We subjected the Google Pixel 7 to our rigorous SBMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in terms of photo, video and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. This article analyzes how the device performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases and aims to highlight the most important results of our tests with an excerpt of the data captured.

Overview

Main camera specs:

  • Main: 1/1.31-inch 50MP sensor, 1.2μm pixels, 24mm-equivalent f/1.85 aperture lens, OIS, PDAF, Laser-AF
  • Ultra Wide: 12MP 1/2.86-inch sensor, 1.25μm pixels, 114º field of view, f/2.2 aperture lens, PDAF

Pros

  • Beautiful skin tones, even in difficult conditions
  • Accurate exposure and wide dynamic range in both stills and video
  • Fast and accurate autofocus in both photos and videos, generally wide depth of field in outdoor conditions
  • Mostly pleasant contrast, even in backlit portrait scenes
  • Good detail, especially in bright light
  • Effective video stabilization both when holding the camera still and when walking during recording

Versus

  • Shadow noise in high-contrast and low-light scenes, both in photos and videos
  • Some highlight clipping under indoor lighting
  • Color dominations in indoor videos
  • Slight ringing, glow, and pitch shift artifacts

For a device in our high-end segment, the Google Pixel 7’s impressive camera performance rivals that of the Google Pixel 7 Pro Ultra-Premium. With both models having the same main camera and nearly the same ultra-wide angle camera, the main difference in configuration is that the Pixel 7 doesn’t feature a telephoto module like the Pixel 7 Pro. But as our results showed, that hasn’t deterred the Pixel 7’s excellent camera experience.

In still images, the Pixel 7 produced beautiful skin tones and natural white balance under most test conditions. Target exposure was accurate, with a wide dynamic range and good contrast, making the Google device a great option for portrait photography. Autofocus was fast and accurate, test images showed high levels of detail, and artifacts were well under control, with only some noticeable aliasing. The downside is that there was some noise in the shadows of the shot.

Zoom performance was where the Pixel 7 lagged behind the Pixel 7 Pro, due to the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens and narrower field of view on the ultra-wide camera. In video clips, the Pixel 7 offered good exposure and a wide dynamic range. The autofocus reacted quickly and kept moving subjects in focus. Detail was good, especially in bright light, and stabilization did a good job of keeping things stable. However, time noise was visible, especially in HDR and low-light scenes.

SBMARK verifies the video with the settings that provide the best overall quality. In the case of the Pixel 7, this was 4K resolution at 30 frames per second, with the HDR10+ option disabled.

Trial summary

About SBMARK Camera Tests: SBMARK’s camera evaluations are conducted in labs and in real-world situations using a wide variety of subjects. Scores are based on objective tests for which results are calculated directly by the measurement software on our lab setups and perceptual tests where a sophisticated set of metrics allows a panel of image experts to compare aspects of quality of the image that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo, zoom, and video quality are rated separately and then combined into an overall score for comparing cameras from different devices. For more information on the SBMARK camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores can be found here. The following section compiles the key elements of SBMARK’s exhaustive testing and analysis. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us on how to receive a full report.

Google Pixel 7 camera scores

This graph compares the SBMARK photo, zoom and video scores between the tested device and the references. The average and maximum scores of the price segment are also indicated. The average and maximum scores for each price segment are calculated based on the SBMARK database of tested devices.

Photo

145

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

SBMARK camera photo test information

For scoring and analysis, SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2,600 test images in both controlled laboratory environments and outdoor, indoor, and low-light natural scenes using camera presets. The photographic protocol is designed to take into account the main use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portrait, family and landscape photography. Evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images Cons a natural scene reference and by performing objective measurements on laboratory-acquired graph images under various lighting conditions from 1 to 1,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300 K to 6,500 K.

Google Pixel 7 photo scores

Photo tests analyze image quality attributes such as exposure, color, texture and noise under various lighting conditions. Autofocus performance and the presence of artifacts are also evaluated on all images acquired under controlled laboratory conditions and on real-life images. All of these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of the images captured with the tested device and can help you understand the main strengths and weaknesses of the camera.

Exposure

113

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Color

119

Improve

Highest score

Exposure and color are key attributes for technically good images. For exposure, the main attribute evaluated is the brightness of the main subject across various use cases such as landscape, portrait or still life. Other factors evaluated are contrast and dynamic range, e.g. the ability to make details visible in light and dark areas of the image. Repeatability is also important because it demonstrates the camera’s ability to provide the same rendering when taking multiple images of the same scene.
For color, the image quality attributes analyzed are skin tone rendering, white balance, color shading, and repeatability. With regards to color rendition and skin tone, we penalize unnatural colors but respect the manufacturer’s choice of color signature.

Google Pixel 7 – precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Google Pixel 7 Pro – precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Apple iPhone 14: precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Auto focus

113

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Autofocus tests focus on focus accuracy, focus repeatability, shutter lag, and depth of field. Shutter lag is the difference between when the user presses the capture button and when the image is actually taken. It includes the speed of focusing and the ability of the device to capture images at the right moment, the so-called “zero shutter lag” capability. While a shallow depth of field can be nice for a single-subject portrait or close-up shot, it can also be a problem in some specific conditions like group portraits; Both situations are tested. Focus accuracy is also evaluated in all real-life images taken, from infinity to close-up objects and low-light to outdoor conditions.

Autofocus Ruggedness and Speed: 1000Lux Δ0EV Daylight Handheld

This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed, and also zero shutter lag capability by showing edge acuity versus shooting time measured on the AFHDR setup over a series of images. All photos were taken at 1000 Lux with Daylight illuminant, 500 ms after blurring. Edge sharpness is measured on the four edges of the Dead Leaves graph and shooting time is measured on the Universal Timer LED.

Structure

113

Oppo Find X5

Oppo Find X5

Texture tests analyze the level of detail and texture of subjects in images taken in the lab as well as real-life scenarios. For natural shots, special attention is paid to the level of detail in the light and dark areas of the image. Objective measurements are performed on map images taken under various lighting conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different types of dynamic range conditions. The charts used are the proprietary SBMARK (DMC) chart and the Dead Leaves chart.

SBMARK CHART (DMC) Detail Retention Score vs. Lux Levels for Tripod and Handheld Conditions

This graph shows the evolution of the DMC Retention of Detail score with lux level, for two sealing conditions. The DMC Detail Retention Score is derived from an AI-powered metric trained to evaluate texture and detail rendition on a selection of crops from our SBMARK chart.

Noise

96

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

Noise tests analyze various noise attributes such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, texture on real-life images and lab-captured graph images. For natural images, special attention is paid to noise on faces, landscapes, but also dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Noise on moving objects is also evaluated on natural images. Objective measurements are performed on chart images captured under various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different types of dynamic range conditions. The graph used is the dead leaves graph and standardized measurement such as visual noise derived from ISO 15739.

Evolution of visual noise with illuminance levels in portable conditions

This graph shows the evolution of the visual noise metric with lux level under palmar conditions. The Visual Noise metric is the average of the Visual Noise measurement across all patches of the Dead Leaves graph in the AFHDR configuration. The SBMARK visual noise measurement is derived from the ISO15739 standard.

Artifacts

78

Google Pixel 6

Google Pixel 6

Artifact assessment examines lens shading, chromatic aberrations, geometric distortion, ringing edges, halos, ghosting, quantization, unexpected color tone shifts, among other types of possible effects unnatural on photos. The more serious and frequent the artifact, the greater the deduction of points from the score. The main artifacts observed and the corresponding loss of points are listed below.

Major penalties for photographic artifacts

Bokeh

70

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Bokeh is tested in a dedicated mode, usually portrait or aperture mode, and analyzed by visually inspecting all images captured in laboratory and natural conditions. The goal is to reproduce a portrait photograph comparable to one taken with a DLSR and a wide aperture. The main image quality attributes paid attention to are depth estimation, artifacts, blur gradient, and bokeh blur reflector shape. Vertical image quality attributes (exposure, color, texture) are also taken into consideration.

Google Pixel 7 – some segmentation errors on small elements of the scene

Preview

72

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

The preview tests analyze the image quality of the camera app’s image preview, with particular attention to the difference between the capture and the preview, especially regarding the dynamic range and the application of the bokeh effect. The uniformity of exposure, color and focus adaptation when zooming from the minimum to the maximum available zoom factor is also evaluated. The preview frame rate is measured using the Universal Timer LED.

Google Pixel 7 – preview – HDR render similar to capture

Google Pixel 7 – capture

Zoom in

106

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

About SBMARK Camera Zoom Tests

SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 400 test images in controlled laboratory environments and natural outdoor, indoor, and low-light scenes using camera presets and pinch zoom at various zoom factors from ultra wide to very long zoom. Evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images Cons a natural scene reference and by performing objective measurements of lab-captured map images under varying conditions from 20 to 1000 lux and color temperatures from 2300K to 6500K.

The main difference between the Google Pixel 7 and the Pro version is the lack of a dedicated camera. Instead, it relies on digital zoom on the main camera and cropping. As a result, the Pixel 7’s telezoom images offered lower levels of detail, even at moderate zoom factors. Exposure and color were very similar to the Pro version. The Google Pixel 7 also features a slightly narrower ultra-wide module. Overall, though, the ultra-wide Pixel 7 was close to the 7 Pro. Both produced accurate target exposure, autofocus, and a fairly high level of detail. However, the Pixel 7 often exhibited a slightly stronger white balance.

Google Pixel 7 zoom scores

This graph illustrates the relative scores for the different zoom ranges evaluated. The abscissa is expressed in focal length equivalent to 35mm. Zoomed scores appear on the right and zoomed scores on the left.

Wide

61

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei Mate 50 Pro

These tests analyze the performance of the ultra wide angle camera at different focal lengths from 12mm to 20mm. All attributes of image quality are evaluated, with particular attention to artifacts such as chromatic aberrations, lens softness and distortion. The images below are an excerpt from the tested scenes.

Google Pixel 7: Accurate target exposure, good detail, slightly warm white balance

Google Pixel 7 Pro: Accurate target exposure, good detail, neutral white balance

tele

89

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

All image quality attributes are evaluated at focal lengths from approximately 40mm to 300mm, with an emphasis on texture and detail. The score comes from a series of objective laboratory measurements and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

SBMARK CHART Detail Retention Score (DMC) by focal length

This graph shows the evolution of the DMC Detail Retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score: higher value means better quality. Large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application UI.

SBMARK CHART Detail Retention Score (DMC) by focal length

This graph shows the evolution of the DMC Detail Retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score: higher value means better quality. Large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application UI.

SBMARK CHART Detail Retention Score (DMC) by focal length

This graph shows the evolution of the DMC Detail Retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score: higher value means better quality. Large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application UI.

SBMARK CHART Detail Retention Score (DMC) by focal length

This graph shows the evolution of the DMC Detail Retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score: higher value means better quality. Large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application UI.

video

143

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

About SBMARK Camera Video Tests

SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2.5 hours of video in controlled lab environments and low natural light scenes, indoors and out, using the camera’s default settings. Evaluation consists of visually inspecting natural video taken under various conditions and performing objective measurements on lab-recorded graph video under various conditions from 1 to 1000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.

Google Pixel 7 video scores

Video tests analyze the same image quality attributes as still images, such as exposure, color, texture or noise, as well as temporal aspects such as speed, exposure uniformity and stability, white balance and autofocus transitions.

Exposure

106

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Color

110

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Exposure tests evaluate the brightness of the main subject and the dynamic range, e.g. the ability to make details visible in light and dark areas of the image. The stability and temporal adaptation of the exposure are also analysed.
Image quality color analysis examines color rendition, skin tone rendition, white balance, color shading, white balance stability and its adaptation when the light changes.

Google Pixel 7 – precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Google Pixel 7 Pro – precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Apple iPhone 14: precise target exposure, wide dynamic range, beautiful skin tones

Structure

108

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

Texture tests analyze the level of detail and texture of real-life videos as well as graphics videos recorded in the lab. Natural video recordings are evaluated visually, with particular attention to the level of detail in bright areas and dark areas. Objective measurements of card images taken under various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux are performed. The charts used are the SBMARK (DMC) chart and the Dead Leaves chart.

SBMARK CHART (DMC) video score for detail retention versus lux levels

This graph shows the evolution of the video DMC detail retention score with the level of lux in the video. The DMC Detail Retention Score is derived from an AI-powered metric trained to evaluate texture and detail rendition on a selection of crops from our SBMARK chart.

Noise

106

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G

Noise tests analyze various noise attributes such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, texture, temporal aspects on real-life video recording, as well as graph videos taken in the lab. Natural videos are evaluated visually, with an emphasis on noise in dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Objective measurements are performed on graph videos recorded under various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux. The graph used is the SBMARK visual noise graph.

Evolution of spatial visual noise with level of illumination

This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with lux level. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise table in the video noise setup. The SBMARK visual noise measurement is derived from the ISO15739 standard.

Time evolution of visual noise with level of illumination

This graph shows the evolution of visual noise over time with lux level. Temporal visual noise is measured on the visual noise table in the video noise configuration.

Stabilization

116

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

The stabilization rating tests the device’s ability to stabilize footage using software or hardware technologies such as OIS, EIS, or any other means. The evaluation looks at residual motion, smoothness, yellow artifacts, and residual motion blur in walking and running use cases under various lighting conditions. The video below is an excerpt from one of the tested scenes.

Google Pixel 7 – effective stabilization

Google Pixel 7 Pro: effective stabilization

Apple iPhone 14 – effective stabilization

Artifacts

81

Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Artifacts are evaluated with MTF and ringing measurements on the SFR graph in the lab, as well as frame rate measurements using the Universal Timer LED. Natural videos are visually evaluated by paying close attention to artifacts such as aliasing, quantization, blocking, and pitch shifting, among others. The more severe and frequent the artifact, the more points will be deducted from the score. The main artifacts and the corresponding point loss are listed below.

Top penalties for video artifacts

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Philip Owell

Professional blogger, here to bring you new and interesting content every time you visit our blog.