Huawei P30 Pro Camera Hands-on

Camera Hardware

There's a new Leica powered Quad Camera system on the P30 Pro which is really powerful and feature-rich. The four-lens camera setup features the 40MP Wide-angle camera (27mm) that works on a brighter f/1.6 aperture. It is Huawei's new SuperSpectrum sensor that also supports OIS and is accompanied by a 20MP ultra-wide angle camera (16mm) working on f/2.2 aperture. Besides, the company has placed an 8MP Telephoto sensor working on f/3.4 aperture lens and the new Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor to capture depth information. For the front, Huawei P30 Pro features a big 32MP shooter.

Daylight Camera Performance

Most of the smartphones perform well when the sensor is subjected to plenty of light. The difference in the performance basically comes down to color representation, contrast, and dynamic range. The P30 Pro captures images with brilliant contrast, vibrant colors and impressive details. The dynamic range is also brilliant. Check out these images shot in ample daylight. As I also had the Mate 20 Pro while using the P30 Pro, I noticed a good difference in the color balance of both the phone's camera output. Images shot with Mate 20 Pro with same camera settings as P30 Pro showed slight warmer color tones. The P30 Pro offers slightly more natural and true to eyes color tones. The images look pleasing the camera responds to light very well.

Monochrome Shots in Daylight

Unlike the P20 Pro, the P30 Pro does not feature a dedicated monochrome sensor. But that did not stop us from testing the camera performance for Black and White shots. The above image was shot in very good lighting and you can clearly see the fine detailing that the camera has captured in Monochrome mode. The effect is now achieved by software only and it seems that the software is right at the point here. Even the bokeh looks really pleasing, thanks to the new TOF sensor placed for depth sensing.

Some serious Low-light camera capabilities

Without any doubt, the highlights of the 4-lens camera setup are the new 40 MP SuperSpectrum sensor that uses the world's first RYYB sensor and the 8MP telephoto lens what can zoom in optically to 5X. The former, the 40MP lens uses a 1/1.7-inch SuperSpectrum sensor that unlike the traditional RGG Bayer filter replaces the green pixels with yellow pixels. Huawei says that this allows the camera setup to fetch in 40 % more light to capture brighter images. The P30 Pro can touch a high maximum ISO rating of 409,600, which is super impressive for a mobile camera setup.

Huawei had created a dark zone to test the P30 Pro's low-light camera performance. I took a couple of shots to personally test the company's claims. To my surprise, the camera on P30 Pro was able to capture well-lit shots even in almost absolute darkness and that too in standard mode. The low-light mode brings in some more light but changes the color balance. The shots captured in standard mode showed natural colors and very good details. The results were far better than Samsung Galaxy S10+ and any other smartphone I have tested in such a dark environment. The P30 Pro also supports Dual OIS stabilization for better low-light results.

Crazy Zoom capabilities

Last but not least; the P30 Pro brings in some mind-blowing zoom powers. The zoom works brilliantly in ample lighting but it's also not bad when the sun sets. To give you the numbers, the new periscope camera setup placed intelligently in the body of the phone allows for 5X optical, 10X lossless hybrid zoom, and 50X digital zoom. What this means is that you can capture very good close up shots with 5X optical zoom. Place the subject a little farther and 10x hybrid zoom will also not disappoint you. And if you want to capture distant subjects, a lot farther when I say distant, use the 50X digital zoom.

Check out the above image. I was able to capture such minute details from a very long distance with the 50X zoom power of P30 Pro. It's really incredible to see a smartphone with such zoom capabilities that can easily rival point and shoot cameras. The P30 Pro can be the smartphone for photographers who love to capture distant objects, be it scenic landscapes, ancient city' architectures or in a national park trying to capture some distant wild animals. The zoom is that good. We will soon give you a comprehensive review of P30 Pro's camera performance. Stay tuned on GizBot.com.