Since Huawei first joined forces with Leica on the P9, the focus of their devices has largely been on the performance of their cameras. Huawei claim that the P30 Pro will set a new standard in phone photography and, after some time with it, it is hard to disagree.
The Huawei P30 Pro is shipping from Clove Technology from 5th April, starting at £899 including VAT, so head to our website to check that out.
Setup
So, before we really discuss the results of the camera of the P30 Pro, it’s important to know what exactly this device is packing; and that’s a very impressive Leica quad lens rear setup.
The first lens is a ‘Super Sensing’ 40MP sensor, with an f/1.6 aperture, 26mm focal length and optical image stabilisation – a first for a sensor this size in a smartphone. This is backed by a 20MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture that can capture macro shots, an 8MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and lastly Huawei’s 3D Time of Flight sensor, used to speed up autofocus and to measure depth.
- 40MP Super Sensor, f/1.6 aperture, 26mm focal length and OIS
- 20MP ultra-wide-angle, f/2.2 aperture
- 8MP telephoto lens, 5x optical zoom
- Huawei’s 3D Time of Flight sensor
Standard & AI
Starting with some very basic shots, no filters applied, AI turned off, the Huawei P30 Pro produces images with very good detail and strong colour accuracy. Whilst that main Super Sensing lens is able to capture images at the full 40MP, the default resolution for pictures is actually 10MP as this produces the best overall image quality.
Now with AI applied, images are equally as impressive, and we’ve been really pleased with the vibrancy of those that we’ve snapped. Photos taken by the P20 Pro could often be oversaturated and lost their authenticity, however we can’t label this same criticism at the P30 Pro at all. Indeed, Huawei have been very keen to push the AI capabilities of their devices within the last few years, and the P30 Pro is now able to recognise 4500 different photography scenarios. The device also comes with Huawei’s HiVision smart lens which automatically recognises things such as landmarks and good, giving you relevant information.
The new improved HDR+ mode also makes use of Huawei’s AI tech to improve HDR. This system works by detecting light levels within the scene your taking a photo of and subsequently creating a light map to selectively apply varying exposures to darker and lighter image areas on a pixel-by-pixel basis, for a well-balanced final image. In this way, HDR is more accurate and certainly more convincing.
Alongside this, the 20MP ultra-wide-angle lens is also capable of some fantastic images that genuinely benefit the image. This is a feature that many use a lot and whilst the middle of these pictures is arguably more detailed than the edges, colour reproduction on the whole is very good and images don’t suffer from too much distortion, all things considered.
This wide-angle lens also aids Huawei’s Super Macro Mode which allows you to take detailed photographs from a distance as close as 2.5cm. If AI is activated, then the P30 Pro will switch to Super Macro Mode automatically and allow you to capture an incredible amount of detail that might not be easily noticeable otherwise. This has been particularly beneficial when taking images of plants and food.
Bokeh & Portrait
Now the most obvious benefit of Huawei’s Time of Flight sensor is that it allows for far more accurate 3D mapping of a scene, theoretically resulting in improved bokeh effect for portrait photography. This works by tracking how much time light takes to travel from the camera, a subject and back to the camera to analyse where objects are in a space alongside their dimensions for more convincing bokeh effects.
All of the information gained from this sensor enables multi-level bokeh simulation so that artistic blur can be applied to different objects and levels of a scene, depending on the distance that they are from the camera.
The P30 Pro actually comes equipped with a number of different bokeh effects and you can enable and disable the background blur as you see fit. You can choose bokeh shapes from circles, hearts, swirl or discs as you may be able to see here and can even opt for different lighting modes – although the finished result isn’t for everyone!
If you want that blur effect on a non-human subject, then aperture mode is very easy to use, simulating apertures in the f/0.95 – f/16 range. You can adjust blur strength both before and after taking an image and the results for us have been really good.
Overall, subject separation is one of the best that we have seen from a smartphone as the device distinguishes very well between the finer details of the portrait and the background for crisp blur.
Zoom
Now at this point, you’re probably thinking; okay, great pictures, great specs, but what really makes the Huawei P30 Pro stand out? Well that’s where the zoom capabilities come in. Indeed, the Huawei P30 Pro offers 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom and 50x digital zoom.
That 8MP telephoto sensor produces a 5x optical zoom that offers surprisingly impressive levels of details. Photos still have that crispness to them and are very natural with great colour reproduction.
Now at this 5x zoom, the Huawei P30 Pro relies exclusively on that telephoto lens, however for the 10x hybrid zoom it works to combine data from all three sensors – capturing image data from all lenses combined. Combining digital and optical magnification, Huawei says this is lossless – we’re not completely sure that we agree with that, but again the results are very good. The camera performs zooming with the help of a super-resolution algorithm, in which several RAW frames are merged together into one high-resolution frame that it then crops.
However, 50x zoom is where the P30 Pro really comes into its own – zooming in on details that some might even struggle to see with the naked eye. The device uses AI to detect what’s in the photo and subsequently enhances and sharpens the details that might have been lost. Looking at the details, all things considered, this really is quite a feat and we’ve rarely been as impressed with a feature as much as we are this.
Low-Light Performance
Now when it comes to low light photography, Huawei have streamlined the performance of P30 Pro by replacing the standard RGB sensor (red, green, blue) with an RYYB (red, yellow, yellow, blue). The 40MP Super Spectrum Sensor has replaced each of the green pixels with two yellow pixels, because yellow sensors can absorb twice as much light as their green counterparts, offering 40% better light intake.
Alongside this, Huawei has boosted the max ISO levels up to 409,600 from 102,400 to further aid with shooting in low light. Huawei claim that this is the highest ever light sensitivity in a smartphone camera as most devices sit around the 6,400 mark.
Video
Recording video has also been an enjoyable experience in the week or so that we’ve had the Huawei P30 Pro. The device can capture 4K resolution at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps or 30fps as you might expect of a device at this level. Indeed, the camera records video at 60fps in bright light, whilst in lower light when slower shutter speeds are required for good exposure, the camera switches back to the more conventional 30fps.
If you’re a fan of super slow-mo, then the P30 Pro shoots in the industry standard 720p at 960fps. Generally, finished videos contain around 6-10 seconds of slow mo, sandwiched by 2 seconds of regular speed action. Alongside this, you can also utilise that 10x hybrid zoom whilst filming and an update will soon allow you to film using two lenses simultaneously, so we’re certainly looking forward to making the most of that one.
Selfies
If selfies are more your thing, then the Huawei P30 Pro comes crafted with a single 32MP lens on the front, with an f/2.0 aperture and similarly takes some impressive images. Dynamic range really is excellent for a selfie shooter; colours are good, and photos contain plenty of detail.
The same portrait mode with bokeh effect that features on the main camera is also on the front and, whilst the result is very good and considerably better than a lot of devices we have used, subject separation isn’t quite as good. But it is understandably hard to compete with that rear setup.
A number of lighting effects are available, as well as beauty mode which allows you to adjust things such as warmth and thinness of face.
So overall, the camera of the Huawei P30 Pro more than lives up to expectation. That zooming feature really is unbelievable and the quad lens setup really does it all. Images are crisp, colour reproduction is good and an extraordinary amount of detail is captured. If smartphone photography is important to you then this is definitely the device you need.
The Huawei P30 Pro is shipping from Clove Technology from April 5th, with prices starting at £899 including VAT, so head on over to our website to check that out.