Camera comparison: Huawei P30 Pro vs S10+, iPhone XS, Pixel 3, Mi 9, Mate 20 Pro

Introduction

Huawei's been bringing us some of the most meaningful camera innovations in smartphones over the past few years, experimenting with monochrome modules, image stacking, and night mode, off the top of our heads. The Huawei P30 Pro is now official and it's got a new trick up its sleeve - a periscope telephoto camera.

We've had the chances to review the P30 Pro and you can read all of our findings in the in-depth review here. But the novel camera tech prompted us to do a more in-depth comparison against the other big names on the market. While at it, we figured we shouldn't limit ourselves just to zoomed in shots, because let's face it - no other phone has a 5x zoom camera. Hence, this shootout.

The lineup for this comparison includes the Samsung Galaxy S10+, which comes with an ultra wide camera, and it's wider than the P30 Pro's but lacks autofocus. As is very much the norm (which Huawei aims to break), the Galaxy's telephoto camera is just 2x.

So is the one on the iPhone XS - no camera showdown is complete without Apple's presence. The iPhone, however, is under-equipped as it's missing a ultra wide module. Surely an omission to be fixed this fall, but there are six months until then.

Another participant with even less hardware on its back is the Pixel 3. Google doesn't bother with hardware - it's all about computational photography here, and the Pixel 3 takes some of the best low-light shots on the market. It can't just come up with info what's happening outside of its frame, so it has no answer to the ultra wides of today, and the computational Super Res Zoom is no dedicated lens either.

The Xiaomi Mi 9 has them all, however. It's got a telephoto module and while it's not quite 5x, 2x is still something, right Pixel? Then there's an ultra wide cam which can autofocus like the P30 Pro's.

For the sake of continuity, we also grabbed the Mate 20 Pro we had tumbling around the office. The Mate shares its ultra wide camera with the P30 Pro, but the common things end here. Both primary cams are 40MP, indeed, but the sensor on the P30 Pro is new. It has an RYYB filter on top with the Yellow pixels supposedly better at gathering light than the Green ones of old. Additionally, the lens is brighter (f/1.6 vs. f/1.8) and is stabilized.

Then there's the telephoto camera, which is the star of the show. The P30 Pro's periscope-based telephoto offers a field of view equivalent to a 125mm lens on a full frame camera, and while it's not super fast (f/3.4), it is stabilized. And we are talking about a real telephoto lens in a smarthpone, after all. The Mate 20 Pro's conventional 80mm-equiv. counterpart looks modest in comparison.

Now, the P30 Pro also has a ToF camera on the back, but we'll refer you once more to the review if you're after some more technical details. We're going out shooting.

Daylight

As with most things in life, we'll start with the easy tasks and work our way up to the more demanding ones. Pseudo wisdom aside, we've reached a point when you can't really find a poorly performing camera in daylight on a midranger, let alone a proper high-end device like the ones we have here.

Having said that, there are inevitably nuances. Perhaps the most obvious take from just looking at the thumbnails is the P30 Pro's more restrained color rendition made particularly obvious in greenery. You could argue that it's the more 'photographic' approach, which lends better to post-processing, but we'd take some more pop in our grass.

Mind you, the P30 Pro's shots were taken with Master AI off, and turning it on does result in noticeably livelier colors. However, you can't be entirely sure if it'll select the right scene mode, and more often than not it went into blue sky for our test scenes, boosting the blues, but not so much the greens.

Daylight scene 2: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Then there's the matter of resolved detail. The P30 Pro with its 10MP shots isn't quite up there with the best of this bunch, but it's to be expected given the lowest image resolution - after all, it's not absolute detail that is the P30 Pro's forte.

Here are the full-size images the above crops were taken from, in case you want to pixel-peep somewhere else.

Daylight scene 1: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Another disclaimer is due here - you could be able to extract more detail if you're shooting in the 40MP mode, but doesn't appear to be the case in every scene, and it's not consistent across the frame. Plus we're fairly positive that's not the point of the 40MP RYYB sensor.

Dynamic range is, and in this respect the P30 Pro does produce class-leading results with well developed shadows and nicely preserved highlights. We also have a feeling it exposes a little brighter than the rest, particularly compared against the iPhone and the Pixel.

Daylight scene 3: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Daylight zoom

Where the P30 Pro truly shines is bringing distant subjects closer. To put things into perspective, we shot our test scenes at each phone's native maximum optical zoom, and then once more with digital zoom applied in-phone to match the P30 Pro's 5x lens. That means the P30 Pro participates with the same shot in both sets, for obvious reasons.

For the Google Pixel 3 we made an exception - we pinched in for some computational Super Res zoom in the first part of the test as well to try and match the coverage of the 2x competition, so it doesn't look completely out of place in this company.

It's immediately noticeable how much closer the P30 Pro manages to get, thus letting you hone in on the details. Meanwhile, the 2x competitors' wider field of view makes for arguably more distracting shots. Then again, a case could be made that the 125mm-equivalent '5x' zoom could be 'too much' on many occasions.

Scene 1: P30 Pro (5x) • Mate 20 Pro (3x) • Mi 9 (2x) • Galaxy S10+ (2x) • Pixel 3 (Digital 2x) • iPhone XS (2x)

The Mate 20 Pro sits in the middle of this conundrum, its 3x 80-mil equivalent lens being neither here not there, but in a good way. In the absence of continuous zoom, perhaps moderation might be the preferred way for many.

Scene 2: P30 Pro (5x) • Mate 20 Pro (3x) • Mi 9 (2x) • Galaxy S10+ (2x) • Pixel 3 (Digital 2x) • iPhone XS (2x)

There's no room for opinion, however, when you summon the digital zoom on the others and look up close comparing against the images from the P30 Pro. We may have been skeptical initially, expecting a lot of compromises to have been made to achieve that all-important for the marketing department '5x', but the results are properly good.

The fine detail in the P30 Pro's zoomed in shots is unmatched - apparently good old optics is still better than software, who'd have thought?

For all the detail in the P30 Pro shots, its coverage is slightly narrower than what we get from the other phones at their 5x settings. It comes from the fact that Huawei's calling it '5x', but the 125mm equivalent focal length comes a little shorter than 5 times the usual 26-27mm regular cameras' equivalent. It really is '5-ish x'.

Then there's the matter that the P30 Pro outputs 10MP telephoto shots even though it's telephoto camera has an 8MP sensor. We don't know what exactly magic is going on under the hood, but frankly, we don't need to - the output from the P30 Pro's periscope camera is simply superb.

Scene 1, all at 5x: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Scene2, all at 5x: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Twilight

It gets progressively tougher when the light levels drop and we're starting our low-light exploration with a set of twilight shots. The differences are more significant here than in the daylight comparison, with the Mi 9 trailing in detail preservation. The others are pretty much on par in terms of detail in the better lit areas, but we'd argue that the P30 Pro still has an edge in definition of fine detail - at least that's what we're seeing staring at the frieze in the center of the frame.

The Pixel 3's shot stands out as the darkest overall, with a bluest and most saturated sky of them all - perhaps a bit too much on both counts. The others have more balanced exposures, but we can't fail to notice the iPhone's tendency to turn bright lights yellow in its attempts to keep the highlights from clipping.

Twilight scene 1: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Night scenes

In very dark conditions we're seeing an improvement in the P30 Pro's shots when compared to the Mate 20 Pro (look at the fence to the left of the first scene), but it's a marginal step up from an already good performance.

The P30 Pro applies some more aggressive sharpening so the perceived finer detail could be down to that - both the Galaxy and the Pixel go easier on the sharpening. Under such conditions, the Pixel produces noticeably brighter shots (even without Night Sight), while the iPhone's are the darker than the rest - too dark perhaps.

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Night scene 1: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Night scene 2: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Night mode

We mentioned Night Sight and a comparison of the night modes is due - after all it was Huawei who first came up with those hand-held pseudo long exposures. Not all of the phones here have quite the same feature - the Galaxy S10+ sort of does, but it can't be forced on, and it only engages in absolute darkness, while the iPhone XS doesn't have a night mode at all.

Night scene 2: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Pixel 3

The P30 Pro is a substantial improvement in this area, when compared to the Mate 20 Pro - it has much finer details captured and no sign of the watercolor effect characteristic of Huawei's earlier night mode iterations. The Mi 9 stands between the two Huawei generations - there's some watercoloring, but not to the extent we're seeing in the Mate's shot.

The Pixel doesn't do watercoloring and even though its shots turn out noisier, we still feel they're slightly superior to the P30 Pro's. However the crop also shows some of the downsides of computational photography - look at the car headlights in its shots.

To end the low-light section, we'll just mention that we didn't shoot with the telephoto cameras in the dark. A huge part of the reasoning behind that decision comes from the fact that the phones tend to default to a zoomed in image from their main cameras when the light is low. The light thresholds are different, some allow you to force the telecamera in their manual/pro modes, others don't, it's just too many variables.

Ultra wide, daylight

The iPhone is one camera short in this shootout and the Pixel is even missing two modules compared to the others. The point is neither has an ultra wide angle camera. The Galaxy S10+ does pack one , but it's got some catching up to do - its ultra wide has fixed focus, while both Huaweis and the Mi 9 can autofocus with their ultra wide cameras. Not that it matters for this particular scene below, but it can be an issue if you want to be shooting up close with the Galaxy.

Seeing as how it has the same hardware, the P30 Pro's images look very similar to the ones from the Mate 20 Pro in terms of detail. The P30 Pro's color are a bit toned down, however, and are the most muted ones in this bunch. The Galaxy is on the other end of that spectrum with the punchiest color output. The Huaweis capture ever so slightly more detail, but the difference isn't anywhere as huge as the 20MP vs 12MP resolution difference would suggest.

Ultra wide cameras, daylight: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+

Ultra wide, night

In low light, the P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro will leave you with overall darker and less colorful ultra wide images than the Mi 9 and the Galaxy S10+. The captured detail is about the same between the Huaweis and the Mi 9 with the S10+ trailing, so out of these four shots we'd give the Mi 9 an edge.

Ultra wide cameras, night: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+

Ultra wide, night mode

But the P20 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro have night mode for their ultra wide cameras, which the Mi 9 doesn't. That lets the Huawei flagships bring up detail in the deepest shadows which the Mi 9 can't really see. And then the P30 Pro is even sharper than the Mate 20 Pro with no watercoloring and some intricate detail captured.

Ultra wide cameras, night: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro

Close-ups (macro)

Huawei's been pushing its ultra wide camera for close-up photography, and it does sort of work for that, because it's able to focus very, very close.

That's coincidentally the one obvious drawback to using an ultra wide for close ups - being so very close means you're likely to spook the tiny creature you want to capture, and even if it's not a living thing and stays put, you'd still cast a shadow over it with the slab of a phone you're trying to photograph it with.

Close-ups: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

If you can get around these inherent limitations, you will, indeed, get some pretty spectacular close-up shots. Then again the Galaxy S10's main camera can focus very close itself, and it's a more usable focal length to begin with, so it could be a better option overall. At the other end of the spectrum is the Pixel 3 which can't focus close to save its life.

Close-ups: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Selfies

The P30 Pro is equipped with a 32MP front-facing camera, which is easily the highest pixel count on a selfie shooter in the flagship segment. While 32MP is obviously overkill, more important is the fact that it manages to capture a wide dynamic range and and does so while rendering likable colors.

Selfies, indoor: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

With the bright sunlight straight in Will's face, the P30 Po manages to prevent blowing out highlights and makes for an overall balanced exposure. There's perhaps of a greenish tint to the P30's shot, but nowhere near the straight-up green rendition of the Mi 9. The iPhone is the warmest, predictably, the Galaxy has exposed the brightest, with the red channel blown out in brightly lit areas of the face. The Pixel, meanwhile, has the familiar gritty sharpened facial texture, but also the darkest rendition of our model's hair.

Selfies, harsh light: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

In our most difficult test scene, the P30 Pro does admirably, keeping Will's face well exposed while also preserving detail in the extreme highlights in the sky and clouds. Huawei's AI HDR+ might be a lot of marketing letters, but the underlying algorithms do work, as evidenced in a comparison against the Mate 20 Pro's lesser AI HDR.

A case could be made that the P30 Pro is pushing it past what looks natural, but we'd take that over the fully clipped clouds of the iPhone and the Mi 9. The Pixel and the Galaxy are taking the middle road here and, depending on where you preferences stand on the punchy/natural scale, might be the best option.

Selfies, backlight: P30 Pro • Mate 20 Pro • Mi 9 • Galaxy S10+ • Pixel 3 • iPhone XS

Wrap-up

We bet you'd be asking where are the portraits, why so few shots of this or that kind, why no video. There's a ton more samples of each and every type in the P30 Pro's review, be sure to check it out.

With this shootout we were aiming to see just how great the new telephoto camera is, compared to what's available on the market. And, it's properly amazing, yes. It offers unmatched reach bringing subjects closer like no other, and captures high-quality images to boot.

Things did go a bit overboard once we got out shooting and our initial concept for a telephoto comparison expanded to include all three cameras in both daylight and at night. It wasn't a clean sweep by any means - the Pixel 3 will get an edge here, the Galaxy S10+ and Mi 9 there.

However the P30 Pro certainly felt like the most versatile of the the elite bunch, never being markedly off the pace and always being in the running for the top spot. And this makes it a winner more than any of the individual victories it scored.

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