HUAWEI P40 Pro still the best for photos. Here is the comparison with other top of the range

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Huawei P40 Pro Still The Best For Photos. Here Is
Huawei P40 Pro Still The Best For Photos. Here Is

Photography has become a fundamental factor in choosing a smartphone today. Manufacturers are increasingly enriching their devices with a greater number of sensors that more often make shots of the highest quality. We decided to compare the top of the range to understand who is the best in the field. So here are the results in our opinion.

When choosing one smartphone of the latest generation, today there is an increasing tendency to decide on the basis of many factors concerning the battery, which is a crucial point for the life of the device during everyday life, but also the display which must still allow you to view well multimedia content such as a TV series or a movie. But what users probably consider in the true choice of a smartphone in 2020 is undoubtedly the photographic sector.

Three, four sometimes even five photographic sensors are now a constant in defining a top of the range smartphone. Some point to the functionality of the same, others instead of to the number of “megapixels” and who also to particular ways to make the final shot original. However, all manufacturers try to get to ” therefore ”, that is, allow the user to take the smartphone in hand, open the camera application, frame a scene or a subject and shoot. The so-called ‘point-and-shoot’ is still the favourite of most users today, both for a lack of technical knowledge of photography and also for a need for speed of the shot.

The real top of the range are smartphones that they also cost more than 1000 € and it is clear that whoever buys a device of this price expects a result, even at a photographic level, of certain importance. 2020 has seen the mobile world grow with high photographic performance terminals. 108 megapixels have been reached but more devices with one have been seen on the market periscope sensor capable of high stabilized zoom.

In this scenario, we decided to put in comparison those that in this early 2020 (but also with some fundamental device of 2019) can be considered as the smartphones of the moment at the photographic level with the presence of triple or quadruple cameras but also with a technical sector to be envied perhaps by those in possession of an SLR. Innovation tries to remedy to what is basically the physical limit of the thickness of such a small smartphone. The sensors are getting smaller but they also have periscopic zooms capable of reducing the gap on quality and performance. The idea is to have in your hands, during a walk or even for work, light and a space-saving smartphone capable of producing a worthy result.

Index

  • The top of the range in comparison
  • Apple iPhone 11 Pro
  • HUAWEI P40 Pro
  • OnePlus 8 Pro
  • OPPO Find X2 Pro
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
  • The comparison of the shots
    • Daytime photo
    • Photos at night or in low light
    • Photos with Ultra Wide Angle sensor
    • Photos with telephoto sensor
    • Portrait mode photo (Bokeh effect)
    • Macro photo
    • Selfie photo
  • Conclusions

The top of the range in comparison

So here is the list of devices that we decided to compare (by clicking on the links you will be directed to the complete reviews).

  • Apple iPhone 11 Pro
  • HUAWEI P40 Pro
  • OnePlus 8 Pro
  • OPPO Find X2 Pro
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
Camera
REAR
FRONT camera
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Wide:
12 MP f / 1.8 26mm 1 / 2.55 “1.4 µm, OIS, dual pixel PDAFTelephoto:
12 MP, f / 2.0 52mm 1 / 3.4 “1.0 µm, OIS, PDAF, 2x optical zoomUltra Wide: 12 MP, f / 2.4 13mmVideo: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, Full HD @ 240 fps, HDR
Standard:
12 MP f / 2.2, 23mmSL 3D, depth sensorVideo: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, EIS
HUAWEI P40 Pro Wide:
50 MP f / 1.9 23mm 1 / 1.28 “2.44 µm, OIS, Omnidirectional PDAFPeriscope: 12 MP f / 3.4 125mm, OIS, PDAF, 5x optical zoomUltra Wide: 40 MP f / 1.8 1 / 1.54 “, PDAFTOF 3D: depth cameraVideo: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, Full HD @ 60 fps, HD @ 7680 fps
Wide: 32 MP f / 2.2 26mm, 1 / 1.28 “0.8 µm AF

IR TOF 3D: depth sensor

Video: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps

OnePlus 8 Pro Wide:
48 MP f / 1.8 25mm, 1 / 1.43 “1.12 µm, OIS, Omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AFTelephoto: 8 MP f / 2.4, 1 / 1.0 “, OIS, PDAF, 3x optical zoomUltra Wide: 48 MP f / 2.2 13mm, 1 / 2.0 “0.8 µm, PDAFcolorfilter: 5 MP f / 2.4Video: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, Full HD @ 240 fps
Wide: 16 MP f / 2.5, 1/3 “, 1.0 µm

Video: Full HD @ 30 fps

OPPO Find X2 Pro Wide:
48 MP f / 1.7 25mm, 1 / 1.43 “1.12 µm, OIS, Omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AFPeriscope: 13 MP f / 3.0 129mm, 1 / 3.4 “1.0 µm OIS, PDAF, Laser AF, 5x optical zoomUltra Wide: 48 MP f / 2.2 17mm, 1 / 2.0 “0.8 µm, AFVideo: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, Full HD @ 60 fps
Wide: 32 MP f / 2.4 1 / 2.8 “0.8 µm

Video: Full HD @ 30 fps

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G Wide:
108 MP f / 1.7, 1 / 1.33 “0.8 µm, OIS, PDAF, Laser AFTelephoto:
8 MP, f / 2.0 1.0 µm, OIS, PDAF, Zoom 10x hybrid, Laser AFUltra Wide: 20 MP f / 2.2 13mmPortrait: 12 MP f / 2.0 1 / 2.55 “1.4 µm, dual pixel PDAF, 2x optical zoomVideo: 8K @ 30 fps, 4K Ultra HD @ 60 fps, Full HD @ 960 fps
Wide: 20 MP f / 2.0 1/3 “0.9 µm

Video: Full HD @ 30 fps, HD @ 120fps

Apple iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro arrives on the market during the month of September 2019 as every year and as every respectable Apple event. Younger brother of the iPhone 11 Pro Max but only for battery and physical size it proves to be a usual balanced device with a record-breaking technical potential as well as its price starting from € 1,189 list. iPhone 11 Pro is characterized by the presence of a 5.8-inch panel with 2436×1125 pixel resolution compatible with HDR10, Dolby Vision standards. The device sees the use of the processor Apple A13 Bionic proprietary 7-nm (Hexa-core) with proprietary GPU. It is sold in 64, 256 and 512 GB storage configurations and has 4 GB of RAM, while the battery is 3,046 mAh.

As for the photographic sector with iPhone 11 Pro we have three rear optical lenses, two already present in the previous generation that Apple calls ” Wide ” is ” Telephoto ” and characterized by equivalent focal lengths of 26mm and 25mm with a maximum aperture of f / 1.8 and f / 2.0. So a sensor Ultra Wide f / 2.4 with equivalent focal length of 13mm. All e three sensors are 12MP with OIS for the main and for the telephoto lens and Dual Tone LED Flash. Here it is interesting to note the introduction of the so-called ” Night Mode ” which was missing in Apple and which the company made available on the device by means of the main objective ” Wide ”. The ” Night Mode ” is automatically activated when the iPhone detects a low-light scene: just press the shutter button, a timer will appear to understand how long to keep the frame, and the photograph will be previewed on the screen.

HUAWEI P40 Pro

The new “cameraphone” by. Arrived on the market at the beginning of April HUAWEI, P40 Pro, changes in its design with a four-sided curved display. Improve photographic hardware with even more performing sensors, change the design resulting in more premium and above all with the 6.58 ” OLED front panel and 90 Hz refresh rate. Even faster than the ” old ” HUAWEI P30 Pro thanks to the processor owner Kirin 990 which is also 5G assisted by 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. 4.200 mAh battery with super-fast charge and a price of € 1,049 list.

HUAWEI P40 Pro is equipped with the so-called Ultra Vision Leica Quad Camera. Technically the main camera now uses a new one large 1 / 1.28 “50 MP Quad Bayer sensor, with an RYYB filter. The lens has an equivalent focal length of 23mm and an f / 1.9 aperture and is stabilized. The camera Ultra-wide is an update from the P30 Pro. It is a 1 / 1.54 “imager 40 MP with Quad-Bayer RGGB filter. The camera with telephoto has a new sensor: it is an imager 12 MP but it is not visible on the back as it is possible to observe only the final part of its periscope lens. This lens has an equivalent length of 125mm and an f / 3.4 aperture and offers a 5x optical zoom on the 23mm / 27mm main camera. The fourth and final camera is ToF. The ToF (Time of Flight) camera accelerates autofocus and also improves the separation of the subject from the background by offering a more convincing depth effect in portrait mode.

OnePlus 8 Pro

OnePlus 8 Pro is the new top of the range of the Chinese company presented only a few days ago together with the younger brother, OnePlus 8. After 6 months from the previous generation, OnePlus 8 Pro, it is proposed with a renewal that is more an update than a change ensuring even more details from premium smartphones. The design sees materials such as aluminium and thin glass, a first-class display called 6.78 ” Fluid AMOLED ” and supporting 120Hz refresh rate in addition to HDR10 +. Technical compartment with Snapdragon 865, 8 or 12GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB UFS 3.0 internal storage. The rest sees a 4,510 mAh battery with “ultra” fast charging capable of making 0-50% in just 23 minutes. Its price? OnePlus 8 Pro costs € 1,019 in its top version with 12GB + 256GB.

On a photographic level, OnePlus 8 Pro sees the presence of a sensor 48MP main wide angle (Sony IMX689) with a focal aperture of f / 1.78 and optical image stabilizer as well as the electronic one. Here the “pixel size” is 1.12 µm with 7 lenses. So a second sensor Ultra Wide Angle 48MP, the focal aperture of f / 2.2 and 120-degree viewing angle. The third sensor is an 8MP telephoto lens with a focal aperture of f / 2.44 and optical image stabilizer. To these is added a fourth sensor called Color Filter Camera which results from 5MP with an aperture of f / 2.4 and which will be used to apply filters and effects.

OPPO Find X2 Pro

OPPO Find X2 Pro is the replacement for the much talked about Find X that arrived on the market in 2018 with its retractable camera in the “ shark fin ” structure. This new generation is an important step forward for OPPO which remains aesthetically more on the classic but offers a concentrate of hardware as a true top of the range. 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate but also the new Snapdragon 865 assisted by 12GB of RAM and internal storage of 512GB of memory. 5G connection but also one 4,260 mAh battery to which is clearly added the famous Super VOOC record fast charge that allows 50% of charge in just 14 minutes. Price from top of the range ie 1,199 € arriving from early May.

The photographic sector of the new OPPO Find X2 Pro goes hand in hand with the upgrade of the device and certainly makes it clear where the company wants to go in 2020. There are three cameras on the back cover with one 48MP main camera (Quad Bayer – Sony IMX689) with native dual OIS technology, the focal aperture of f / 1.7 and All Pixel Omnidirectional autofocus. Added to this is an s48MP Ultra Wide Angle econdarium with a focal aperture of f / 2.2 length of 17mm and width from almost 120 degrees. The third sensor is a periscope fashionable HUAWEI. Here we have a 13mp with focal aperture of f / 3.0 and 129mm lens. The sensor allows 5x optical zoom and also has optical image stabilization.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G

Even Xiaomi decides to raise the level of its top of the range and the new one Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro it is undoubtedly a high-quality product both for the materials with which it is made and for the technical data sheet with which it is proposed. It costs this time 999 € and therefore the company aligns with competitors’ prices for the first time. From his offers on this device in addition to a premium design a 6.67-inch AMOLED front panel with 90 Hz refresh rate. Power is managed by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset which Xiaomi decides to work with here 8GB of RAM and 256GB of memory internal. 4,500 mAh battery with fast charging but also wireless charging and an interesting double powerful stereo speaker.

Turning to the photographic sector that reaches important numbers, we must mention the beauty of ben 4 sensors, the main one even 108 MP. Huge in its technical specifications with a size of 1 / 1.33 inches belonging to the Quad Bayer family of sensors. The sensor is coupled to a stabilized 8-element lens with an aperture of f / 1.69. In addition to the 108MP, there is also a first 12 MP telephoto lens with 1.4 µm pixels and dual pixel autofocus and f / 2.0 aperture. The sensor is not stabilized but has a 2x zoom. For stabilized 5x zooms, the 5MP sensor takes care of it with f / 2.0 aperture lens and OIS. This sensor actually is 8MP but the algorithm tends to “crop” the photo by enlarging it 5 times. Here we also come with 10x hybrid zoom and 50x digital zoom. If this were not enough, the appeal is missing 20 MP sensor capable of ultra-wide-angle shots thanks to the lens that covers a field of view of 117 degrees. The aperture is from f / 2.2.

The comparison of the shots

Daytime photo

In photos taken during the day with important light who prevails among the five different smartphones, it is the HUAWEI P40 Pro. Here the device offers excellent exposure in almost all situations both for outdoor and indoor shots with less natural light. Compared to other devices, the top of the range of HUAWEI has one truly optimal dynamic range with the ability to capture details in areas of light but also of shadow. In the shots you notice the capture of details which is followed well by OPPO Find X2 Pro with good preservation of the highlights. So iPhone 11 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro that gets good exposure, unlike the OnePlus 8 Pro which remains just behind but still with very minimal differences.

Very interesting is the white balance system which puts HUAWEI P40 Pro still on the top step compared to other devices. For everyone, there is the artificial intelligence power supply that allows you to obtain a final shot that is practically always perfect. The colours are very close to reality for HUAWEI P40 Pro and for iPhone 11 Pro which makes the final shot slightly different but still allows an optimal result with high accuracy also with regard to saturation. The others approach the first two of the class with some slight “defects” especially in completing the recovery in the post shot.

Photos at night or in low light

On the night current smartphones are able to obtain good results thanks above all to the use of sophisticated software that allows making the photo in post-production brighter. Clearly, also acting on the use of a technically wider sensor guarantees to get a better result even in the dark where, we know, phones have always suffered for obvious physical reasons.

The results of the shots see an important work by Apple with iPhone 11 Pro with the specific Night mode which makes shooting accurate and with the details of the lights well maintained. Good exposure compared to that made by the other brands with more real and better-arranged colours on the scene, also underlining less noise. Even Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is enhanced with the night mode managing to detail the subject well. Using the flash it happens to have excellent shots always with iPhone 11 Pro that manages not to darken the background completely compared to the subject, unlike the other smartphones. The others are a bit subdued with too many noises in some situations or with a night mode that is not always up to par.

Photos with Ultra Wide Angle sensor

One of the modes most used by users is that of click ” expanded ” which is made possible thanks to Ultra Wide Angle sensor able to extend the shooting area with viewing angles up to 120 degrees. Looking at the ability to increase the scene and therefore have a greater viewing surface, it is clear that, given the technical numbers, the various iPhones 11 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G but also OnePlus 8 Pro which with 13mm sensors guarantee the wider fields of view currently on the market. HUAWEI P40 Pro and OPPO Find X2 Pro with the sensors stopped at 18mm and 17mm respectively must be content (so to speak) with a scene more ” cropped ” on the sides.

For HUAWEI and OPPO, however, there is an excellent balance of dynamic range with an absence of important noise. Wide dynamic range and above all, there are no distortions at the corners or even artefacts that could come from the post-production modification of the so-called barrel effect that is created precisely with ultra-wide-angle sensors. The overall quality of the shot is superior to other devices with HUAWEI forward for sharpness and with iPhone 11 Pro capable of making the colour of the photo a bit more real.

Photos with telephoto sensor

HUAWEI and OPPO practically introduced the periscope sensor first which characterizes today both the P40 Pro and Find X2 Pro of the two brands, unique in this choice in our comparison. They are two different sensors because for HUAWEI P40 Pro you have a 12MP lens with a focal aperture of f / 3.4 while OPPO relies on a 13MP sensor with a focal aperture of f / 3.4 and respectively with 125mm and 129mm. The others instead rely on classic sensors with few differences in technical terms. The race here is clearly to the advantage of the two periscope sensors that thanks to their technology can only be more useful in long-range shooting with 5X optical zoom capable of incredible detail for a smartphone.

In the field, the HUAWEI P40 Pro manages to record high levels of detail compared to competitive devices, whether OPPO or others. In all the shots at the various zoom ranges, it manages to maintain high detail and contrast low noise instead. If the detail remains almost similar in all with one 2X zoom is after the various steps of zoom to 5X, 10X or even to 30X and 50X (only for some in this case) that the loss of detail for less performing smartphones is felt compared to the two devices with periscope and above all with the HUAWEI P40 Pro always at a higher level.

Portrait mode photo (Bokeh effect)

One mode that has become interesting in the latest generation smartphones concerns the so-called bokeh effect that is, what allows you to ” blur ” the background scene while keeping the foreground subject in detail. An effect that until a few years ago could only be achieved with professional machines but which in recent times can be easily completed even by a small smartphone.

In this case, the model is used very well by all comparison smartphones. HUAWEI P40 Pro manages to capture many details in the isolation of the subject with some errors of little importance compared to general shooting. The bokeh is very realistic by modelling the most important points of the subject well and above all by minimizing noise and processing a wide dynamic range. A lower but significant level is also OPPO Find X2 Pro which manages to isolate the foreground subject very well with some detail less than the HUAWEI and with some noise too. Details that go down with the other devices that still work very well in this mode but that do not reach the details of others or turn overexposure.

Macro photo

The photographic shots on close objects, called macro shots, they are increasingly made well by today’s top of the range smartphones. They are shots that the latest generation sensors work better and better and some brands even decide to offer specific sensors for this kind of shots.

The results obtained with the 5 smartphones seem to go more or less on the same quality even if what we have obtained previously is also reiterated here. Almost everyone on macro shooting tends to enhance the details of the subject well and with the right compromise on the colour balance that is very real. However, the shooting differences are very minimal, as often happens in these situations.

Selfie photo

The photos were taken with the front camera they are characterized by having all the quality of a good colour balance as well as details. Here HUAWEI P40 Pro acts on the dual sensor ensuring a higher detail than others. The strengths are the exposure but also the lack of noise and above all the good depth allowed with the 3D IR sensor. It is also interesting to see a good fidelity of the skin tone where others tend not to act in the same way.

Conclusions

The photographic comparison of these five smartphones has seen the new HUAWEI P40 Pro as a superior device compared to the others. He is the best of this early 2020 as regards the photographic sector. A device that turns out to be a “handyman” with painstaking work of details in natural light shots but also a smartphone capable of reducing the easy noise in night shots. The advantage regarding the photos with the use of zoom is clear: here the presence of a periscope lens guarantees a shooting level higher than most of the contenders going to play it only with OPPO Find X2 Pro that has followed the road from HUAWEI from this point of view managing to work very well on the software side in the sensor adjustment.

Secondary cameras seem to make a difference from before. On telephoto lenses, the steps forward have been enormous compared to the past. Optical stabilization allows exciting results. Same goes for the wide-angle lenses that see an important improvement thanks to a generational leap on a technological level but also thanks to a meticulous work by the brand supported by Artificial Intelligence always ready to work to improve the final shot.

However, all devices offer important photographic behaviour. The differences are often detailed and these are sometimes due to software that is not always perfect in managing post-production shots or to the choice of a different photographic philosophy. It should also be noted that Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro is a smartphone released during the month of September last year and therefore it will be curious to see how the Cupertino company will respond this year with the new model with renewed sensors. In fact, at the moment we have no doubts about considering the HUAWEI P40 Pro as the most performing smartphone from the photographic point of view.

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