Catching up with the latest tests at DxOMark…
Apple, though constantly breaking new ground in Social Justice, is falling behind in the cameraphone rankings. The latest Huawei phone puts up better numbers than an iPhone 7 (the 7 Plus should be named the Emperor’s New Clothes camera because nobody seems to have noticed that using the regular wide angle camera and cropping typically produces better results than using Apple’s 56mm-equivalent lens and sensor). The good news for Apple investors is that there is no substitute for American ingenuity. It is not like there has ever been a U.S. company that once dominated the worldwide photography market and subsequently went bankrupt.
Canon showed up late to the 1″-sensor compact digital market way behind Sony and their latest model is still way behind Sony. See also the poor dynamic range scores of the latest Canon M5 mirrorless camera compared to an old Sony A6300.
Meanwhile Sigma has gotten off its butt to make an 85/1.4 lens that scores better than the absurdly expensive and heavy Zeiss Otus (and therefore way better than anything from Canon or Nikon).
Sony now makes a 70-200/2.8 that is better than Canon and Nikon equivalents.
If you want to denounce Donald Trump at the Academy Awards, there is no better place to start than with a RED Helium camera, which put up a Spinal Tap-like score of 108 (out of what was supposed to be 100?).
How is it possible that China is beating us? We are so much more diverse. Puzzling!
On the bright side, Canon’s 5Dmk4, while ludicrously overpriced, is a major improvement and is now competitive. Nikon is imploding, probably because of quality control issues with their last 2-3 generations, leaving Canon king of a shrinking hill.
I never use the 7+ zoom lens, but the portrait mode can be great.