The iPhone 7 Plus has a dual-lens camera and unique portrait shooting mode that was the star of Apple’s iPhone event in early September. Apple said on stage that the new dual camera is the best iPhone camera it ever made, one that could even compete with DSLR cameras used by pro photographers around the world. But can an iPhone 7 Plus beat a DSLR in real life tests?
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The professionals at Fstoppers decided to compare a DSLR with the iPhone 7 Plus in a variety of tests, and the results were surprising. The iPhone phablet actually came out on top in some of the tests, including video quality tests, low-light (ISO) performance and durability.
When it comes to image quality in ideal light with a shallow depth of field (bokeh, blur or the iPhone 7 Plus’s portrait mode), the Nikon D300s was the clear winner. The iPhone tied the DSLR in camera speed tests and versatility, although analyzing versatility isn’t exactly objective.
It’s worth pointing out that Fstoppers tried to compare the iPhone 7 Plus to a DSLR that’s a few years old, one that has a 12-megapixel sensor just like the iPhone 7 Plus. It’s likely that the iPhone 7 would have a tougher time competing with the latest DSLR in towns.
Even so, Apple’s camera advancements can’t go unnoticed. “As I expected, DSLRs are still superior to iPhones when it comes to taking pictures,” Fstoppers said. “That being said, the iPhone is getting shockingly close in many areas and has actually surpassed DSLRs in a few. We have to remember that the DSLR that we used in this test is seven years old, but we also have to remember that the iPhone isn’t a camera; it’s a phone with a million features, one of them being a camera. It’s absolutely crazy that a phone can hang with any DSLR.”
The full video, complete with photo and video samples, follows below.
