When Google launched the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro earlier this month, we called them the best camera smartphones you can’t buy, mostly due to the fact that Google isn’t making it available in Malaysia. Well, it’s now official, as DxOMark has now crowned the Google Pixel 7 Pro as having the number one camera system on any smartphone out there right now.
The Pixel 7 Pro has scored a 147 on the DxOMark camera charts, tying with the Honor Magic 4 Ultimate and beating the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro which scored a 146. It’s a huge jump from the Pixel 6 Pro’s 12th place finish, which itself was already a very well-regarded camera smartphone, and is the first Google device to hold the top spot honour since the Pixel 2 from 2017. The Pixel 7 Pro’s first place score is even more impressive when you realise that it’s the cheapest device on the top 10 camera smartphones on DxOMark’s list, with its launch price of just USD899.
To recap, the Google Pixel 7 Pro features a main 50MP, f/1.85 camera using a 1/1.31-inch sensor and is flanked by a 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide angle lens using a 1/2.86-inch sensor. These two are pretty much the same setup as the Pixel 6 Pro, but Google has upgraded the third 48MP, f/3.5 telephoto camera to bring 5x optical zoom to the Pixel 7 Pro. There’s also a flurry of new and improved photography features, such as Macro Focus for closeup shots, Guided Frame to help you get the best photos, Super Res Zoom, Face and Photo Unblur as well as other tools such as Real Tone and Magic Eraser. Videography on the Pixel 7 Pro has been improved too, with a new Cinematic Blur mode for adding depth of field to a video.
According to DxOMark, the Pixel 7 Pro is able to bring very nice skin tones even in challenging conditions, and provides accurate exposure and a wide dynamic range in both photo and video. In particular, the device scored the best in colour reproduction, but isn’t actually the top in the photo or video subcategories. Indeed, the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera seems to be more than the sum of its parts, with DxOMark claiming that it provides the best option for users who value both photo and video performance equally. They also highlighted the fast and accurate autofocus performance, along with the good detail in bright shots, solid stabilisation in static and walking scenes, along with good detail at all zoom ranges.
It wasn’t all perfect though for the Pixel 7 Pro, with DxOMark noting some shadow noise in high-contrast and low light conditions, some highlight clipping in indoor shots, as well as some slight ringing, flare and hue shift. There’s also some loss of detail and image noise when shooting closeup shots.
Nevertheless, even with these minor issues, the Pixel 7 Pro’s overall photography and videography capabilities has placed it at the top spot of the DxOMark camera charts. It’s even more of a shame then that Malaysians are unable to purchase one, as even though Google is expanding the regions where their smartphones are available in, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro remain only for sale in Singapore in the region.
