Honor 30 Pro+ camera review - DxOMark

The Honor 30 Pro+ ultra-wide camera offers a 17mm-equivalent field of view, which is a touch wider than the Huawei P40 Pro, but noticeably ... Skiptocontent Smartphones > Honor30Pro+ > Camera TestResults Pleasenote:InOctober2020,weupdatedtheDXOMARKCameratoincludepreviewimageevaluationandwhatwecalltrustability.Wehaveretestedalargenumberofdevicesusingtheupdatedprotocolandupdatedthereviewsaccordingly.Thisdevicewasnotupdatedanditsscorewillnotbefullycomparabletodevicestestedwiththelatestversionversion4oftheDXOMARKCameratestprotocol.Formore​information,pleaseseeourarticleaboutpreviewtesting,trustabilityandotherversion4updates. TestsummaryPhotoscoresexplainedExposureandContrastColorAutofocusTextureNoiseArtifactsZoomBokehWideNightVideoscoresexplainedConclusionVideos TheHonor30Pro+istheChinesebrand’slatestflagshipdevice,offeringtop-endinnovationinallallareas,includingthecamera,whichtakessometechnologiesfromsisterbrandHuawei’sflagshipmodel,theP40Pro,currentlythetop-rankeddeviceinourDXOMARKCameradatabase. TheHonor’sprimarycamerausesthesamelarge50MP1/1.28-inchsensorwe’veseenontheP40Pro,buthastomakedowithoutopticalimagestabilization.AswiththeHuawei,thededicatedtele-camerafeaturesaperiscope-stylelenswitha125mm-equivalentfocallength.However,itcapturesimageswithan8MPsensorinsteadofa12MPvariant.Ontheotherhand,theHonor’s16MP1/3.09-inchsensorinitsultra-widecamerasetupisverydifferentfromtheHuaweiandoffersaslightlywider17mm-equivalentfieldofview. UnliketheP40Pro,the30Pro+cameradoesnotfeatureatime-of-flightcameranoracolorsensor,butcomeswithsomeoftheprocessingalgorithmswehavealreadyseenonpreviousHonorandHuaweidevices.AIRAWfusesmultipleRAWimageframesforbetterdetail,lowernoise,andawiderdynamicrange.The30Pro+usesitwithallthreecamerasaswellasinbokehmodeandwhilezooming. Honordesignedtheneuralnetwork-basedautowhitebalancesystem,usedforphotoandvideoshootingonthemaincamera,todelivermoreaccuratecolorrendering.Field-of-viewfusioncombinesmultipleframesfromtheprimaryandtelecameraswhensettingthezoomfactorbetween3and5x,allowingforincreasedlevelsofdetail.OtherimageprocessingalgorithmsincludeSuperResolutionforbetterdetailandtexturesinbokehmode,andneuralnetwork-basedHDRprocessingforvideomode. Withthismuchinnovativecameratechnologypackedintothedevice,theHonor30Pro+shouldbeanimagingpowerhouse.Butcanitdeliver?ReadontofindouthowitfaredinourDXOMARKCameratests. Keycameraspecifications: Triplecamerasetup Primary:50MP1/1.28″sensor(12MPoutput),23mm-equivalent(1xdefinedas27mm)f/1.9-aperturelens,Octa-PDAF Ultra-wide:16MP1/3.09″sensor,17mm-equivalentf/2.2-aperturelens,PDAF Tele:8MP1/3.6″sensor,125mm-equivalentf/3.4-aperturelens,PDAF,OIS LEDflash 4Kvideo,2160p/60fps(2160p/30fpstested) Kirin990chipset Pleasenote:TheHonor30Pro+wetestedisaEuropeanmodelwhichbydefaulthasAIsettooff.Thefirmwareversionwetesteditwithisnotpubliclyavailableyet,butwillbemadeavailabletousersviaanOTAupdateinMay2020.  AboutDXOMARKCameratests:Forscoringandanalysisinoursmartphonecamerareviews,DXOMARKengineerscaptureandevaluateover1600testimagesandmorethan2hoursofvideobothincontrolledlabenvironmentsandinnaturalindoorandoutdoorscenes,usingthecamera’sdefaultsettings.Thisarticleisdesignedtohighlightthemostimportantresultsofourtesting.FormoreinformationabouttheDXOMARKCameratestprotocol,clickhere. Moredetailsonhowwescoresmartphonecamerasareavailablehere.  Honor30Pro+ Testsummary 125 camera 136 photo 104 video At125points,theHonor30Pro+comesinatsecondpositioninourDXOMARKCameraranking,onlythreepointslowerthanthecurrentlytop-rankedHuaweiP40Pro.ItsimpressivePhotoscoreof136isalsothesecondbestwehaveseentodate,thankstostillimageresultsthatareexcellentacrosstheboardanddon’trevealanyrealweaknesses. Honor30Pro+imagesshowgoodexposure,pleasantcolors,andawidedynamicrange. Honor30Pro+imagesshowgoodtargetexposureacrossalllightlevelsandawidedynamicrange,makingthedeviceagoodoptionforshootinginlowlightandinhigh-contrastconditions.Colorrenderingispleasantandtheautowhitebalancesystemdoesagoodjob,withonlysomeoccasionalpinkishcolorcastsinoutdoorandindoorconditions.Thecameradoesalsoverywellintermsofthetexture/noisetradeoff,renderingfinedetailandtexturesnicelywhilekeepingnoiselevelslowinalllightconditions.TheHonor’simageoutputisverycleaningeneral.Someartifacts—forexample,cyanshiftandaliasing—canbevisible,butmostofthetimetheyarenotveryintrusive.Theautofocussystemhelpswithcapturingcrispy-sharpimages,workingprettymuchflawlesslyandswiftlyinallconditions. TheHonorisnotonlyaboutitsmaincamera,though.ThankstoexcellentresultsforzoomingandfortheWidecategory,it’soneofthebestsmartphonesforthoseuserswholiketoventureawayfromthemaincamera’sdefaultfocallength.The5xtele-lenswithfoldedopticshelpsdelivergreatresults,withagoodtexture/noisebalanceevenatlongzoomrange.Onthedownside,wehaveobservedsomeprettyintrusiveartifactsatmid-rangezoomsettingsthatarecausedbythefusionofimagedatafromtheteleandmaincameras. Theultra-widecameradeliversgoodcolorandwidedynamicrange,butisnotoneofthewidestwehaveseen. Portraitmodecapturesimageswithanatural-lookingbokehsimulation. Attheotherendofthespectrum,theHonor’sultra-widecameradoesagoodjob,too.Its17mm-equivalentfieldofviewisnotthewidestwehaveseen,butimagesshowgooddynamicrangeanddistortionisfairlywellundercontrol.Inaddition,theHonoriscapableofcapturingnatural-lookingsimulatedbokehshotsinportraitmode.Somedepthartifactscanbevisibleinlowlight,butyou’dhavetolookverycloselytospotanywhenshootinginbrighterconditions.Apleasantblurgradientandbokehshapeaddtothenaturallook. TheHonor’sperformanceinvideomodeisjustasimpressiveasforstillsanddoesnotshowanyrealweakpoints.Videofootageshowsclass-leadingdetailwhilekeepingnoisewellundercontrol.Colorsareniceandthecameraiscapableofproducinggoodexposureseveninlowlight.Inaddition,thedynamicrangeofvideoclipsiswide,allowingrecordingofhigh-qualityfootageinhigh-contrastconditions. Videoartifactsareprettywellcontrolled,too,andtheautofocussystemmakessurethesubjectsinthesceneareandstayinfocus.Inaddition,videostabilizationdoesanexcellentjobatkeepingthingssteadyandsmoothwhenhandholdingthedeviceorwhenrecordingwhilewalking. Honor30Pro+,outdoorvideo Photoscoresexplained TheHonor30Pro+achievesaPhotoscoreof136points,makingitthesecond-bestdeviceforstillimagestodate,bestedonlybytheHuaweiP40Pro.ThePhotoscoreiscalculatedfromsub-scoresinteststhatexaminedifferentaspectsofadevice’sperformanceforstillimagesunderdifferentlightingconditions.Inthissection,wetakeacloserlookathowthesesub-scoresweredeterminedandcompareimagequalityagainstsomekeycompetitors. ExposureandContrast Honor30Pro+ 97 TheHonor30Pro+achievesanexcellentscoreforExposure,thankstogenerallygoodexposureacrossalllightlevelsandaverywidedynamicrangethatensuresgoodresultseveninchallenginghigh-contrastscenes.Inthecomparisonbelow,allthreedevicesoffergooddynamicrange,buttheHonorexposesthesubject’sfacebest,anditisalsomorecapableofavoidinghighlightclippinginthebackgroundthantheXiaomi. Honor30Pro+,excellentdynamicrange AppleiPhone11ProMax,excellentdynamicrange XiaomiMi10Pro,verygooddynamicrange Onthedownside,targetexposurecanbeatouchlowinsomescenes,whichcanresultinshadowclippinginthedarkareasoftheimage,suchasthesofaintheexamplebelow. Honor30Pro+,slightunderexposure AppleiPhone11ProMax,goodexposure XiaomiMi10Pro,goodexposure Color Honor30Pro+ 87 Overall,theHonor30Pro+deliversverygoodcolorinitsstillimages,withpleasantcolorrendering,goodsaturationandaccuratewhitebalance.Pointsofcriticismincludeyellowtonesthatcanlookslightlytooorange,slightlyunnaturalcolorsinlowlight,andoccasionalpinkishwhitebalancecastsinoutdoorandindoorconditions,butyou’dhavetolookverycloselytospotanyofthoseissues. Honor30Pro+,goodcolorrendering AppleiPhone11ProMax,goodcolorrendering XiaomiMi10Pro,goodcolorrendering TheHonor30Pro+cameraisalsocapableofcapturingveryniceandnaturalskintonesinportraitshots,asyoucanseeinthissample: Honor30Pro+,veryniceskintones AppleiPhone11ProMax,slightlydesaturatedskintones HuaweiP40Pro,goodskintones Autofocus Honor30Pro+ 100 TheHonor30Pro+autofocusperformedflawlesslyinourtestsinallconditions,fromshootinginbrightoutdoorlightdowntoverydimly-litscenes.Inourlabtests,theHonorAFlockedonswiftlyandaccuratelyinalllightconditionswithbothshortandlongdelaysafterdefocusing. Honor30Pro+,low-light(20lux)autofocusperformanceversuscompetitors Texture Honor30Pro+ 83 Noise Honor30Pro+ 81 TheHonor30Pro+cameramanagesanexcellentbalancebetweendetailretentionandnoisereductionatalllightlevels.Thelevelofcaptureddetailishighinmosttestconditionsanduptherewiththeverybest,asyoucanseeinthecomparisonsamplesbelow. Honor30Pro+,outdoordetail Honor30Pro+,crop,gooddetail AppleiPhone11ProMax,outdoordetail AppleiPhone11ProMax,crop,gooddetail XiaomiMi10Pro,outdoordetail XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,verygooddetail NoiseisverywellcontrolledinallconditionsandtheHonordeliverscleanimagesacrossalllightlevels.Asyoucanseeinthesamplesbelow,noiseishardlyvisibleevenintheshadowareasoftheframe.BoththeiPhone11ProMaxandXiaomiMi10Proshownoticeablyhighernoiselevelsinthissituation. Honor30Pro+,indoornoise Honor30Pro+,crop,well-controllednoise AppleiPhone11ProMax,indoornoise AppleiPhone11ProMax,crop,someluminancenoise XiaomiMi10Pro,indoornoise XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,fineluminancenoise Artifacts Honor30Pro+ 83 TheHonor30Pro+controlsallkindsofimageartifactsgenerallyverywell.WedeductedsomepointsfromtheArtifactsscoreforcyanshift,ghostingeffects,flare,andaliasing,amongotherartifacts.Noneareveryintrusive,though,andmostrequirefairlycloseinspectiontospot. Honor30Pro+,aliasing Honor30Pro+,crop Zoom Honor30Pro+ 101 TheHonor30Pro+cannotquitemakeituptherewiththeverybestintheZoomcategory,butitisstillcapableofdeliveringexcellentzoomimages,thankstoa5xopticaltele-lenswithfoldedoptics.Someartifactssuchasaliasingcanbevisibleatlongrange,butthecameramanagesaverygoodtexture/noisebalanceandperformsverywelloverall.Inthebrightlightcomparisonbelow,youcanseethatthelevelofdetailisnotfarofftheoutstandingHuaweiP40Pro,andisverynoticeablybetterthantheiPhone11ProMax. Honor30Pro+,long-rangezoom Honor30Pro+,crop,verygooddetail AppleiPhone11ProMax,long-rangezoom AppleiPhone11ProMax,crop,lackofdetail HuaweiP40Pro,long-rangezoom HuaweiP40Pro,crop,excellentdetail Detailisalsogoodatmediumrange,butintheindoorshotbelow,youcanseethatwhiletheHonorresolvedalotofdetail,it’snotquiteonthesamelevelastheXiaomiMi10Prowithitsdual-telecamera.However,theHonordoescontrolnoisewell. Honor30Pro+,medium-rangezoom Honor30Pro+,crop,verygooddetail AppleiPhone11ProMax,medium-rangezoom AppleiPhone11ProMax,lossofdetail XiaomiMi10Pro,medium-rangezoom XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,excellentdetail Onthedownside,somemid-rangezoomshotscanshowverystrongfusionartifactsinboththecenterandthecornersoftheframe.Theeffectcanbeprettyintrusiveandvisibleevenatsmallerviewingsizes. Honor30Pro+,mid-rangezoom Honor30Pro+,crop,fusionartifacts Bokeh Honor30Pro+ 70 TheHonor’sportraitmodeiscapableofproducingverygoodbokehsimulationimageswithanaturallook.Ingoodlight,depthestimationisverygood,withonlyveryminorartifacts,andimagesshowapleasantdepthoffieldandnaturalblurgradient.Resultsarealittleworseinlowlight,though,wheredepthestimationartifactscanbecomemorenoticeable. Honor30Pro+,outdoorbokeh Honor30Pro+,crop,excellentsubjectisolation,verygooddetail XiaomiMi10Pro,outdoorbokeh XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,gooddetail,verygoodsubjectisolationanddetail HuaweiP40Pro,outdoorbokeh HuaweiP40Pro,crop,verygoodsubjectisolationanddetail Wide Honor30Pro+ 39 TheHonor30Pro+ultra-widecameraoffersa17mm-equivalentfieldofview,whichisatouchwiderthantheHuaweiP40Pro,butnoticeablynarrowerthanthecamerasfromApple,Samsung,andsomeothercompetitors.Inthecomparisonbelow,youcanseethatboththeAppleiPhone11ProMaxandtheXiaomiMi10Prosqueezealittlemoresceneintotheirultra-wideimagesthantheHonor.Ontheplusside,imagedistortionisfairlywellcontrolledonthe30Pro+,althoughmorevisiblethanontheMi10Pro. Foroutdoorshots,ourtestersalsoobservedawidedynamicrangeandlownoiselevels,butapinkishcastisvisiblefairlyfrequently. Honor30Pro+,17mm,slightdistortion,gooddynamicrange AppleiPhone11ProMax,13mm,visibledistortion,underexposureonsubjects XiaomiMi10Pro,16mm,well-controlleddistortion,slightunderexposureonsubjects Theindoorshotbelowisalsowellexposedandshowsgoodcolor,butanorangecastcanbevisibleinsomemixed-lightingscenes.Thereisaslightlossoffinedetailandsomeluminancenoisebecomesvisible,butoverall,theHonor’sultra-widecamerarecordsgoodimagequalityinindoorconditions. Honor30Pro+,18mm Honor30Pro+,crop,slightlackofdetail XiaomiMi10Pro,18mm XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,slightlackofdetail HuaweiP40Pro,18mm HuaweiP40Pro,crop,gooddetail Night Honor30Pro+ 66 TheHonor’sNightperformanceisamongthebestwehaveseentodate.Nightportraitsinflash-automodetendtoshowgoodsubjectexposureandcolor,butthemodeworksbestforstaticscenes,asghostingandmotionblurtendtobevisibleonmovingobjects.Occasionallytheflashdoesnottriggerforportraitsinthismode,whichresultsinheavilyunderexposedsubjects. Honor30Pro+,flash-auto,goodsubjectexposure XiaomiMi10Pro,flash-auto,goodsubjectexposure,strongunderexposureonbackground HuaweiP40Pro,flash-auto,goodsubjectexposure Withtheflashswitchedoff,targetexposureisusuallygood,butimagescanshowaslightlycoolcast.Alossofdetailisnoticeable,buttheHonormanagesimagenoisewell. Honor30Pro+,flash-off Honor30Pro+,crop,slightlossofdetail,lownoise AppleiPhone11ProMax,flash-off AppleiPhone11ProMax,crop,lossofdetail,somenoise XiaomiMi10Pro,flash-off XiaomiMi10Pro,crop,lossofdetail,lownoise Usingthededicatednightmode,thecameraachievesgoodexposureseveninverylowlight,butcolorrenderingisoftenslightlyoff,withastronggreenishcolorcastvisible.OverallcolorandexposureareverysimilartotheP40Pro’s,butthelevelofcaptureddetailisslightlylower. Honor30Pro+,nightmode,verygoodexposure,greencast XiaomiMi10Pro,nightmode,slightunderexposure,goodcolor HuaweiP40Pro,nightmode,verygoodexposure,greencast The30Pro+alsoperformswellwiththeflashforcedon.Exposureonthesubjectisgoodandimagesshowaccuratewhitebalanceandagoodtexture/noisebalance.Whenshootingincompletedarkness,though,colorscanlookalittlewashedout. Videoscoresexplained Wetestedandscoredthecamera’svideomodeat4Kresolutionand30framespersecond,whichofferedthebestresults.At104points,theHonor30ProachievesoneofthebestVideoscorestodate,onlyonepointshyofthetop-rankedHuaweiP40Pro.TheoverallVideoscoreisderivedfromperformanceandresultsacrossarangeofattributesinthesamewayasthePhotoscore:Exposure(87),Color(93),Autofocus(97),Texture(84),Noise(79),Artifacts(84),andStabilization(96). Honor30Pro+,outdoorvideo Aswithstills,theHonordeliversverygood-to-excellentresultsinallvideotestcategories.Textureanddetailrenditionisaparticularhighlight,withthe30Pro+deliveringexcellentresultsinalltestedconditionsandearningitselfthebestscoretodateforVideoTexture.Itcontrolsnoiseverywellinbrighteroutdoorshooting,butsomechromanoisecanappearinHonorlow-lightfootage. Videotextureacutancecomparison Videotemporalnoisecomparison Videoclipsalsoshowverynicecolor,withpleasantcolorrenderingandaccuratewhitebalanceinalmostallsituations.Onlyinlowlightandunderindoorconditionsdidweobservewhitebalanceinstabilities.Inverylowlight,colorscanalsolookalittlewashedout.Exposureisgooddowntoverylowlightlevelsandclipsshowgooddynamicrange,makingtheHonoragoodoptionforvideorecordingindimmerandinchallenginghigh-contrastconditions. Unwantedimageartifactsaregenerallywellundercontrol,too,butjustlikeforPhoto,wesawsomejudder,cyanshift,andaliasingartifactswheninspectingtheHonor’svideofootageveryclosely.Theautofocusworksjustaswellinvideomodeasitdoesforstillimaging,withexcellentaccuracyandgoodtrackingcapabilitiesforrecordingmovingsubjects.Inaddition,the30Pro+videostabilizationsystemisoneofthebestwehaveseen,effectivelycounteractingbothcamerashakeandwalkingmotion.Overall,theHonor30Pro+videoqualityisquiteclosetothatofitscousinHuaweiP40Pro,withonlyminordifferencesinsomeattributes. Honor30Pro+,indoorvideo AppleiPhone11ProMax,indoorvideo XiaomiMi10Pro,indoorvideo Conclusion TheHonor30Pro+sharesasizablechunkofimaginghardwareandsoftwarewiththeHuaweiP40Pro,thecurrentnumberoneinourDXMARKCameraranking,sotheHonor’sexcellentresultsacrossallPhotoandVideoattributesshouldnotreallycomeasabigsurprisetoanyone.TheresultsareparticularlycloseforVideo,wheretheHonorperformsataveryhighlevelacrosstheboard,anddifferencesbetweenitandtheP40Proarequiteminor. Thosemorefocusedonstillimagecapturewon’tbedisappointedeither.The30Pro+deliversverygood-to-excellentresultsacrossallcategories,butinafew—forexample,ZoomandBokeh—itlagsslightlybehindtheP40Pro.Foramajorityofusers,thosedifferenceswillbenegligible.Ifyou’repartofthatgroup,theHonor30Pro+isasmartphonecamerathatisalmostasgoodasitgets.ThosewhoneedorwanttheabsolutebestwillstillhavetoshelloutfortheP40Pro. Photo Pros Widedynamicrange Goodtexture/noisebalanceinmostconditions Fastandrepeatableautofocus Gooddetailatthecenteroftheframeinclose-andmedium-rangezoomshots Gooddepthestimationinoutdoorbokehshots Lownoiselevelsinultra-wideshots Goodexposureinverylowlight,evenwithoutnightmode Cons Sometimeslowsaturationandunpleasantcolorsinlowlight Frequentaliasinginindoorandoutdoorconditions Lossofsharpnessinmedium-rangezoomshots Occasionalchromanoiseinnightshots Video Pros Goodtextureinallconditions Fastandaccurateautofocuswithgoodtracking Goodstabilization Lownoiseinoutdoorconditions Cons Lowfrequencychromanoiseinlowlight Somewhitebalanceinstabilitiesindoorsandinlowlight Ringingandmoiréartifacts Occasionallowsaturationinlowlight Videos Honor30Pro+camerareview Apr21,2020 DXOMARKinvitesourreadership(you)topostcommentsonthearticlesonthiswebsite.ReadmoreaboutourCommentPolicy. 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