Got myself a ZTE Axon 7 (UPDATED WITH CAMERA SAMPLES)

[crisium]

I considered this but 5.5 is a bit too big for me and I didn't like how the battery rated in reviews. I went with the equal priced, but smaller Honor 8.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'm getting about 4Hrs of screen-on time and about 1.5 days of use for me. Not sure how that compares to other Android phones...compared to my BB Passport it's not good of course, but that had a massive battery and a smaller screen.

 

[core2slow]

I considered this but 5.5 is a bit too big for me and I didn't like how the battery rated in reviews. I went with the equal priced, but smaller Honor 8.

Honor 8 should yield a better battery life rating than the axon 7. Better UI optimization, battery efficient SoC (read: not heavily performance oriented like the SD820), and lower PPI. Battery size is almost negligible (3000mah vs 3250mah on the axon 7).

 

[Kapav]

I'm having the seemingly common internal debate of OP3 or Axon 7 right now.

 

[Winston Marmaduke III]

I eventually chose Axon due to the higher res and sound. If the camera was that important to me though I might still be undecided between the two, or go ahead and get the OP3 lol

 

[Kapav]

Is the higher resolution on the Axon noticeable vs the OP3 for people that have tried both?

 

[npaladin-2000]

Is the higher resolution on the Axon noticeable vs the OP3 for people that have tried both?

I haven't specifically tried those two, but I've used a 1080p 5.5 inch screen before. The Axon 7 increased resolution is really not all that noticeable in many situations. In my case though, the smoother fonts in the Kindle app are much more comfortable for reading, particularly with the small font sizes I tend to use.

Sent from my mobile device.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Thanks for the images, but I'd also ask if you could provide some with more variety please? Also any comments on responsiveness of the camera? And what software version?

 

[thilanliyan]

Added some more photos with some more colour. The Axon flash blew out the detail on the small tub of lotion. All the axon pics are with HDR set to auto.

Camera is very fast, faster than the 1020 but that wasn't a speed demon fyi. So far it has been very fast to lock focus and take the pics. Haven't done any video. I am using the latest software, OB27 build.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I'm having the seemingly common internal debate of OP3 or Axon 7 right now.

Yeah, had that too. Eventually choose OP3 for:
- better, more practical design: front FPR, profile toggle
- faster OS
- better official & unofficial software support (though i hate the idea of messing with it, I might need it)
- no matter how bad OP aftersales is, I've ran across even more horror stories from ZTE
- 50€ cheaper

There is of course some (rather big) cons as well:
- smallish battery
- proprietary fast charging (seriously, why, they did not support even parrent OPPO company standard), so kiss goodbye fast charging powerbank and longer cable charger
- only FHD

ZTE Axon 7 rectifies the last two, but, in the end, for me it was not enough to overcome the 4 OP3 pros.

BTW, heavy ebook reader here, but judging from my experience with Lumia 930 (FHD OLED on 5"), PPI on OP3 will be more thna enough (currently using HD 5.7" LCD).

 

[thilanliyan]

I personally like the rear fingerprint scanner more than the front ones I have tried.

Also, the Axon 7 is blazing fast... not sure how much faster the op3 can be lol. I'm using Action launcher.

After sales support is an unknown for me from these companies.

Here in Canada they were the same price and the axon came with a pre-order bonus so price wasn't a differentiating factor for me.

 

[ClockHound]

Added some more photos with some more colour. The Axon flash blew out the detail on the small tub of lotion. All the axon pics are with HDR set to auto.

Camera is very fast, faster than the 1020 but that wasn't a speed demon fyi. So far it has been very fast to lock focus and take the pics. Haven't done any video. I am using the latest software, OB27 build.

Thanks for posting the pics. You've sold me on the 1020. So much better quality - more detailed, yet smoother - with a touch of bokeh. Will it be getting Nougat?

Was considering the Axon 7, but had some reservations about the camera. Now confirmed, another decent-ish smartphone cam, if this was a 2012 model. At least you have that old Zeiss for the good shots. And the 1020. Lucky you.

That said, the 1020 is still one of the best smartyphone cams. To my jaded eyes, the Axon 7 images are worse than expected - cold, sterile and not much detail - aggressive NR?

Thanks again for sharing the images!

 

[thilanliyan]

No problem, glad to help.
Yeah the 1020 still takes some nice photos... too bad it runs win phone.

I have no idea whether it's the noise reduction. I don't see an option to change the level of NR. Maybe the pics would look better using manual mode, but I find using manual on smartphone cameras cumbersome compared to slrs so I don't do it.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Added some more photos with some more colour. The Axon flash blew out the detail on the small tub of lotion. All the axon pics are with HDR set to auto.

Camera is very fast, faster than the 1020 but that wasn't a speed demon fyi. So far it has been very fast to lock focus and take the pics. Haven't done any video. I am using the latest software, OB27 build.

Thanks for adding the pics and the info.

No problem, glad to help.
Yeah the 1020 still takes some nice photos... too bad it runs win phone.

I have no idea whether it's the noise reduction. I don't see an option to change the level of NR. Maybe the pics would look better using manual mode, but I find using manual on smartphone cameras cumbersome compared to slrs so I don't do it.

Was going to ask if they were done with manual or auto. Before they updated people said the manual mode took a lot better pictures (assuming you played with settings a bit). I've had mixed results using manual on the LG V10. It really has faltered with trying to get shots of the moon. Also tried using it as a sorta dashcam (namely wanted to be able to snap some pics when things looked nice on my commute, so like sunrise/sunsets/clouds/etc) and it just couldn't seem to focus very well.

I saw one person that compared the V10 and the Axon 7 in manual mode, but they forced similar settings and the Axon 7 ended up with horrendous images (which I think shows the software/settings of the Axon 7 are fairly meaningless, like what ISO rating its claiming, and think that it more should have simpler dials and you just have to play with them to see what results you can get). But things might have improved after the update.

Could be worse, could be like that new Kodak that has a huge camera bump for no reason (no zoom lens or large sensor or anything other than just trying to sorta look like a retro camera).

 

[thilanliyan]

I was using auto on both cameras except for the flash which I forced on or off.