We used the Galaxy J7 Core for a Quick Product Photography Session

We used the Galaxy J7 Core for a Quick Product Photography Session

Can it level up your smartphone photography?

We’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy J7 Core for a few days now, and in spite of having less RAM than the OPPO A71, its modern processor keeps it at par with the A71, at least in benchmark tests.

Samsung has been advertising the J7 Core as a gaming phone (they even got Alodia Gosiengfiao to endorse it!). But unknown to many, the J7 Core is also a decent shooter on its own, sporting a 13-megapixel, f/1.9 rear camera, making it one of the more affordable smartphones to sport such a camera setup.

With that in mind, we decided to spend a few hours using the J7 Core to do an impromptu product photography with a DIY “studio” setup using natural light. Check out the photos:

Close-up

The J7 Core’s close-up abilities are quite good; focusing is not a problem despite using a small working distance between the camera and the subject. While it tends to underexpose or overexpose at times, you can easily adjust the exposure after you get your desired focus point.

The J7 Core managed to capture in this close-up shot the “patina” of this vintage Mercedes Benz Matchbox car (this one is from the 60s if I’m not mistaken).

 

Colors rendered nicely on this Iron Man Lego toy, even if the shot was slightly underexposed.

 

There may be a bit of detail lost from the keychain hook, but the Demogorgon Funko Pop toy’s details are on point.

 Detail

Armed with a 13-megapixel sensor and a wide aperture opening, the J7 Core captures all the details nicely, even if you overexpose the photos a bit (see photo of the vintage camera).

You can clearly see the small details on the watch.

 

Given its keen to detail, the J7 Core has a camera perfect for Instagram-worthy flatlays.

 

This image may be slightly overexposed, but the J7 Core managed to capture the details of this vintage film camera nicely.

Depth of Field

The J7 Core’s 13-megapixel camera is capable of isolating the background like what most dual camera-equipped phones would do. No camera tricks here, just good focusing and subject isolation from the J7 Core’s camera.

Even with the shiny details on the metal bracelet (in the background), the J7 Core kept good detail with the leather strap and gold buckle in the foreground.

 

Even if two objects are close together, the J7 Core’s focusing ability is spot-on when I tapped the screen to focus more on the Mercedes Benz Matchbox car.

 

The Iron Man Lego figure is well-focused here, blurring the Mercedes Benz Matchbox in the background nicely.

The quality may be far from that of an iPhone 8 (which has the best camera ever according to DxOMark), but given that it is priced a hair under 10K, the J7 Core is a steal for those who want to level up their smartphone photography. Aside from fast focusing and good color rendition, the J7 Core’s f/1.9 aperture really does wonders in capturing your subject. One suggestion to Samsung: please update the J7 Core to support RAW shooting and have improved manual controls, as the J7 Core’s camera UI is pretty basic. Other than that, the J7 Core has one of the better cameras for its price range.

That’s it for now! Watch out for the full review in a few days, as we are almost done doing a barrage of tests with the J7 Core.

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