Realme GT 7 Pro review

Reasonable setup, no tele closeups, underwater mode

The GT series in the Realme lineup has historically not been about camera prowess, and the GT 7 Pro isn't setting any standards for picture-taking hardware, though a novel underwater mode might be interesting enough for the right kind of people.

The GT 7 Pro's camera bits are, in fact, a step back from the GT5 Pro - three out of four sensors are now smaller. The main camera and the telephoto have been downgraded from the 1/1.43" and 1/1.56" imagers of the previous GT Pro to a 1/1.56" and 1/1.95" setup here. The ultrawide, on the other hand, remains unchanged.

One thing that's been sacrificed is the telephoto's close-focusing capability - the minimum focus distance now stands at around 60cm. The thing is though, the main camera can focus as close as 10cm, so it can do a decent enough job of capturing closeups.

As for selfies, the GT 7 Pro gets a 16MP sensor in place of the GT5 Pro's 32MP unit - it's not that we were fans of the old one, so let's see what the new one can do.

• Wide (main): 50MP Sony IMX 906 (1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm), f/1.8, 24mm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps/8K@24fps
• Telephoto 3x: 50MP Sony IMX 882 (1/1.95", 0.8µm-1.6µm), f/2.65, 73mm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps
• Ultrawide: 8MP Sony IMX 355 (1/4.0", 1.12µm), f/2.2, 16mm, fixed focus; FullHD@30fps
• Front camera: 16MP Sony IMX 480 (1/3.0", 1.0µm), f/2.45, 24mm, fixed focus; FullHD@60fps

The GT 7 Pro's IP68/IP69 rating and, rather, the sealing measures that went behind making it possible have meant the Realme is confident enough to offer an underwater shooting mode. It will engage automatically when the phone detects it's underwater, but you can also summon it yourself from the More pane in the camera viewfinder.

It's not just about the phone surviving the water though, it's about it being operational as a camera when the touchscreen can't really be used as such. That's why the GT 7 Pro uses its ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for shutter release, while also assigning actions to the physical keys.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

In broad daylight, the GT 7 Pro captures great photos with its main camera. Noise is non-existent, detail is excellent, and the processing is mature, so we have no complaints when looking at 1:1. There's little fault when you take a step back either - dynamic range is great, white balance is generally accurate, and colors are vibrant without falling into extremes.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

We're also liking the skin tones out of the Realme's main camera, and the way it renders facial detail isn't half bad either. Portrait mode did result in a few clipped ears in our experience, but it was good overall and the level of artificial bokeh is well judged.

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

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

The full-res 50MP samples resemble upscaled versions of the regular ones, so we'd stay away from this mode.

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

The 2x results are looking quite reasonable without setting standards for definition. They're certainly better on a pixel level than the 50MP images above, if not quite as pin-sharp as the 1x shots.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

If you like the 50-ish millimeter equivalent focal length for people shots (as you probably should), the GT 7 Pro will also serve you decently well.

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

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

3x telephoto camera

The telephoto camera of the GT 7 Pro delivers solid 3x zoom shots. Detail is very good, dynamic range is nicely wide, and the colors are once again looking great.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

The telephoto will probably be your top choice for portraits, whether in Portrait mode or in the general photo mode. The shooting distance is great for both subject (model?) and photographer, facial proportions are flattering, skin tones are good-looking (even though a bit more saturation would help, we'd say).

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

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

Once again, the full-res mode is rather pointless.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 50MP

Sure enough, the 6x zoom results offer better detail at 1:1 than the 3x 50MP shots. Perhaps they're not the best you can get, but for a phone with relatively restrained camera aspirations, these are more than good enough.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

We're not huge fans of 8MP ultrawides in 2024, and a phone of the GT 7 Pro's caliber would have benefited from a slightly more upmarket unit. That said, for what it is, it delivers good shots. Detail is alright, noise is well controlled, dynamic range and colors aren't bad either. There are some weird artifact streaks in the skies if you look closely, we're not sure what that's about.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

We were almost expecting detailed 16MP selfies from a conventional RGB Bayer sensor, but the results are more in line with what you'd get from a 16MP imager with a Quad Bayer filter at nominal resolution - in short, not particularly sharp. Still, if you don't pixel-peep, you'll probably be okay with the GT 7 Pro's images - dynamic range is good, colors are alright.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

In the dark, the GT 7 Pro does reasonably well with its main camera. We're getting slightly underexposed shots geared more towards highlight preservation - shadows could be a little gloomy, though. Particularly contrasty scenes can end up looking overprocessed and aggressively sharpened. Detail is generally alright, but not towards the top of the class. White balance and colors are on point.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The 2x shots, on the other hand, get pretty questionable. They're heavily processed and low on actual detail.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

3x Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera's results are more to our liking. The 3x shots have very good detail and it's looking nicely organic too. Dynamic range is excellent, and colors are pleasing too. There was that bleached rendition of the otherwise decidedly more yellowish scene in the third sample, but other than that we had no issues with the white balance.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

The 6x zoom level's results are noticeably softer, but you could probably live with them, if the framing and perspective are key, and pixel-peeping comes second.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide won't be winning any image quality contests with its relatively soft results. Still, dynamic range is very good and colors are accurate most of the time (that pesky third scene is proving hard for the Realme).

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Video recording

The GT 7 Pro records video up to 8K24 with its main camera, which can also do 4K at up to 60fps. The telephoto maxes out at 4K60, while the ultrawide is limited to 1080p at 30fps (no higher frame rate either).

The default codec is h.265 but you can switch to h.264. Oddly enough, you can even get 8K encoded with h.264.

There is 'regular' video stabilization available in all resolutions and frame rate combos and then there's Ultra steady mode at up to 4K30.

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

Video sample playlist

4K video quality from the GT 7 Pro's main camera is good without setting any standards. Exposure is accurate and dynamic range is very good. The vibrant colors also help the phone's case. Less exciting is the detail presentation - it's pretty high on the sharpening scale. The telephoto fits the above description pretty well too, with the good and bad remaining mostly the same, though there's some extra grain in areas of uniform color. The ultrawide's 1080p footage is passable - we're not entirely sure why it's lower in saturation than the other two.

In the dark, the main camera does decently in global properties, but it's on the soft side when you look from up close. The telephoto is also acceptable, while the ultrawide is best avoided at night.

Stabilization was a bit of an issue on the GT5 Pro, and the GT 7 Pro hasn't really entirely fixed things either. Walking shake does make it to the final clips, though footage is admittedly pretty stable when you just point the phone in a constant direction. Pans are pretty smooth too.