Photographic camera

The Huawei P10 uses the same camera organisation as the Mate 9, so a lot of what I discussed in that review nevertheless holds hither for Huawei's smaller flagship. At that place are still two camera sensors on the rear, just nosotros're now seeing what Huawei is calling their "second-generation Leica Dual Camera". Basically, we're seeing an increase in sensor resolution and updates to processing technology.

The first-generation Dual Camera system used two 12-megapixel sensors, 1 for monochrome data, and the other for RGB. With the second-gen organization in the Mate 9, the monochrome sensor has been upgraded to a 20-megapixel unit with an f/two.ii lens. The 12-megapixel RGB camera remains the aforementioned; it'south a Sony IMX286 i/2.9" CMOS with i.25µm pixels, paired with an f/ii.2 27mm lens.

This photographic camera solution has some advantages over a standard single-sensor setup. The monochrome sensor does not need a Bayer filter, so more light can achieve the sensor than an equivalent RGB unit. Huawei has too taken advantage of the fact that luminance, provided by the monochrome sensor, has a much greater effect on image particular than chrominance, provided by the RGB sensor. So they were able to increase the resolution of but the monochrome sensor without a meaning issue on image quality.

Images captured past the rear camera are 20-megapixels, matching the resolution of the monochrome sensor. At that place's besides optical image stabilization here, as well equally a dual-tone, dual-LED flash and a laser-assisted autofocus system that combines with PDAF and contrast AF for ultra-fast focusing. The front end camera is an eight-megapixel Sony IMX179 1/three.2" sensor with 1.4µm pixels paired with an f/i.9 lens and autofocus.

Huawei's camera app is decent, with easy access to primal features like the aperture simulation way, video mode, and the front facing camera available with just one touch. Swiping up a tray near the shutter button reveals a capable manual manner with controls for ISO, shutter, white residue, exposure and metering modes. The rest of the camera's functions are bachelor in a tray that slides out from the left, while settings are in a tray on the right.

The aperture simulation feature has been improved from the implementation on the Huawei P9, offering better border detection and more pleasing bokeh effects. It'south even so not perfect, however, with results ranging from first-class to awful depending on how well the camera senses depth. In general, though, if you want better background blur yous should use this style, as information technology does a respectable chore of simulating broad-aperture DSLR lenses.

The P10's epitome quality is practiced, but it didn't impress me as much equally the outstanding Google Pixel XL from terminal twelvemonth or very proficient modern phones like the Galaxy S8+. Images taken with this telephone in its 'standard' colour mode are more than accurate than those captured by Pixel, merely they aren't as cute or immediately shareable. Switching into 'bright' or 'smooth' mode improves colour saturation significantly, often to unrealistic levels, though this comes at the expense of dynamic range. The Pixel Twoscore manages to offer both bright, vibrant colors and fantastic dynamic range due to its superior software and processing.

Photos captured by the P10 are almost impressive in good indoor or outdoor lighting, with fantabulous white balance and exposure produced by the standard way. Dynamic range is good, with a slight tendency to get washed out on occasion, while the amount of detail from the dual sensor organization is great. In that location are some dissonance reduction artefacts present, but it'due south not as noticeable as some other flagships like the Milky way S8.

The P10 isn't as practiced in worse lighting weather. Several indoor photos I captured were noticeably undersaturated, and those taken in loftier dissimilarity situations suffered from poor exposure and poor dynamic range. Equally lighting conditions get more challenging, the P10 is more than prone to deliver washed out images. Some nighttime results are grainy and quite disappointing compared to other flagship phones, while others were vivid and surprisingly vibrant. These are largely the same issues I mentioned with the Mate nine, and I'd even so similar to see a software update attempt to accost some of these camera inconsistencies.