo. 8/10 pics with 1 sec shutter speed are a success for me. Going 2-3 sec and more is getting hard but at 1 sec with a little training you'll get good results imo !
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] strifej:
These are pics from a bar I was at this weekend. I'm ok with them. Everything was auto, no manual adjustments.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] 0gati:
Photographer here. Love the camera. It doesn't always take a good picture out on automatic mode but if you go into the manual controls and adjust for correct exposure (baked up jpeg seems to prefer under exposure) you can get a nice image out of it. I would say that if you have a good understanding of manual camera controls and lighting/exposure then you can get a great picture out of the Axon 7. I've owned the Nexus 6p, Oneplus One, M7, iPhone 5s and the Axon 7 has my favourite camera. It's almost the opposite of the Nexus 6p camera in my opinon. The Nexus 6p usually takes a very good picture but lacks all control. It's a camera for someone who wants to be in a safe space. The Axon 7 is the opposite as it allows freedom.

It sounds a little bit rude but I think if you're struggling or complaining about this camera you just don't really know how to take a good photo without some help. All the tools are there to capture a good photo.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
Ok, here's a couple of low-light photos taken in the streets of Brussels today. Here we are lucky enough to have low light almost every day of the year. :laugh:

Do I have a defective device? I have this yellowish tone in almost every image. Comparison is with an Honor 7.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] 0gati:
I think it's just the white balance favoring a slightly warmer color temperature. Doesn't look defective to me.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
Here's a buddy taken at the same time with the A7 and the Nexus 5x. The Axon makes him look yellow. Does anyone think this is fixable via an update?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
I think this like someone said is just the manufacturer deciding what type of processing the camera will do. Some are warm some cool some have a tint. Just what they decided to do no think. Looks good to me and also the 5x looks good and at first I prefered the 5x then I looked at both and like both for different reasons. If your not happy however dont keep the phone if it bugs you.

---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 PM ----------

That's some amazing photos my friend. Really impressive. What are you finding you have to adjust in most circumstances ? Also I would really be interested with what you have found with moving objects like animals and kids.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
That's good advice, thanks. I think I'm trying to persuade myself to hang on to the Axon because the headphone audio is great. I don't like the photos, I prefer a darker shot where I can dial up the light. You're right, I've just got to choose.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] 0gati:
Thanks! It's a lot of fun playing with the camera. I'm usually dropping my exposure on every shot (the processing doesn't deal with highlights very well) and aiming to shoot at a shutter-speed of 50 or higher (unless I'm using a little tripod). I've found you can go up to around ISO 400 before the phone starts softening the image due to noise. With taking photos of moving stuff I just end up having to increase my shutter speed to 100 or over and adjust my ISO so that the image is slightly under exposed again.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
If you get time in your next shots could you please post some moving stuff, birds , dogs etc. Thanks. Best photos I seen from the phone. Shame auto isn't better for those quick snaps. Do the manual settings save
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] strifej:
Update B27 out for U models. Let's see what people say about the camera after that.

*Update* Multiple people have said low light pics are improved with the B27.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
Just got my first feedback on the Axon camera: "Is there something wrong with your camera? The pictures are all yellow."

I run an architectural research project and take a lot of pictures to share with other academics. They don't have to be great, just sharp and accurate. We used point and shoot cameras till a couple of years ago when phones got so good it wasn't worth carrying the things around.

Looks like I'll carry the Honor 7 around for pictures and just use the Axon for web use. When it can get a signal.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
Decided to use manual mode today.. I love it! It was cloudy, dark and rainy, with little patches of hot sunshine today.

The classroom photos were an example of what could be tweaked in manual mode..

Changing the focusing distance was really cool! Seeing the photo gradually fade EXACTLY where you want it..

And the selective light focus is awesome!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
Somehow missed the comparison shot for the classroom LOL one's landscape, ones portrait. User error! Sorry :laugh::silly:
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Midnyte:
love that outside shot, really moody :)
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
This is taken on an overcast day in a room painted bright white. The Honor 7 reflects this, the Axon 7 thinks it should be yellow. Both taken using hdr on auto mode. Is anyone getting a strong tint like this? Thinking of getting a replacement device.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ipmanwck:
Looks better yellow
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
You must be a heavy smoker.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] paulthuong:
Yeah I agreed. The color might not be accurate but there's a lot more details in the yellow one and it looks brighter whereas the white is quite boring and muted