A step ahead in ‘phonegraphy’
If you’re into photography, the P20 Pro can be your second camera, writes Izwan Ismail
HUAWEI has become the biggest contender to the big S and A (that’s Samsung and Apple to the clueless) in the smartphone market, thanks to its clever strategy in the phone camera department. The joint venture with Leica since the P9 introduction one and a half years ago has catapulted Huawei into the top three phones among consumers.
With the new P20 Pro, Huawei once again shows that strength in photography is one of the main attractions of today’s phones.
The 6.1-inch P20 Pro is much anticipated by consumers who are into phone photography as well as photographers who are looking for a mobile shooter that can perform just like cameras.
CAMERAS
Huawei has become a trend setter in smartphone camera innovations since its introduction of the dual back camera in the P9 model, copied by all the other vendors soon after.
This time, the China technology giant has once again set a first, with its three back cameras.
I’ve tested the P9, P10 as well as the Mate series phones from Huawei, and I’m impressed with the quality of the images.
The partnership with Leica, one of the finest camera and lens makers in the world, has proven to be effective in making the phones superior.
The Leica Vario-Summilux-H lenses are the star attractions of the phone.
Now with a triple-camera system consisting of a 40-megapixel RGB camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 20-megapixel monochrome camera with an f/1.6 aperture, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera with an f/2.4 aperture, the Huawei P20 Pro sounds like a pro shooter.
If you were to buy Leica lens with those big apertures, it will cost you a hefty sum but with the P20 Pro, those features are built into the camera.
The addition of the telephoto lens (the third camera), only available in the P20 Pro, gives up to 3X optical zoom and 5X hybrid zoom capability.
With improved ISO capability of up to 102400, image stabilisation features, and a slightly bigger image sensor than other phones in the market, the P20 Pro does sound more like a camera than a phone.
FEATURES
The P20 Pro camera can be operated like a dSLR camera.
If you’re into photography, you’ll appreciate the advanced camera features of the P20 Pro, like aperture control, shutter speed and white balance.
At f/1.6 aperture (maximum of f/1.2), you’ll get that ability to isolate your subject from the background with a nice bokeh effect.
The 3X optical and 5X hybrid zoom are big for a smarphone camera, which means a closer focus to the subject without compromising on image quality.
The Huawei P20 series devices support six-axis stabilisation and 960fps super slow motion, 4x higher than the standard 240fps, and capture details that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
With Ultra Snapshot mode, the devices can capture an image in as few as 0.3 seconds by double clicking the down volume button, even from a screen that is switched off.
A TOUCH OF AI
If you’re not into photography and cameras but want images like those from a dSLR camera, this phone is for you as it comes with artificial intelligence (AI) technology designed to make photography easier and fun.
While some people may say the AI feature is akin to an auto camera mode, it’s actually more than that.
With the Kirin 970 processor, the P20 series automatically identifies more than 500 scenarios in 19 categories and selects photography modes and camera settings to deliver professional-looking images, even for novice photographers.
Also, new to Huawei’s advanced camera system is the 4D predictive focus. In this mode, the camera predicts moving objects and focuses on them with extreme efficiency to capture minute details of objects in motion.
In our digital cameras’ auto mode, images are taken based on the surrounding light. With the AI in the P20 Pro, users get a whole lot more.
For example, if pointed at a plate of cupcakes, the screen shows that the camera is using the food mode. So it will use the food photography presets.
But if you push the camera closer to the cakes, the mode will change to Macro, as the AI figures out close-up shots are required and will adjust the setting accordingly.
If you point the phone at a group of people, it will change the mode to group shots and will produce a box within the screen (so that everyone will be in the box), guiding you to take the photos like a pro.
This AI feature is also cool as it does not just automate the pro “learnng curve” for you, but guides you on how certain pictures should be taken.
PICTURE QUALITY
P20 Pro takes pictures which are pleasing to the eyes, with details to match.
The camera excels at low light photography, and the high ISO capability helps in this area.
Its night shot feature works really well in giving balanced images in terms of dynamic range, sharpness and noise.
You just need to hold the phone steady for four seconds while it takes multiple shots of different exposures and combine them into one, resulting in a better exposed photo.
The camera also produces detailed images especially in macro mode.
OTHER FEATURES
The Huawei P20 Pro is slim and nice to hold. It has embraced the full screen feature with the notch feature, almost similar to the one in the iPhone X.
Its reflective glass back is beautiful though its fingerprint magnet requires you to clean smudges away.
The P20 Pro has a large 4,000mAh battery, which can last more than a day’s use easily.
It also comes with 6GB memory and uses the Android 8.1 operating system with Huawei’s EMUI 8.1.
The phone is available in Midnight Blue, Black and Pink Gold and is priced at RM3,299. Expect the Twilight colour soon.