The ASUS ZenFone 7 Pro Review: The Triple Flip-Camera
by Andrei Frumusanu on September 1, 2020 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Asus
- Smartphones
- ZenFone 7
- ZenFone 7 Pro
Camera - Low Light Evaluation
Low-light capture of the ZenFone 7 is actually an interesting topic as we had seen ASUS’s night mode implementation in the ROG3 perform quite well when it comes to its algorithms for computational photography, albeit being handicapped by the lack of OIS.
The ZenFone 7 Pro does have OIS so we should see quite improved low-light photography results. It’s important to keep in mind though that the results posted here are only representative of the Pro variant, as the standard base model doesn’t feature OIS, with results likely much worse than what’s presented here.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[iPhone 11 Pro ] - [Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
The first scene is actually quite impressive as the ZenFone is able to achieve a quite excellent results that is very competitive and easily beats the shots of the iPhone 11 and the S20’s. The OIS allows the phone for a longer exposure compared to the ROG3 and to fill in more of the shadows of the scene.
The ultra-wide also benefits from night-mode and the newer sensor, however the result remains quite blurry compared to what the S20 is able to achieve.
The telephoto module in low-light isn’t very good – in this instance it didn’t even manage to focus on the subject.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[ iPhone 11 Pro ] - [ Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
The next shot also is very much in favour of the ZenFone 7 Pro as it’s extremely comparable to the Pixel 4 picture and amongst the best results in the set.
The ultra-wide here unfortunately didn’t do well as it’s completely blurry.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[ iPhone 11 Pro ] - [ Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
When there’s a bit more light, the ZenFone also fares extremely well and it’s again quite surprising to see just how similar the ASUS device compared to the Pixel 4. The ZenFone actually wins out in details, however both phone’s colour temperatures are wrong as the iPhone is closest to the actual colour of the sodium lamps on the street.
The telephoto module here is somewhat usable albeit it’s very noisy. Night mode doesn’t work on this module.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[ iPhone 11 Pro ] - [ Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
The ROG3 already had done quite well in this scene before, and the ZenFone 7 Pro produces even sharper image with extremely good handling of the highlights and overall processing. I would even go as to say that it’s the best performing device amongst the comparison phones.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[ iPhone 11 Pro ] - [ Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
Again, it’s the OIS which makes the difference to the ROG3 as in lower light conditions the ZenFone 7 Pro manages a 2.6x higher exposure through a combination of slower shutter speeds as well as a higher ISO level.
I would again as to say it’s amongst the best performers here as it manages to still retain a lot of detail, and most importantly it also got the colour temperature right.
[ Zenfone 7 Pro ] - [ ROG Phone III ]
[ iPhone 11 Pro ] - [ Galaxy S20+(E) ]
[ Pixel 4 ] - [ X-T30 ]
Further in extreme low-light, the ZenFone 7 Pro continues to impress with its superior night mode, able to retain a ton of detail and more dynamic range than other phones.
Low-Light Conclusion - A Surprise Top Contender
Overall, the ZenFone 7 Pro really surprised me in terms of its low-light capture ability. ASUS’s Night Mode showed potential on the ROG3, and the addition of OIS really augments the whole camera system to a level that’s not only competitive with other smartphones on the market, but more often than not it actually beats them when it comes to detail and exposures.
The ultra-wide isn’t as well tuned as the main camera, and here it mostly loses out to Samsung’s night mode implementation. The telephoto module is largely not usable in low-light.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
31 Comments
View All Comments
PeachNCream - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Introducing the ASUS ZenFone 7 with twice as much gimmicky camera market differentiator at a cost of functionality as last year's model!RollingCamel - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
I would suggest a revisit the camera performance for a number of phones while using GCAM. Should be an interesting read.Here is the link for Zenphone 7/pro GCAM files.
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/p/gcam-...
skavi - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
i was hoping to see the panorama mechanism in action. that’s a really cool idea.eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Thanks Andrei! With video recording being a key interest of mine, the lackluster performance disqualifies this phone for me already. Too bad ASUS spent all their engineering time on gadgetry, and not on making the camera function what it could and should have been.FredFlog - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
I know ASUS is a Taiwanese company but does anyone know exactly in which country this phone is produced / assembled / made?Kashif ali - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Sir I need Asus Zenfone v 520 kl unitldx00 - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
I think Asus are losing their way. They are not a premium manufacturer for 2 very important reasons. Their software and their support is terrible. I have had many Asus products but I am now seriously going off them. Their hardware is always great, I mean really good, but their software is often buggy and most importantly of all, is never maintained for as long as you might expect and is often abandoned way too quickly, even by budget manufacturer standards, never mind a premium one. At least unlock the bootloader or something so we can keep using the products. I know they have done this for some products but it's too random which products get it and which not. One of the most horrible examples come from their tablets, specifically the Z500KL which I own (zenpad 3S 10 LTE). It was a very expensive tablet, over £300 at the time and was vertigo made and functions well to this day, after 3.5 years of heavy use, yet it shipped with android 6 which was already basically obsolete, then it got 1 android version update to 7 and that was it... Almost no security updates either. They have released a bootloader unlock for the Z500M, the non LTE version, but nothing for the Z500KL. With this kind of attitude, they will never be accepted as a premium phone manufacturer. I have to say though that I do like the flat screen on a top end device. I hate the curved screens and if it wasn't for the software and the ridiculous price, this could well be an attractive set of phones. Also, no headphone jack. Pity...gutsonator - Saturday, September 5, 2020 - link
One of the main issues I have with Asus phones is software rather than hardware. Phone runs fine until you get an update that screws up a major issue like sound or display or even brick your phone completely like what happens to my zenfone 4.Also Asus after zenfone 4 started to cut cost on the OS but removing the customization features they used to provide
gamer1000k - Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - link
I've got a Zenfone 6 and was excited to read about the 7 until I read that the headphone jack was removed, and the price went up 50%. Hard pass.itsjustaprankbro - Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - link
I don't get all these salty comments. I bought a Zenfone 7 Pro and I LOVE this device. The phone feels extra premium. The camera is great. The performance is superb. Sound is great, call quality is great, signal/reception/GPS is great. Everything is awesome about it, I really have NO clue why people are complaining all this much.Before this phone I've had a OnePlus 7 Pro, Mate 20, then a Note 10+, then a Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. This is the best phone (both software and hardware wise) out all of them, hands down.
No, ASUS have not paid me a cent to make this post. I just truly believe this phone is awesome. I wish they'd have used IPS LCD on this phone as well (just like on the 6), but whatever, it works.