Following its recent release, the OnePlus 5 offers a great price-to-performance ratio that puts it in everyone’s radar. Going against it would be Apple’s iPhone 7, Xiaomi’s Mi 6, and Samsung’s Galaxy S8.
Equipped with dual cameras, is it up to the task of facing against today’s flagships? For reference, here is a table with the cameras’ specifications.
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OnePlus 5 |
Samsung Galaxy S8 |
Xiaomi Mi 6 |
Apple iPhone 7 |
| Dual (16MP, f/1.7, 24mm, EIS + 20MP, f/2.6, 36mm, 1.6 optical zoom) | 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm | Dual 12 MP (27mm, f/1.8, OIS 4-axis & 52mm, f/2.6) | 12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm |
| 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm @ 16MP & 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.0 µm @ 20MP | 1/2.5″ sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size | 1/2.9″ sensor size, 1.25 µm @ 27mm & 1.0 µm @ 52mm pixel size | 1/3″ sensor size |
| 2160p@30fps, 1080@30/60fps, 720p@30/120fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, dual-video rec. | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps | 4K video |
| Phase Detection AF, Dual LED flash | Phase Detection autofocus, OIS, LED flash | Phase Detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash | Phase Detection autofocus, OIS, quad-LED (dual tone) flash |
| 16 MP, f/2.0, 20mm, EIS (gyro), 1.0 µm pixel size, 1080p, Auto HDR | 8 MP, f/1.7, autofocus, 1440p@30fps, dual video call, Auto HDR | 8 MP, 1080p | 7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm, 1080p@30fps, 720p@240fps, face detection, HDR, panorama |
Rear Camera
Outdoor
Kicking things off would be a daylight-assisted outdoor shot. The iPhone 7 presents a rather bland shot with light colors. On the Xiaomi Mi 6, cooler whites and contrast are most present. The OnePlus 5 presented the sharpest shot with balanced midtones albeit being slightly oversaturated. The Samsung Galaxy S8 then gave the most natural-looking colors and decent exposure zones at the price of having the least detail of the four.
At night, the iPhone 7 compensated a lot on the lighting while being surprisingly more colorful that the daylight-assisted shot. The Xiaomi Mi 6 gave an underexposed shot but did deliver in terms of fidelity. The same lighting output is found in the OnePlus 5, but with a more grainy shot up close. Lastly, the Samsung Galaxy S8 grabs the first place for having the best exposure and colors overall without having grainy edges.
Indoor
Moving indoors with a simple flatlay, the iPhone 7 gave a rather overexposed shot with underwhelming contrast. The Xiaomi Mi 6 then produced a well-balanced image with decent exposure on all areas with accurate whites. The same can be said for the OnePlus 5 with the addition of having a bit more exposure and brighter whites. The Samsung Galaxy S8 then produced a mix of what the OnePlus 5 and Xiaomi Mi 6 gave while having a more cooler temperature.
Next is a quick shot of a barely-lit laptop keyboard that challenged the cameras’ focusing capabilities.
Focusing on the letter ‘J’, the Apple iPhone 7 took quite a while to focus and then compensated for the underexposed, dark-colored keyboard that somehow overshadowed the keyboard lighting. The Xiaomi Mi 6 gave up and focused instead on the ‘Republic of Gamers’ print under the display. This resulted to having a blurry shot no matter how many times I tried. The contrast suffered too as a result. The OnePlus 5 did a decent take on the first shot while presenting the most natural colors. However, it was grainy and luminance doesn’t seem to apply for the OnePlus 5’s high ISO shots. The Samsung Galaxy S8 did the best out of the four in terms of fidelity in exchange for more contrast.
Next is a closeup shot of a Gunpla.
The iPhone 7 gave a darker orange and dark whites, also with the highest aperture. The shot from Xiaomi Mi 6 gave an even darker orange while having less exposure than the iPhone 7’s. The OnePlus 5 gave the most accurate oranges and flattest whites. And lastly, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 then produced the coolest shot. Sharpness seems equal for all, making it hard to for me to decide what is the sharpest image of the four.
The last batch of indoor images is a flash test with the first one having no flash.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has the most balanced exposure with the Xiaomi Mi 6 having the worst. Colors are also lacking on the Xiaomi Mi 6 shot.
Moving on the shot with flash, the iPhone 7 produced the shot with the most contrast and most natural colors, save for the reds. The OnePlus 5’s colors are oversaturated while having the most accurate reds. The Samsung Galaxy S8’s shot then gave less saturation than the OnePlus 5’s but with whites being the coolest. The Xiaomi Mi 6 then again lacked in both the coloring and exposure departments.
Video
I didn’t take a daylight-assisted video due to the fact that an even more stressing environment is present to test the camera’s and software’s capabilities. All are taken in 4K in their respective auto modes. The Xiaomi Mi 6 gave the worst result by being not able to focus and having the least exposure compensation. Add the fact that image stabilization is also not present in 4K for the Xiaomi Mi 6. The other three then produced more favorable results with the iPhone 7 being the best in lighting, the OnePlus 5 in focus, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 in stability.
Front Camera
Daylight-Assisted
Moving to the front camera, I find the sharpness equal again for all four. The OnePlus 5 produced the most natural-looking shot with the brightest whites. The Samsung Galaxy S8 then gave a more polished look with slightly less whites. The Xiaomi Mi 6’s shot looked the coolest despite being in direct sunlight, also with the most contrast. The iPhone 7’s front cam has the least wide lens while competing for accuracy against the OnePlus 5.
Low-light
Here’s where things get interesting. In low-light, the OnePlus 5’s front camera did well to compensate for the lack of lighting without being overbearing. What surprised me was the prominent luminance application the rear cam did not seem to have implemented. Moving the Samsung Galaxy S8, it gave the brightest shot at the cost of being more grainy and having bad midtones and shadows. The Xiaomi Mi 6 falls the farthest by not being able to even make the subject lit. Lastly, the iPhone 7’s shot gave the most accurate color and exposure but with the least detail, despite having the most notable edges.
Video
All are shot in 1080p except for the Samsung Galaxy S8, which can go up to 1440p. As always, resolution isn’t king. What the Galaxy S8 presents for clarity, it lacks in stability. The iPhone 7 then gives the most natural-looking take. The OnePlus 5 again, suffers from excessive graining but has the best stability. The Xiaomi Mi 6 then takes the least slice of the cake for having the worst in everything, including frame rate.
Out of the four, which is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
