Oppo R9s vs. Samsung S7 Edge review

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So I brought these two phones to France for a little test. They both boast the BIGGEST aperture in the camera phone market which is an f/1.7. This means they can both take low-light photos well.

If you don’t have time to read the full review, here is my short answer:

Short answer: Samsung S7 Edge is a better overall phone and camera. the Oppo R9s has better value for money if you don’t take pictures all the time.

Samsung S7 Edge 32GB price: S$916.00
OPPO R9s 63GB price: S$679.00

I just googled these prices today 26/01/2017. These are the prices on Lazada

After spending time with both of them, I found myself using the Samsung as my everyday phone. Mainly because it has a more responsive camera that does not need “processing time” to save HDR photos and i take HDR photos all the time. My Samsung is all cracked now because I dropped it so many times. I’m glad it didn’t crack over the cameras! The cracks also mean that it is no longer waterproof, just like the Oppo.

I’ve also use all three Samsung 7 series phones – namely the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and the now recalled Note7. They all have consistent camera quality and I love that I can swim with them. The exploding note7 is my favorite because it just looks way cooler. It is symmetrical, slick and had a stylus I didn’t know I needed. (I use the stylus to scribble on my Instagram stories.) I no longer use the note7 because it explodes.

Outdoor Overcast Photo Test

Straight out the camera! The Eiffel tower. Shot in HDR because I didn’t want the tower to be a silhouette. The Samsung did a better job here brightening the dark areas.

Both photos were shot with HDR mode on. It was a gloomy winter day in Paris, not great for photos but I think the Samsung salvaged the situation better with brighter shadows

The Samsung also shoots HDR photos faster than the Oppo. The Samsung was instantaneously while the Oppo has a 2 seconds processing time after pressing the shutter with HDR on. Gets a little annoying.

Here’s a photo of them at 100% res. Zoomed in for the details

OPPO has higher resolution! We can actually see clear tiny human shapes on the Oppo photo.

I slightly enlarge the Samsung image to match scale because the Oppo shoots at a higher resolution 4608 x 3456 compared to Samsung’s 4032 x 3024. The Samsung also shoots at a wider angle, which means objects would be smaller on the Samsung – as in the same objects would take up less pixels on the Samsung than on the Oppo.

Indoor Dim Lighting Photo Test

SAMSUNG has a better dynamic range. Shot in the Louvre in the Victorian interior room. Samsung does better than the Oppo in indoor lighting. Oppo overexposed the chandelier lighting and underexposed the shadows on the chairs.

The Samsung field of view is so wide we can see the 2nd chandelier in the room! There is also more visible details in the blacks and whites on the Samsung

Zoomed into for details. Woah, that sharpness and detail is incredible on the Samsung. It looks like it was software sharpened.

Zoomed in the dark areas. The Samsung has better shadow compensation straight out the camera – look at the back of the chairs. There is more visible noise though.

 

The Oppo looks a little over exposed. While the Samsung captured more details at the sacrifice of contrast.
Zoomed, for a clearer picture of the whites.. and I’m not talking about the people.

 

Venus De Milo’s abs are almost washed out in the Oppo shot.
Zoomed, the Samsung captures more details in the brighter spots. You see both nipples in the Samsung shot. Oppo’s focus is less sharp compared to the Samsung. Oppo’s shot is disappointingly fuzzy here.

Bright Outdoor Landscape Photo Test

Bright sunny day out in the french alps. Both do very well. The Oppo has more contrast straight out the camera. Samsung has a shallower contrast which lessens the risk of the snow over exposed. They both have different interpretations of the sky color – I kinda like Samsung’s blue better, personal preference.

 

Here is an example of a bright sunny day with some people in the foreground. They both do very well.
Zoomed in on the mountains. Samsung has slightly more details on the snow because of its shallower contrast. The Samsung’s photo is better for editing while the Oppo’s shot looks great straight out the camera.

 

The Ski town of Champagny, La Plagne.
Zoomed in – You can almost read the sign on the Oppo photo thanks to its higher resolution.

 

I noticed how Samsung mutes its contrast but saturates the color. Yes, there is a difference between contrast and saturation.
Zoomed in – Samsung definitely has some post-sharpening. The Oppo has crispier edges (Look the crosses, this is again thanks to the Oppo’s higher resolution)

Low Light test

Time to test their 1.7 apertures!

A little too faded on the Samsung and slightly too dark on the Oppo. I wish there was an in between.

Oppo is sharper here!

How about a night street view of Paris from my window.
Higher resolution Oppo wins in the details again. We can almost ID some people at the bus stop on the Oppo’s camera.. almost

Selfie test

Samsung’s front and rear cameras both have a wider field of view compared to the Oppo. Also, not that it really matters – the Samsung flips its selfie photo while the Oppo lets its selfies remain in the “mirror dimension”. By mirror dimension, i mean it saves its photo exactly how it was shot on the selfie cam, like a mirror image.
Looking at the fur, I’d say the Samsung took a better selfie! I also like that Samsung’s selfie cam is wider – I didn’t have to extend my arms too far.

HD video test


I shot this at neonlights last year. I held both phone on top of each other in one hand. I have shaky hands and both cameras compensated for it with great image stabilization. Obvious difference would be the wider field of view on the Samsung.

4K video test

Why not push it ALL THE WAY! 4k mobile video show down!

Ah, the Oppo couldn’t take the 4k-ness. It went off sync. But who really needs to shoot 4k on mobile anyway. I know I dont.

Conclusion

Get the Samsung if you have the money. If not the Oppo will do the job too.. unless you are one of those weird people who use the NFC function because the Oppo does not have NFC.

I clearly love using the Samsung a lot more. Look at how many times I dropped it in France. I’m lucky the glass didn’t crack where it mattered. There is a crack over my front camera though. So my selfies are starting to look a little blurry at the bottom.

The Oppo comes with a free rubber casing and screen protector inside its box! Which is amazing. Samsung did no such thing, the phone comes naked.. I used it naked, no protection and I paid the price, I have a cracked phone :(

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