The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has come out top in a camera benchmark test that assesses all aspects of smartphone camera performance.
DxOMark, which conducts rigorous hardware testing and is trusted as an industry standard for image quality measurements, has just released the results of its in-depth analysis of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro smartphone camera.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the Chinese manufacturer’s latest top-end device. Building on the P20 Pro’s camera technology, the Mate 20 Pro comes with a Leica-branded triple-camera setup, but swaps its stable-mate’s monochrome camera for a super-wide-angle module, offering a 35mm-equivalent focal length range from 16 to 80mm—the widest of all current smartphone cameras.
The handset is in direct competition with the Apple iPhone XS Max, the Google Pixel 3 XL, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, among other. How does it fare?
“With a total photo score of 114, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro ties the record-setting score of its cousin, the P20 Pro,” says DxOMark. “The overall Photo score is calculated from sub-scores in tests that examine different aspects of its performance under different lighting conditions.”
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro achieves a photo score of 114 points. In stills mode, the Mate 20 Pro’s triple camera captures images with good target exposure and a wide dynamic range, recording both good highlight and shadow detail even in difficult high-contrast situations. Noise levels are well under control down to low light levels, and the camera’s white balance system and colour rendering settings produce a pleasant colour response in almost all circumstances.
At 97 points, the Mate 20 Pro is very close to the best for video as well, thanks to a fast and smooth autofocus system with good tracking performance, accurate white balance as well as pleasant colour rendering, and low levels of noise, especially in bright shooting conditions. Our testers also liked the exposure system’s ability to adapt quickly and smoothly to changes in illumination.
It was not all good news. DxOMark also had some criticism for the device.
Click here to read about the drawbacks of the Mate 20 Pro camera, and other positives.
Despite the well-deserved praise, said DxOMark, there is still some room for improvement: “When viewing images at pixel level, we often found that the Mate 20 Pro rendered fine textures a little unnaturally, and we detected some ringing around hard edges. In images shot in bokeh simulation mode, faces are often quite soft, with low levels of detail; and the autofocus can be a little inconsistent when using the LED flash.”
However, these flaws were insignificant compared to the positives:
“The Mate 20 Pro is not only an outstanding smartphone for still images. It’s very close to the best for video as well, thanks to a fast and smooth autofocus system with good tracking performance, accurate white balance as well as pleasant colour rendering, and low levels of noise, especially in bright shooting conditions. Our testers also liked the exposure system’s ability to adapt quickly and smoothly to changes in illumination.
“Video stabilisation is efficient when recording while holding the camera still, but it could be better at keeping things steady while walking, especially in lower light conditions. We also saw a judder effect while panning the camera and a loss of detail on some fine textures. None of these problems are particularly intrusive, though.”
* For more detail on the DxOMark test, visit their website: https://www.dxomark.com/huawei-mate-20-pro-camera-review-triple-cam-juggernaut