Honor Magic7 Pro review

Same triple-camera setup as last year

The Magic7 Pro brings essentially the same camera system as the Magic6 Pro before it, headlined by a 200MP telephoto unit. The dual-aperture main camera on the back has also been carried over, as is the better-than-most selfie camera.

As was the case last year, the exact hardware isn't listed on the Honor website and hardware apps don't reveal the real bits either (an all too common occurrence for Honor and Huawei handsets). We did some digging last time and compiled a list of sensors that may or may not have been true then. We've updated it to reflect our understanding of the Magic7 Pro now, but it still may or may not be true - it does mostly make sense, though.

• Wide (main): 50MP Omnivision OV50H (1/1.3", 1.2µm- 2.4µm), f/1.4-f/2.0, 24mm, Laser AF, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps
• Telephoto: 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP3 (S5KHP3, 1/1.4", 0.56µm - 2.24µm), f/2.6, 72mm (60mm native), multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps
• Ultrawide: 50MP Omnivision OV50D (1/2.88", 0.61µm - 1.22µm), f/2.0, 12mm (122˚), PDAF; 4K@60fps
• Front camera: 50MP Sony IMX 816 (LYT500?, 1/2.93" 0.6µm - 1.2µm), f/2.0, 21mm, PDAF; 4K@60fps

The main camera uses a 1/1.3" sensor - Super Dynamic HONOR Falcon Camera sensor they're calling it. Last year it had an alphanumeric designation - H9000, but there's no mention of that now. Our understanding was that it was a customized version of the OmniVision OV50H.

The telephoto unit is now listed at 3x zoom, compared to the 2.5x spec of the Magic6 Pro. The way we see it though, it's all the same, we're just calling things differently now, though we could be wrong. On both phones you'd get sort of a 'native' field of view in the full-res mode, and a cropped-in 12.5MP version - typical Honor/Huawei behavior.

The ultrawide is seemingly the same as on the previous model. So too is the front-facing camera, though we're getting a 4K60 video option there now.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The Magic7 Pro's main camera will treat you to nice vibrant images during the day. The auto white balance is immune to blunders, and saturation is well judged too. Dynamic range is nicely wide, bringing good tonal development even in harsh light. Detail is generally very good too.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

Skin tones are looking good too. Portrait mode shots at the default bokeh level have only a little extra blur added - if you like a more dramatic effect, play around with the bokeh slider (and maybe experiment with the Harcourt modes).

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Portrait mode

The 50MP shots have a grainier detail structure without necessarily offering extra definition.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

At 2x zoom, photos are noticeably cleaner and better detailed on a pixel level than the 50MP 1x counterparts - generally you can count on very good results at 2x in good lighting.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

People shots at 2x aren't bad either, whether in Photo mode, or in Portrait mode.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Portrait mode

Telephoto camera

The Magic 7 Pro does some unorthodox things with its processing, and gets you 3x zoom images at 12.5MP with an equivalent focal length of 72mm. The full-res 200MP shots come out at 60mm and do indeed have a wider field of view than their 12.5MP counterparts. So in that sense, the phone is doing some cropping and upscaling, in addition to the 16-to-1 binning - and all of that in who knows what sequence).

With that in mind, it's no wonder that the 3x shots at 12.5MP don't quite have the absolute best sharpness. They're not bad, but they do lack crispiness and have some visibly strong sharpening to compensate for the crop-and-upscale action. There's little to complain about on a global scale - we get appealing colors and wide dynamic range. The close focusing capabilities are also most welcome.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

Portraits are good too, though the processing required to get to 72mm does rob them of some fine detail in the pores and hair. Portrait mode is once again conservative in its default computational blur.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), Portrait mode

The full-res shots at "3x" will really only get something around 2.5x, and at 200MP they're pretty hard to examine, share, or otherwise look at.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x/2.5x), 200MP

Now, you could do the 16-to-1 downscaling yourself and that will get you substantially sharper shots than the default 3x output - albeit at a 60mm equivalent 2.5x zoom. Why Honor isn't doing that, but opting for the crop and upscale 3x can only be explained with marketing needing bigger zoom numbers. The post-processing route does take a few extra steps, but it's worth it, we reckon.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.5x), 200MP to 12.5MP in post

The 6x zoom level shots somehow look better than the 3x ones - in the sense that they stand up better to the level of expectations you'd have from them. We're perfectly happy with the level of detail in most situations and global parameters are looking great as well.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera's photos are easy to like straight out of camera - no post processing required. We're getting great detail with minimal grain, colors are pleasing, and dynamic range isn't leaving us wanting either.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x)

In this context, the full-res shots out of the ultrawide aren't going to bring you any meaningful benefits.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 50MP

Selfies

Selfies from the Magic7 Pro are superb. There's a ton of detail, which is rendered organically, colors are lively and life-like, dynamic range is excellent. The autofocusing capability means you get to have closeups and/or weird angles too.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

In the dark, the Honor Magic7 Pro's main camera proves to be a competent performer. It exposes well and the images have very good dynamic range. The auto white balance does great in all sorts of situations too and colors are nicely vibrant. Detail looks very natural in most scenes and our only complaint is the tendency for softness in the lower midtones in certain scenes.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The 2x photos look good from afar, but pixel-level examination reveals they're on the soft side. We'd say they're good enough for... casual applications.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

At 3x zoom in the dark, you can expect good photos, but you won't be going 'wow'. Dynamic range and colors are excellent, no worries there. It's the pixel-peepers might be left wanting though - one would expect a touch better definition from this sensor, even though it's not necessarily bad as is.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

Going to 6x, if you stick to fit-screen magnifications, you'll be enjoying the colors and dynamic range without worrying about the relative softness at 1:1. That said, the Honor isn't necessarily outclassed by all competitors at this relatively extreme zoom level, so we shouldn't be judging it too harshly.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

At night, the ultrawide camera prioritizes exposure and color over detail. Indeed, dynamic range and color reproduction are very good, but the detail is suffering - shadows in particular can be pretty soft.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x)

Video recording

The Magic7 Pro records video up to 4K60 with all of its cameras, including the front-facing one. The main one on the back can also do 4K24, but only in Movie mode - otherwise 4K30 is the 'standard' option. There's no 8K mode (and it won't be missed).

The default codec is h.264, but the more efficient h.265 is a toggle flip away. You can also capture HDR videos in the somewhat obscure HDR Vivid standard (Huawei-backed HiSilicon and Mediatek are on board). Those play nicely on the phone itself, but look a little odd on a non-compliant device - which is, admittedly, the norm with HDR videos of any standard.

There's an always-on video stabilization, as is the typical behavior of a lot of makers, Honor included.

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.

Video sample playlist

4K videos out of the Magic7 Pro have excellent dynamic range and great color rendition - both in terms of white balance and saturation. That applies to all three cameras, which are also nicely matched in their output properties. Detail is a bit more processed than we'd like, but the look we're seeing has somehow become the standard, so the Honor isn't alone in this. Generally solid results overall.

The phone's main camera maintains its composure in the dark, particularly with dynamic range and colors, even if detail is best described as alright. The ultrawide's highlights are harsher, but still acceptable, though the general noisiness and softness are perhaps a bit too much. The telephoto's low-light footage is a significant step up from what the previous model could do, but it's still a notch behind the leading efforts.

Stabilization is excellent - walking shake is ironed out well, pans are smooth, and just pointing the phone at a subject results in steady footage too.