Camera Group Test: Honor 5X vs Honor 7 vs Nexus 6P
Having had the Honor 5X for a few weeks now, I though it about time to do some comparison testing.
The obvious ‘competitor’ is the slightly more expensive Honor 7, which has a 20 (20.7) megapixel camera over the 13 megapixel camera inside the Honor 5X.
The Honor 5X offers a larger display over the Honor 7, plus the benefit of allowing both two SIM cards and a memory card. My testing so far has also shown that the battery life has been somewhat exceptional, which may be enough to accept the lack of 5GHz Wi-Fi and the very fastest 4G speeds.
But this article isn’t about reviewing the hardware, and looks solely at the camera.
You can see my other photo galleries with photos from the Honor 5X here and here.
Given the Google Nexus 6P is also made by the same company, and also uses a Sony-sourced image sensor (all three do), I thought it would be fun to also take photos and video to demonstrate what the extra money may or may not buy you.
As ever, I prefer to let the photos do the talking so take a look at the gallery below – and remember to click on each individual picture to view at full size. Also remember that most photos won’t be viewed at anywhere near full-resolution, so take that into consideration when deciding on what you actually want from a phone camera.
I’ve also created a short YouTube video too, with a short 15 second video clip recorded on each phone. On the Nexus 6P, I took advantage of the Ultra-HD mode, so as to see the quality from the highest quality modes on each device.
As ever, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Honor 5X vs Honor 7 Specs Comparison
| Honor 5X | Honor 7 | |
| Size | 151.3×76.3×8.2mm | 143.2×71.9×8.5mm |
| Weight | 158g | 157g |
| Screen | 5.5-inch 1920×1080 | 5.2-inch 1920×1080 |
| OS | Android 5.1.1 (6 coming) + EMUI 3.1 | Android 5.1.1 (6 in test) + EMUI 3.1 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 (Quad 1.7GHz + Quad 1.2GHz) |
Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 935 (Quad 2.2GHz + Quad 1.5GHz) |
| Dual SIM | Three slots (Nano, Micro SIM + microSDXC) | Two SIMs OR one SIM + microSDXC |
| 4G Support | Cat 4 (150/50) | Cat 6 (300/50) |
| Wi-Fi Support | 2.4GHz 802.11n | Dual-Band 802.11n |
| Internal Storage | 16GB | 16GB |
| External Storage | Up to 200GB | Up to 200GB |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB |
| Camera (front) | 5MP f/2.4 | 8MP f/2.4 + LED |
| Camera (rear) | 13MP f/2.0 + single LED Sony IMX 214 |
20MP f/2.0 + dual LED Sony IMX 230 |
| Fingerprint security | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | 3,000mAh | 3,100mAh |
| Charging connector | Micro USB | Micro USB |
| Retail Price (before offers) | £189.99 | £249.99 |
Honor 5X / Honor 7 / Nexus 6P Camera Comparison
Video
(Above video also contains all of the above photos in a slideshow, if you start from the beginning)
After seeing your Honor 5X image gallery posts I’m most impressed with the images this phone produces and it seems the HDR mode helps with creating more evenly balance photos. Definitely a winner at £189!
Great comparison thanks it’s really helped. 🙂
To me, the 5X appears to underexpose slightly, is a little softer in the focus and really struggles with bright backgrounds leaving the foreground very very underexposed (eg. image 5 (park with sky) and image 11 (red building and sky).
The Honor 7 by comparison v.slightly overexposes making a colder overall image, but otherwise is slightly sharper in focus and deals with bright/dark situations much better.
The most capable camera from this set (not that I prefer every photo) seems to be the 6P, sharper focus overall, deals well with bright/dark sections of image however like the 5X does still suffer with underexposure which seems to leave many images darker than necessary. The 6p is a good deal more cash though.
Personally I’d be happy with either of the Honor’s for everyday casual snapshots but if I had the extra cash would probably plump for the 6p.
Given the choice between the cheaper Honor 7/5X it’s harder to call but clearly the 7 ‘s camera is slightly more capable (better focus/dealing with highlights) if you don’t mind the colder images it seems to produce.