So the OnePlus 5 has arrived. There is a lot of noise on the internet regarding the camera. Well I am sure to take a few shots with it over the coming days but here is a huge surprise. Portrait mode. I truly expected the iPhone 7 Plus to walk over the OnePlus 5. Except it didn’t. I took 5 portrait shots on each phone, and every OnePlus 5 Portrait mode photo was better than the iPhone 7 Plus on every shot.
Above is the best shot I could achieve from the iPhone 7 Plus in portrait after 5 attempts.
And above is one of 5 decent portrait shots from the OnePlus 5. Incredible and a surprise.
More to follow.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 
Hi Gavin!!! Glad u are still posting!!! Wishing you well. I noticed on these pics that they are set up different. The salt and pepper are together on the One Plus shot and separate on the iPhone. That could make a difference. Also the One Plus while it has slightly better focus on the salt and pepper…. The focus is all over the place in the background. The iPhone has more consistent black ground blur. Just my 2 cents!$
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I had had the pots in the same place with the iPhone but the output wasn’t good. Hence why I tried different setups. Thanks for the blue feedback. And thanks too.
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Not sure about this one Gavin. The One Plus just looks like a regular macro shot, you’d expect some level of bokeh. At least the iPhone shot has the feel of a prime lens, even if the edges aren’t quite right. Try this again at the suggested 8 feet from the subject.
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I think the thing to remember also is that you’re using the iPhone mode for something it isn’t designed to do. It’s called portrait mode because its algorithms are designed to detect human form and create a realistic bokeh effect behind them to make them jump from the background. A salt and pepper pot (or other still life object) is not a person and is not a portrait, so whilst it’s sometimes possible to achieve an ok result it never looks as good as when you photograph a human in the same environment.
I’ve used Portrait mode on human subjects hundreds of times – even on moving subjects – and it rarely skips a beat. I’m yet to see any synthetic bokeh effect that comes anywhere close to Apple’s implementation.
I think what would be nice is if you got a popup saying ‘we have noticed that this is not a portrait, would you like to switch modes?’ Or something like that – because an awful lot of bloggers and vloggers and reviewers seem to be using the effect for the wrong subjects.
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Portrait mode is obviously meant for people. But it can be used for other things 😉
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Yes, I know it *can* be but my point is just that it isn’t supposed to be – it’s designed for human subjects so will often fall down when unexpected objects are used instead of people. When human subjects are used the mode is spectacular.
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The tech is getting so advanced now. OIS imo will be gone in a few years time.
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