Gionee Elife E7 vs Micromax Canvas Knight: The 16MP camera shootout

It was inevitable. Two budget phones with 16 megapixel shooters could only lead to one outcome – a shootout.   The **Gionee Elife E7** and the **Micromax Canvas Knight A350** sport 16MP cameras made by OmniVision. The camera module on both handsets boasts of a 1/ 2.3-inch sensor with larger 1.34µm pixels. With identical modules in both phones, it all boils down to the image processing software. Both companies have their custom interface running over the stock Android camera UI. Let’s take a look at the ease of use first before we dive into the comparison.   Camera UI Gionee is targeting the E7 as a camera-centric smartphone and for that, we have a very professional looking interface with many dials for switching between various scene and shooting modes. You also have a choice to switch back to a standard interface in case you find it a bit intimidating. The UI is very novice friendly and easy to use but we expected a lot more features apart from the standard fare. [caption id=“attachment_220839” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The camera UI in the E7 is easy to use but not as snappy[/caption]   I personally prefer the Canvas Knight’s UI a lot more as it’s cleaner and snappier. There are also additional features like Animated GIF, 3D Panorama and Erase object, which are missing from Gionee’s repertoire. [caption id=“attachment_220675” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The camera UI is well designed. A first for Micromax.[/caption]   We’ve put together a series of shots ranging from macro to landscape to low-light. The first three pictures are 100 precent crops of the original. This is done to showcase the amount of detail and accuracy of colours in the images. The next three shots are a test to see how well the cameras can handle dynamic range in low-light, and their depth of field performance.   Macro 1 In our first macro, the Canvas Knight manages accurate and more saturated colours as compared to the E7. The focus is also very sharp on the object. This is because the Knight saves the image a bit quicker once you hit the shutter button. The E7 on the other hand will churn out a slightly blurry shot if you’re not absolutely still. We’ve **highlighted this issue in our review** as well.   [caption id=“attachment_220841” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The full image (100% crop below)[/caption]   [caption id=“attachment_220832” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The Knight captures better details and colours[/caption]   Macro 2 In our second macro test, both cameras are able to capture accurate colours and details very well. [caption id=“attachment_220842” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The full image (100% crop below)[/caption]   [caption id=“attachment_220833” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] Both cameras manage equal colour accuracy and detail[/caption]   Low-light 2 The E7 holds its own in our low-light shot as it manages to capture slightly better detail and the text is clearer with less grain. The E7 also has better post-processing as there’s little to no colour noise on the ground, near the plants, as compared to the Knight. [caption id=“attachment_220843” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The full image (100% crop below)[/caption]   [caption id=“attachment_220834” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The E7 has slightly better post-processing compared to the Knight[/caption]   Low-light 2 Our second low-light picture is of a sunset. The difference is in the images is pretty massive here. The Knight exhibits much better colours in the sky, while the E7 is a bit on the cooler side, with a slightly darker picture overall. [caption id=“attachment_220837” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The Canvas Knight manages much better colours[/caption]   Landscape The focus here was on the construction in the distance. Once again, the E7 exhibits slightly better dynamic range as compared to the Knight. The shot is better exposed and there’s a lot more details in the trees. [caption id=“attachment_220844” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The full image (100% crop below)[/caption]   [caption id=“attachment_220835” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The E7 has slightly better dynamic range in distant objects[/caption]   HDR We decided to throw in an HDR shot as well since this is a feature used by many. The E7 really struggled with the metering here and after taking about seven shots, this is the best we had. For some reason, the phone wasn’t able to blend the two pictures well enough, resulting in a very weird picture.   [caption id=“attachment_220836” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] The E7 failed miserably at a HDR shot here[/caption]   The Knight on the other hand had no trouble with HDR, giving us a more pleasing end result.   Depth of field Once again, both cameras deliver very good depth of field. The level of detail is very good on the branch while the background gets a highly blurred. We had a little trouble getting the Knight to focus on the moving branch, something the E7 had no trouble with. [caption id=“attachment_220838” align=“alignnone” width=“768”] Both phone performed equally here.[/caption]   It’s a close call The 16MP sensor on the Knight and the **Elife E7** does an exceptional job at capturing images in most lighting conditions. Since they both have the same sensor, there’s very little difference between the two. However, in our tests, we found the Knight to edge out the E7 slightly in terms of features and an overall snappier interface.   As an overall phone, we feel the Gionee Elife E7 packs in better and more efficient hardware that’s easier to live with in the long run. But like we stated in our review, the **Micromax Canvas Knight** prides itself on its camera, and if that’s your top priority then the choice is simple.