Huawei P20 Pro Camera: How It Beats The Samsung Galaxy S9Plus And iPhone X
With a score of 109 points, the P20 Pro stands a full ten points clear of Samsung’s recently-released Galaxy S9+, eleven points ahead of the Google Pixel 2 and twelve points ahead of the iPhone X.
RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Camera: How It Beats The iPhone X
Huawei P20 Pro Camera - Key Specs
When it comes to photography, the P20 Pro has a distinct advantage - its triple rear camera.
The Huawei P20 Pro's Leica Triple Camera
The handset features a huge 1/1.78in 40MP main camera sensor, paired with a bright f/1.8 lens. Huawei has supplemented this with a smaller 1/2.78in 20MP monochrome sensor fitted with an f/1.6 lens and a 1/4.4in 8MP colour sensor equipped with an f/2.4 telephoto lens.
This approach combines two of the most popular dual-camera configurations into one triple-headed beast able to reap the benefits of both approaches simultaneously. The monochrome sensor adds depth perception and boosts overall light sensitivity, while the telephoto lens adds opportunities for optical zoom effects.
Huawei P20 Pro Camera DxOMark Performance Summary - The Best At Everything?
I’ve commented before on how the overall DxOMark score needs to be broken down into its individual subtests before you can really compare the strengths and weaknesses of any given camera. The Huawei P20 Pro, however, turns that idea on its head by beating the second-placed Samsung Galaxy S9+ in every subtest bar one, in which it loses out by just one percent. In this battle, it’s pretty much a clean sweep for the P20 Pro.
However, the P20 Pro does perform much better in some areas than in others.
Previous results have shown us that DxOMark scores are influenced heavily by the kinds of tricks only multi-camera setups can perform well, such as optical zoom and portrait effects. It’s no surprise then that the Huawei P20 Pro, with its trio of rear cameras, scores particularly well in tests which make the most use of multiple lenses.
So let’s break down the scores:
Huawei's P20 Pro leads the DxOMark chart by a huge margin.
The Huawei P20 Pro Photo Score Is Ten Points Ahead Of The Samsung Galaxy 9+
Perhaps even more impressive than the overall score of 109 points is the P20 Pro’s photo score of 114. To put this into context, that’s ten whole points clear of the Samsung Galaxy S9+.
Zoom And Bokeh Key To P20 Pro’s Convincing Lead
It’s to be expected that any triple-camera system, which actually works, should be able to do better than a dual-camera system, especially when it comes to zoom and bokeh. These two features do indeed turn out to be the P20 Pro’s biggest strengths, outperforming the S9+ by 12% in the zoom test and a massive 40% in the bokeh test.
Elsewhere, the P20 Pro outperforms the Galaxy S9+ by 0-10% apart from in the artifacts test; the Galaxy S9+’s one weak area, where it comes out ahead by a more significant 15%. This level of consistency proves that the P20 Pro is capable of much more than just zoom and portrait effects, however one fact still remains…
The Pixel 2 Still Comes Out Ahead At Basic Still Shots
Not to discount the importance of a powerful zoom capability or the desirability of eye-catching portrait shots with convincing background and foreground blur, the fact still remains that if you consider only the core photographic performance metrics of ‘Exposure & Contrast’, ‘Color’, ‘Autofocus’ and ‘Texture’, the single-lensed Google Pixel 2 still comes out a few points ahead.
The Google Pixel 2 scores 98 in the DxOMark Mobile charts.
I had hoped to be in a position to stop making this point by now, but as new flagship phones keep appearing with increasingly sophisticated hardware and multiple cameras, the Pixel 2 is still holding its own with just one.
However, the P20 Pro’s incredible resolution and zoom capabilities push its capabilities far beyond what’s possible with Google’s current flagship.
Elsewhere, the P20 Pro drew particular praise for its low-light performance with and without flash. This is due, in part, to its unusually large main sensor which allows more of the available light to be captured at any given aperture size. Although the P20 Pro’s main aperture of f/1.8 might seem less bright than the f/1.5 of the Galaxy S9+, the larger sensor size more than makes up for this. Remember f-stops are mathematically linked to the size of the image circle they produce, so you can’t just compare one f-number against another without taking sensor size into account.
Video Quality
With a score of 98 points, the Huawei P20 Pro also turns in the best ever score at video, coming in two points ahead of the Pixel 2 which now sits in second place.
The DxOMark test praised the P20 Pro for its excellent electronic image stabilization (optical image stabilization isn’t supported) and its clean imagery with very little noise. However, It did report some issues with unwanted aliasing effects, loss of detail due to over-zealous noise reduction algorithms and ‘stepping’ when adjusting to differing brightness levels.
The Huawei P20 Pro features three rear cameras.
What’s Not Tested?
As usual, there are many camera features which don’t get tested under the DxOMark regime. For example, slow-motion and 4K video modes aren’t evaluated, and there are no points to be gained from panorama modes, portrait lighting effects, raw capture or manual exposure controls.
The P20 Pro, in particular, is packed full of such features which can, in many cases, prove to be of greater importance to the end user than sheer image quality. Usability is also a key factor, as the simplicity and ease of use you get with a product like the iPhone X usually give way to more complicated, yet more comprehensive, controls on the P20 Pro.
The Huawei P20 Pro: Rear View
Conclusion
While the DxOMark scores alone can’t determine which smartphone camera is the absolute best, objective results such as these show quite conclusively that the P20 Pro can match the best of the competition in just about every aspect of image quality, while far exceeding them in several others. It proves that its third camera is certainly no gimmick.
See the DXOMark report for full details.
I’ll be taking a more detailed look in a future post at exactly what the P20 Pro camera can do.
___
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">It’s almost expected now for any significant flagship smartphone release to put in an immediate appearance at or near the top of DxOMark’s ubiquitous camera quality charts. However, the Huawei P20 Pro has not only come straight in at the No.1 slot, it has also beaten the competition by the widest margin in recent memory.
With a score of 109 points, the P20 Pro stands a full ten points clear of Samsung’s recently-released Galaxy S9+, eleven points ahead of the Google Pixel 2 and twelve points ahead of the iPhone X.
RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Camera: How It Beats The iPhone X
Huawei P20 Pro Camera - Key Specs
When it comes to photography, the P20 Pro has a distinct advantage - its triple rear camera.
The Huawei P20 Pro's Leica Triple Camera
The handset features a huge 1/1.78in 40MP main camera sensor, paired with a bright f/1.8 lens. Huawei has supplemented this with a smaller 1/2.78in 20MP monochrome sensor fitted with an f/1.6 lens and a 1/4.4in 8MP colour sensor equipped with an f/2.4 telephoto lens.
This approach combines two of the most popular dual-camera configurations into one triple-headed beast able to reap the benefits of both approaches simultaneously. The monochrome sensor adds depth perception and boosts overall light sensitivity, while the telephoto lens adds opportunities for optical zoom effects.
Huawei P20 Pro Camera DxOMark Performance Summary - The Best At Everything?
I’ve commented before on how the overall DxOMark score needs to be broken down into its individual subtests before you can really compare the strengths and weaknesses of any given camera. The Huawei P20 Pro, however, turns that idea on its head by beating the second-placed Samsung Galaxy S9+ in every subtest bar one, in which it loses out by just one percent. In this battle, it’s pretty much a clean sweep for the P20 Pro.
However, the P20 Pro does perform much better in some areas than in others.
Previous results have shown us that DxOMark scores are influenced heavily by the kinds of tricks only multi-camera setups can perform well, such as optical zoom and portrait effects. It’s no surprise then that the Huawei P20 Pro, with its trio of rear cameras, scores particularly well in tests which make the most use of multiple lenses.
So let’s break down the scores:
Huawei's P20 Pro leads the DxOMark chart by a huge margin.
The Huawei P20 Pro Photo Score Is Ten Points Ahead Of The Samsung Galaxy 9+
Perhaps even more impressive than the overall score of 109 points is the P20 Pro’s photo score of 114. To put this into context, that’s ten whole points clear of the Samsung Galaxy S9+.
Zoom And Bokeh Key To P20 Pro’s Convincing Lead
It’s to be expected that any triple-camera system, which actually works, should be able to do better than a dual-camera system, especially when it comes to zoom and bokeh. These two features do indeed turn out to be the P20 Pro’s biggest strengths, outperforming the S9+ by 12% in the zoom test and a massive 40% in the bokeh test.
Elsewhere, the P20 Pro outperforms the Galaxy S9+ by 0-10% apart from in the artifacts test; the Galaxy S9+’s one weak area, where it comes out ahead by a more significant 15%. This level of consistency proves that the P20 Pro is capable of much more than just zoom and portrait effects, however one fact still remains…
The Pixel 2 Still Comes Out Ahead At Basic Still Shots
Not to discount the importance of a powerful zoom capability or the desirability of eye-catching portrait shots with convincing background and foreground blur, the fact still remains that if you consider only the core photographic performance metrics of ‘Exposure & Contrast’, ‘Color’, ‘Autofocus’ and ‘Texture’, the single-lensed Google Pixel 2 still comes out a few points ahead.
The Google Pixel 2 scores 98 in the DxOMark Mobile charts.
I had hoped to be in a position to stop making this point by now, but as new flagship phones keep appearing with increasingly sophisticated hardware and multiple cameras, the Pixel 2 is still holding its own with just one.
However, the P20 Pro’s incredible resolution and zoom capabilities push its capabilities far beyond what’s possible with Google’s current flagship.
Elsewhere, the P20 Pro drew particular praise for its low-light performance with and without flash. This is due, in part, to its unusually large main sensor which allows more of the available light to be captured at any given aperture size. Although the P20 Pro’s main aperture of f/1.8 might seem less bright than the f/1.5 of the Galaxy S9+, the larger sensor size more than makes up for this. Remember f-stops are mathematically linked to the size of the image circle they produce, so you can’t just compare one f-number against another without taking sensor size into account.
Video Quality
With a score of 98 points, the Huawei P20 Pro also turns in the best ever score at video, coming in two points ahead of the Pixel 2 which now sits in second place.
The DxOMark test praised the P20 Pro for its excellent electronic image stabilization (optical image stabilization isn’t supported) and its clean imagery with very little noise. However, It did report some issues with unwanted aliasing effects, loss of detail due to over-zealous noise reduction algorithms and ‘stepping’ when adjusting to differing brightness levels.
The Huawei P20 Pro features three rear cameras.
What’s Not Tested?
As usual, there are many camera features which don’t get tested under the DxOMark regime. For example, slow-motion and 4K video modes aren’t evaluated, and there are no points to be gained from panorama modes, portrait lighting effects, raw capture or manual exposure controls.
The P20 Pro, in particular, is packed full of such features which can, in many cases, prove to be of greater importance to the end user than sheer image quality. Usability is also a key factor, as the simplicity and ease of use you get with a product like the iPhone X usually give way to more complicated, yet more comprehensive, controls on the P20 Pro.
The Huawei P20 Pro: Rear View
Conclusion
While the DxOMark scores alone can’t determine which smartphone camera is the absolute best, objective results such as these show quite conclusively that the P20 Pro can match the best of the competition in just about every aspect of image quality, while far exceeding them in several others. It proves that its third camera is certainly no gimmick.
See the DXOMark report for full details.
I’ll be taking a more detailed look in a future post at exactly what the P20 Pro camera can do.
___
More By Me On Forbes
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Camera: How It Beats The iPhone X
Samsung Galaxy S9 Camera Has A Secret Weapon
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