Dolby
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
- Messages
- 39,122
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As there are already a few reviews and details of the Mate 20 Pro, I’d like to start one specifically for the camera … as this would probably be a driver when purchasing. This evening I’m going to load a few photos (comparisons as well) but so long – here’s the text J
First things first – this camera is not identical to that found in the P20 Pro. I’ve received a few questions on this because both phones are triple lens Leica cameras, but there are differences between the two :
No Monochrome
Previous Huawei phones (including the P20 Pro) had a dedicated monochrome sensor which captured both the detail and contrast of a photo, while a separate RBG sensor captured colour information only. Software merged both these images and created a pretty epic photo with fantastic colour, contrast and detail.
However, with the Mate 20 Pro, Huawei says a separate monochrome was no longer needed as the single sensor was good enough. To be honest, I really did enjoy the monochrome of my previous Huaweis for low light ability and in some of my shots, I still preferred the dedicated monochrome sensor to catch those ‘arty’ shots …
Ultrawide (16mm)
… but there’s a big positive to this : Huawei have replaced this monochrome lens with an ultrawide angle (16mm) - and this really is a great addition. I found myself using it far more than I thought I would! In addition to the ‘standard’ 27mm and the telephoto lens … it gives huge level of flexibly that no other phone has.
This ultrawide lens also doubles as a macro which can take from 2.5cm away. In my experience, I preferred using the ‘standard’ 27mm (on 40MP) and cropping the photo. There are more than enough pixels crammed in the photo to make cropping possible, so this method is also an option.
Sensor Size
As most people know, the sensor size in a camera makes a huge difference the quality output. The sensor in the Mate 20 Pro is massive for a smartphone (the largest?) and sits at 1/1.7”. The Mate 10 Pro , for interest, sat at 1 /2.9”. To give you a reference, many mid to high level pint-and-shoot cameras have the same size sensor and just a few years back, people thought this size sensor in a mobile phone would be impossible.
The Ultrawide and Telephoto have smaller sensor at 1/ 2.7” and 1/ 4” respectively.
Master AI
One of the complaints of the previous Mate 10 Pro was that AI couldn’t be disabled. You could point at greenery, food or the sky and it’d make (often correct) tweaks to the photo in terms of contrast, colour etc. However, some people preferred having full control and they weren’t too happy with not being able to switch AI off. Although this feature never bothered me, Master AI can be switched off totally for those that need it. In addition to the Pro mode with manual settings (ISO, shutter speed, exposure, white balance, manual focus) you have great control over the images produced. A bonus is taking these in RAW for post processing
Also ... just added a screenshot for those that are interested in the settings on the standard 40MP lens. The options for the resolutions are :
4:3 (40MP) 7296 x 5472
4.3 (10MP) 3648 x 2736
1.1 (7MP) 2736 x 2736
18,8:9 (6MP) 3648 x 1744
First things first – this camera is not identical to that found in the P20 Pro. I’ve received a few questions on this because both phones are triple lens Leica cameras, but there are differences between the two :
No Monochrome
Previous Huawei phones (including the P20 Pro) had a dedicated monochrome sensor which captured both the detail and contrast of a photo, while a separate RBG sensor captured colour information only. Software merged both these images and created a pretty epic photo with fantastic colour, contrast and detail.
However, with the Mate 20 Pro, Huawei says a separate monochrome was no longer needed as the single sensor was good enough. To be honest, I really did enjoy the monochrome of my previous Huaweis for low light ability and in some of my shots, I still preferred the dedicated monochrome sensor to catch those ‘arty’ shots …
Ultrawide (16mm)
… but there’s a big positive to this : Huawei have replaced this monochrome lens with an ultrawide angle (16mm) - and this really is a great addition. I found myself using it far more than I thought I would! In addition to the ‘standard’ 27mm and the telephoto lens … it gives huge level of flexibly that no other phone has.
This ultrawide lens also doubles as a macro which can take from 2.5cm away. In my experience, I preferred using the ‘standard’ 27mm (on 40MP) and cropping the photo. There are more than enough pixels crammed in the photo to make cropping possible, so this method is also an option.
Sensor Size
As most people know, the sensor size in a camera makes a huge difference the quality output. The sensor in the Mate 20 Pro is massive for a smartphone (the largest?) and sits at 1/1.7”. The Mate 10 Pro , for interest, sat at 1 /2.9”. To give you a reference, many mid to high level pint-and-shoot cameras have the same size sensor and just a few years back, people thought this size sensor in a mobile phone would be impossible.
The Ultrawide and Telephoto have smaller sensor at 1/ 2.7” and 1/ 4” respectively.
Master AI
One of the complaints of the previous Mate 10 Pro was that AI couldn’t be disabled. You could point at greenery, food or the sky and it’d make (often correct) tweaks to the photo in terms of contrast, colour etc. However, some people preferred having full control and they weren’t too happy with not being able to switch AI off. Although this feature never bothered me, Master AI can be switched off totally for those that need it. In addition to the Pro mode with manual settings (ISO, shutter speed, exposure, white balance, manual focus) you have great control over the images produced. A bonus is taking these in RAW for post processing
Also ... just added a screenshot for those that are interested in the settings on the standard 40MP lens. The options for the resolutions are :
4:3 (40MP) 7296 x 5472
4.3 (10MP) 3648 x 2736
1.1 (7MP) 2736 x 2736
18,8:9 (6MP) 3648 x 1744
... tomorrow I'll get a few in natural light too. I just thought while it's dark and I have all 3 - may as well try. 
