Since the introduction of the new Galaxy S7 Edge during Mobile World Congress, the smartphone’s camera has found itself under the spotlight several times, and for good reasons. One of them is the fact that Samsung introduced a new DSLR-grade camera technology never-before-used in smartphones, called Dual Pixel autofocus. The technology was previously showcased in a video comparison featuring the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, where the Galaxy S7 Edge demonstrated superior image quality in most areas, including low-light photography. To raise the stakes, a Galaxy S7 Edge owner in Thailand has decided to pit the smartphone against a real DSLR camera – the Canon EOS 70D – which happens to use Dual Pixel autofocus technology as well.
Early reviews for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge have been positive overall, with one of the model’s biggest strengths being its fast autofocusing capabilities, facilitated by the Dual Pixel technology which is said to outperform Phase Detection autofocus used by the majority of high-end smartphones today. Impressively enough, however the two new video comparisons provided by the Galaxy S7 Edge user in Thailand shows that the aforementioned smartphone is capable of keeping track of moving objects and maintain focus more easily than the DSLR unit. The first test video was recorded in a fairly well-lit room, where the difference in autofocusing speed between the smartphone’s camera and the DSLR is surprisingly visible.
Aside from fast autofocus, Dual Pixel technology also promises better performance in low-light environments, and the second test video aims to showcase this for both the smartphone and the DSLR. Although it’s more difficult to tell the difference between the two devices’ camera capabilities in the second video, once again the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge appears to tackle the challenge more gracefully, delivering slightly better autofocusing performance and more balanced levels of brightness and contrast overall. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is equipped with a 12-megapixel camera with OIS, a 1/2.6-inch sensor, 1.4-micron pixels and an f/1.7 aperture. The Canon EOS 70D features a 20.2-megapixel sensor and an aperture of f/3.5.