Poco F7 Ultra review

Triple camera with a telephoto and properly nice closeups

The Poco F7 Ultra may not be up there with, say, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra in its ultra-ness, but it's still got a very compelling camera setup - a pretty ultra one by Poco standards and by the standards of its segment. The highlight is the addition of a telephoto camera, but there's also a new ultrawide, and the main camera wasn't too bad last time we saw it either.

The telephoto in question can focus as close as around 9cm and will deliver some impressive closeups. It's not the longest of focal lengths, at 60mm equivalent, so it will get you 2.5x zoom, but that's a lot more reach than no telephoto, and still quite an achievement in the F7 Ultra's segment. Plus, you could stretch its 50MP sensor to 5x - try that on the F7 Pro that's missing a zoom camera altogether.

The main camera uses a 50MP OmniVision sensor that's, by all accounts, a customized version of the OV50E. At 1/1.55", it's not ultra-large, but it fits right in place in the F7 Ultra's price-performance puzzle.

The ultrawide is new this time around, Poco repurposing a 32MP sensor normally used for selfie cameras (in fact, on this very phone's selfie camera too). The Samsung KD1 will still get you 8MP images by default, like the Poco F6 Pro's simpler 8MP camera, but this one is bigger and more advanced, so it does count an upgrade.

• Wide (main): 50MP OmniVision OVX8000 (likely same as OV50E, 1/1.55", 1.0µm - 2.0µm), f/1.6, 24mm, multi-directional PDAF; 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps
• Telephoto, 2.5x: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 (S5KJN5, 1/2.76", 0.64µm-1.128µm), f/2.0, 60mm, multi-directional PDAF (9cm - ∞), OIS; 4K@60fps
• Ultrawide: 32MP Samsung ISOCELL KD1 (S5KKD1, 1/3.42", 0.64µm-1.128µm), f/2.2, 15mm, fixed focus; FullHD@60fps
• Front camera: 32MP Samsung ISOCELL KD1 (S5KKD1, 1/3.42", 0.64µm-1.128µm), f/2.0, 24mm, fixed focus; FullHD@60fps

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The F7 Ultra captures great photos with its main camera during the day. We're getting images with plenty of pop both in terms of contrast and saturation, but not cartoonishly so - the balance is just right. Dynamic range is excellent and white balance proved dependable. Detail is generally very good too, if a bit artificially rendered in random textures like grass.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

You can also count on the Poco for some excellent portraits, whether in Photo mode or in the dedicated Portrait mode. Speaking of, the Portrait mode's zoom levels are labeled in 'mm' focal length instead of 'x' magnification and you get some extra shortcuts including a 35mm zoom level - here you'll be sacrificing a fraction of the detail to gain a slightly better perspective.

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

Daylight samples, main camera, Portrait mode, 24mm

Daylight samples, main camera, Portrait mode, 35mm

We're not particular fans of the full-res mode on the main camera, but here's how a few of the same scenes look when captured at 50MP.

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

As is often the case, the 2x zoom level results at 12-ish MP are a lot sharper and better looking on a pixel level than the 1x 50MP shots. Indeed, the Poco's 2x shots are very good - more so if you're dealing with man-made detail and straight lines, and not quite as great with truly random stuff.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

Our portraits at 2x zoom (only in Photo mode - there's no Portrait mode at 48-50mm) are more of a hit or miss type of deal - you can expect better results with more balanced lighting or settle for iffier quality in darker or more contrasty scenes.

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

Telephoto camera

The 2.5x zoom camera of the Poco F7 Ultra isn't just there to get a checkmark in the specsheet - it's actually good. We're getting nicely detailed images of both distant and nearby subjects (more on that below). Dynamic range is excellent, colors are on point as well.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.5x)

The zoom camera's close-focusing capability is one of its main strengths, and we measured its minimum focusing distance at around 85mm. You can get some excellent shots of tiny objects, without throwing shadows over them like you would with an AF-capable ultrawide, for example. In effect, this sort-of macro-style shooting is one of the F7 Ultra's standout qualities in its segment.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.5x), Photo mode, closeups

Back to more reasonable shooting distances, the people shots from the Poco's telephoto are also excellent. The 75mm zoom level in Portrait mode can come with a minor detail penalty in certain scenes, and we don't feel like the 60mm vs 75mm focal length makes a world of difference but hte option is there for you to explore.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.5x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, telephoto camera, Portrait mode, 60mm

Daylight samples, telephoto camera, Portrait mode, 75mm

Once again, the 50MP mode isn't our cup of tea, but here's a handful of samples for you to explore.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.5x), 50MP

At 5x in 'normal' resolution you do get slightly better results than the 2.5x 50MP shots - they're cleaner and slightly sharper.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x)

Ultrawide camera

The F7 Ultra's ultrawide camera is quite reasonably capable, all things considered. We're getting great dynamic range and excellent colors and detail is rendered well on a pixel level - it's just that there aren't a ton of pixels. Among the downsides is the lack of AF, which means you won't be getting the opportunity for exaggerated perspectives of particularly close subjects.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

In the full-res 32MP mode doesn't necessarily bring more detail, though we're almost certain we're getting better definition in tests in this scene or the other.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), 32MP

Selfies

Selfies on the Poco F7 Ultra are mostly unremarkable. If resized to 12MP, they'd be looking better on a pixel level, while the out-of-camera 32MP resolution makes them look soft. Colors are a bit muted for our liking and need a nudge in post processing, but dynamic range is pretty great.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

Low-light photos from the Poco F7 Ultra's main camera are excellent for the class. You could even say they're true flagship-grade (depending on which flagship you choose to compare with), even though the hardware isn't exactly cutting-edge here. Exposures are well balanced, giving us well preserved highlights while shadows are also anything but dark and gloomy. Colors remain lively and the auto white balance isn't prone to errors. Detail is generally great as well, with only minor softness in the darker areas.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

At 2x zoom, detail gets a little sketchy - things aren't as sharp as the daytime 2x results.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera is a bit shakier with its white balance, often erring towards a bleached neutral look in what is otherwise warm lighting (in scenes which the main camera got right). There's also a tendency for boosting shadows a little too much resulting in somewhat flat images on occasion. Detail is somewhere between good and very good depending on the available light.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (2.5x)

At 5x zoom, the shots don't hold up too well to pixel-level scrutiny, but we'd say they're easily good enough for casual sharing.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (5x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera put up an alright performance, though it did end up with some proper throwaway results in some scenes - like the green blob in the center of the third image. Detail is a little on the soft side, but it's there - perhaps even more of it than what we'd expect from an 8MP ultrawide image at night. Colors are well preserved (green blobs aside), and dynamic range is quite good too.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Video recording

The Poco F7 Ultra's main camera can record video up to 8K resolution (at 24fps only) while its 4K capability extends to 60fps (but does include 24fps in addition to the 'regular' 30fps). The telephoto skips the 8K capability but is still good for 4K at 24/30/60fps. The ultrawide on the back and the selfie camera, meanwhile, are capped at 1080p60fps.

The usual selection of h.264 and h.265 codecs is available. The Dolby Vision compliance only extends to the display though - you can't record video yourself in Dolby Vision, only HDR10+ (and only on the main camera in 4K30 or 4K24).

There's a motion tracking AF toggle in settings. There's always-on regular video stabilization for all modes, but there are also additional ShootSteady and ShootSteady Pro modes, limited to 1030p30fps on the main camera and the ultrawide, respectively.

Pro video mode is also part of the feature set, with manual exposure controls, LOG recording, live histogram (no waveform though), zebras, and focus peaking. There's also a Director mode with more or less the same capabilities, but a slightly different UI (and waveform).

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

Video sample playlist

Main camera videos are excellent, with plenty of detail captured (and rendered quite nicely too). Dynamic range and colors are also on point. The 2.5x zoom footage is more into good territory - it's a couple of notches below pin sharp and is a touch overexposed. The ultrawide's 1080p clips are alright from afar - colors and dynamic range are great, while detail is... 1080p.

In the dark, the main camera's footage has so-so sharpness, but is pretty solid in terms of dynamic range and color rendition. The telephoto's clips are usable, while the ultrawide is best avoided.

Stabilization is excellent in most ways, so you can count on smooth pans and generally very steady footage when shooting from a stationary position. Walking shake did cause minor hiccups in our experience, though.