Camera Test: Huawei Mate 40 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro vs Pixel 5 By ben's gadget reviews

Hey everybody hopes you guys are healthy and safe. So the three most high profile recent releases in the smartphone space right now are the iPhone 12 Pro the Google Pixel 5 and the Huawei Mate 40 pro. Since I'm fortunate enough to have all three of these devices on me, I figured might as well do a camera showdown, so I've been carrying all three of these phones outside for the past two days: testing it during the day and testing it at night, and I took a bunch of photos which I've already separated into 10 different categories on my computer, and then we're going to examine them in real time just to see which camera wins in what okay? Before we begin, let's take a look at the hardware, so, interestingly, we're going looking at hardware, the Google Pixel 5 is going to lose by far that's because the Google Pixel 5 has a main 12 megapixel sensor. It's the exact same sensor used in the Google Pixel 2. So that's four years now of google using the exact same camera, hardware, google added a new ultra-wide angle camera this year. It's a 16 megapixel shooter, it's actually quite good and a selfie camera in this hole punch it's an 8 megapixel lens, whereas Huawei with every generation.

They make a new camera breakthrough with the P30 Pro they introduce the ray sensor, which basically takes the RGB sensors used in digital cameras and swap the green for two yellow sensors, which helps it take in more light and Huawei is also among the first company along Oppo to develop a periscope zoom lens, which means the lens is placed sideways in the phone, and it's l-shaped that gives image information, more room to travel and, of course, Huawei's was the first brand to push for a larger image sensor, because the larger the image sensor, the more light it can take in and to also have a higher megapixel count and then use pixel binning to kind of combine more pixels more from information into one. So Huawei has been pushing hardware with every generation of smartphone, whereas Google is like chilling in the back. Saying no hardware doesn't matter our software computational. Photography is what makes a smartphone good now, interestingly, apple's kind of taking the middle ground happy medium approach. With this year's new iPhone 12 Pro you have a trio or 12 megapixel sensors here apple actually increased the image sensor of the main camera and also gave it a faster f-stop, so it can take in more light.

So that's a trick taken from Huawei's playbook, but at the same time, apple's also doubling down on computational photography if you watch the iPhone 12 launch event or the iPhone 11 apple spent 10 minutes talking about all the HDR tech that they're doing all the image, stacking competition photography and the a14 bionic chip in here, which may be the most powerful soc in all three of these phones does a lot of heavy work in terms of real-time processing for photos and videos. So this test is going to be interesting because we're talking about bleeding edge, camera hardware versus a four or five-year-old camera hardware, but we'll see who wins out. Let's go ahead and look at the photos, so you see I've split the photos and videos into 10 different categories. So we'll start with the first one contrast, I'm pretty sure, that's not a word, but I just mean it's a scene with a lot of contrast, a lot of light, but also a lot of shadows. So we'll check dynamic range here, so we have daytime nighttime.

Let's start the daytime, we have iPhone 12 Pro Huawei Mate 40 pro Google Pixel 5. Now this set is surprising because the iPhone 12 Pro loses quite badly here. Look at how dark the image is at the bottom half of the image like look at this tree right here. You can't really see much of anything. It's just completely drenched in shadow, whereas the Huawei Mate 40 pro it's actually really well lit.

You can see different colors of the leaves and down here. The words are much better lit to the Google Pixel 5. You know a little darker than the mate 40 pros, but still better than what the iPhone turned out, and you see the pixel 5. Also, you can see the words pretty clearly here, but ultimately, but then, if you look at up here, the iPhone is the only one that did not completely blow out the sun. So you see right here.

I guess that's what you get when you have a darker image overall, then the highlights are not as blown out now. Second set we'll look at contrast, photos, but at night now this is a relatively tough shot, because it's a really dark street. But then this store is very bright, so you have half the picture, that's dark and half the picture, that's pretty bright, so you see right off the bat. The iPhone 12 Pro kind of overexposes the lights a little here, whereas the Huawei Mate 40 pro does a much better job of finding balance. Look at how sharp the plants are compared to the iPhone 12 Pro.

Now, let's look at the pixel 5. The pixel 5 does a pretty good job too. Let's go closer, let's go to actual size. Okay, you see that the pixel 5 when you go in the actual size. It loses a lot of details right here in the flowers right here, whereas the flowers in the mate and the iPhone image are still relatively detailed.

The iPhone image is starting to look kind of fake, though it looks like a water color painting was made for April, keeps the most details. I guess, but now, let's check out the other half of the picture, the dark half. So you see the pixel 5 shot is pretty dark, but you know at the time the scene was really dark, and you see the iPhone. Truffle has a little of this lens flare right here, which has been a problem with iPhones for the past couple of generations. You look at the textures on the floor.

I think the mate 40 pro has the best texture. You can actually see this writing here. A little like somebody wrote the name before the pavement was dry was here on the pixel 5 pretty hard to see on the iPhone. You can see a little, but definitely not as sharp as the following 40 pro. So I think, for both day and night of this section, the contrast section, the Huawei Mate 48 pro produced the best shot.

Now, let's check out a general indoor shot, also one x of the main camera. We have the iPhone 12 Pro right here, and then we have mate 40 pro pixel 5. So I guess that's going to be a recurring theme. The pixel 5 is just always going to be slightly darker than the other two cameras, because the pixel 5 is the smallest image sensor. By far we'll check out the right ocean, the pictures first so yeah, the pixel 5, is the darkest the iPhone okay.

So you see once you go natural size, the iPhone 12 Pro's, probably the sharpest, there's a lit slight loss of details right here in the Huawei Mate 40 post photos, whereas the pixel 5 has a lot of noise, so both the iPhone and the May 40 pro turn out pretty nice. I think this is kind of a two-way tie between apple and Huawei. Let's look at number three. This is low light, so this is yet another quite challenging shot. I took this in a really dark alley, but at the same time there's a lot of light coming at the end of the alley.

So it's really dark down here, but then it's really bright down the street, so this is quite a contrast shot too. Okay, once again, the pixel 5 is the darkest of the three the Huawei Mate 4 pro is probably the most well lit, but it's a little too yellow. I think I, like the iPhone 12 pros image. The best right here, just looking at the three photos: let's go into actual size. Well, there's a lot of digital processing going on down here in the lighter area, especially on the iPhone 12 Pro like look at this.

This looks like a cartoon. Let's check out the fringes of the photo okay, once you go down to sour, you see, there's a heck lot of noise and artifacts down here in the iPhone 12 post photo with the pixel 5. You don't see it as much, but that's because it's completely dark the mate 40 pro has a little of it, but it's, but you know what considering the fact that Huawei Mate 4 pro has the largest image sensor in all smartphones was the pixel 4 is using a three-year-old camera lens. I think google's computational photography is doing a good job of narrowing. The gap now keep in mind both the pixel, 5 and iPhone 12 Pro are shooting in night mode here, because it automatically turns on night mode with the Huawei Mate 4 pro.

This is a standard photo now we'll go to section four moderate low light. So now this is still low light, but it's a little better lit than earlier so iPhone. Trolls image looks the sharpest, let's go actual size, okay, so the mate 40 pros image is a little blurry. I wonder if I did something wrong for the shot, but I think the iPhone 12 turns out the most pleasing all right now, let's check out this set, this is of the secret center, so the iPhone 12 Pro right here, Huawei Mate 40 pro Google Pixel 5 wow, the pixel 5- did a perfect job, considering how small the sensor is so pixel 5 right here. This is the Huawei Mate 40 pro.

I think the mate 40 pros it's a little too warm for my taste. I think the iPhone 12 Pro and the pixel 5 had the best color signs. Let's look at the leaves down here in the lower left corner, so this is iPhone 12 Pro right here. Everything is pretty sharp. You can see the texture of the ceiling quite well, but you notice there's a bit of lots of details right here now check out the Huawei image.

Okay, so the Huawei image has a tighter has a tighter crop, so I cannot get the leaves, but the texture here is a little better and so is the ceiling, but the lights a little yellow all around. Now, there's a pixel 5. , it's a little dark on the outside, but this is a really nice shot. In fact, it probably looks a little cleaner compared to the iPhones. I might give the win to the pixel 5 here.

Okay, next up we'll go selfie, so we have selfies during the day and during at night. So we have the iPhone 12 Pro Huawei Mate 40 pro Google Pixel 5. So I don't have good skin, and you can tell that the pixel and the iPhone are basically keeping my skin exactly as this. So you can see. I have a lot of acne scars, and you can see all my scars, whereas Huawei smooths it out a little.

So honestly, if you ask me, I would prefer the Huawei selfie the best, because it makes me look better, but to be honest in reality, I look closest to you know the iPhone or pixel, so the iPhone pixel do a much better job of recreating the real photo. I mean look at the iPhone selfie. You can actually see all the pores in my skin, that's yeah, so the iPhone camera. If you're good, looking that's great, but if you're not that good-looking, if you have bad skin like me, that's kind of a rough shot all right now, let's look at nighttime selfies, but the iPhone 12 Pro Huawei Mate, 40 pro and the pixel 5. Okay.

So right here, I actually like how the pixel 5 lit up my face a little. You see a little of depth in my face with the make 40 pro. I look a little soft right here around the eye and also look at the plants it's much sharper here than right here, but I think overall I would prefer the iPhone 12 selfie look at my hair. It looks a little more natural than the Huawei, which blurs a little or the pixel all right enough for my face. So next to these are videos we'll do video at the end and skip on to wide angle during the day.

So we have the iPhone 12 Pro Huawei Mate 40 pro, so keep in mind, the main 40 pro is going to have the most narrow field of vision. So we got the pixel 5 here. This is really aesthetically. Pleasing the leaves are green. Boundary range is good.

Now you see me 44 it's a brighter image, but I think it's almost a little too bright. I think the plants look a little better in the pixel than on the mate 40 pro. Let's look at the iPhone yeah same thing. Colors look a little dull on the iPhone. I think I prefer the pixels image the best, let's go in the actual size.

Let's look at this tree still really sharp even actual size. The volume 40 pro 2 and then we have iPhone yeah. The iPhone's ultra-wide is actually the worst of the three in terms of keeping details, detailed sharpness right now, let's look at ultra-wide angle and night, so we have the pixel 5. You already see a lot of noise right here, because the pixel 5 has a relatively small image sensor. So this is already a lot of night mode trickery.

Okay, so first things: first, the iPhone has the best exposure. Look at the lights right here in the secret center. It's still properly exposed. You can see all the details of this light was a mate 40 pro cards blows it out a little, and so does the pixel. Let's check out the texture of the building, you go close a little.

Pixel 5 loses a lot of details, because the image sensor is just too small. Okay, now you go closer into the building yeah the mate 40 pro keeps the most image integrity of the texture of the building compared to the other two. The iPhone looks particularly bad right here. Yeah, if you look at the trash, can make fun of those trash can just looks the cleanest, whereas it looks very blurry right here now, let's go to this building as expected, the mate 40 pro is the best ultra-wide angle, camera in terms of details, but it overexposes a little and let's look at zoom shot. So this is going to be a clear win for Huawei because it has a periscope zoom lens, whereas the pixel 5 don't even have a zoom lens at all.

So this is five times zoom, with the iPhone 12 Pro five times zoom with the Huawei Mate 40 pro and five times, zoom the pixel five. As you can see, it is almost night and day like look at the difference between the iPhone 12 Pro 5x right here and the Huawei Mate 4.5x and the pixel 5 obviously is the worst of the three because it does not even have a telephoto zoom. So let's just eliminate pixel right away just between the iPhone and m8. The iPhone uses quite badly too, and the thing is: that's not all. For Huawei this is 5x, but the mate 40 pro can go even further.

You have 10x right here, 5x 10x, so 10x is still pretty sharp, and then you have even 50x. Although 50x you see, there's quite a bit of lots of details right here now I would say if you keep zoom under 25 you're, getting a spotless shot with Huawei Mate.40 pro now check out videos daytime videos, let's check out state by station record by comparison to Huawei colors, looking into the doll right- and you see, there's a little of jerkiness. The video shakes a little when I walk so stabilization, definitely a while before we pull it loses to the iPhone too. So pixel 5 has better stabilization than far right, there's not as much shakiness when you walk a microwave shake to this, but colors obviously can't match what I think that's during the day now, let's check nighttime video. So this is an iPhone 12.

Pro video look at how bright everything is look at how green this is and how purple this is. This is dynamic range, just dialed up and also get the Huawei Mate.40 pro look at how see it looks a little more dull compared to what you saw on the iPhone 12 right and yeah a lot of micro bitterness. When you walk look at the camera shaking a little every step I take so pixel 5 is actually better lift than the Huawei Mate 40 pro, but at the same time you can tell it's not sharp. This is very blotchy. Oh, and stabilization is not good at all.

Okay, after we've examined all the photos, I think we can agree that the Google Pixel 5 held up pretty well, despite the fact that the camera hardware here is really outdated and under powered. So I think that really proves google's point that for smartphone photography, maybe software is the most important. Maybe it's like 80 70 of the work, but at the same time you cannot deny that the Huawei Mate 40 pro is just capable of taking shots that neither the iPhone nor the Google Pixel 5 can do simply because it has a periscope zoom lens, which is a better technology than the telephone lens on the iPhone and no telephone lens here, and also the Rob sensor, and a larger image sensor really makes a difference in low light performance. But I guess what I'm trying to say. Is it's really hard to declare a clear winner? It really depends on what you like.

We shoot a lot of videos, it's going to be the iPhone. If you take a lot of ultra low light photos, you want to do trick. Photography like 25 x, zoom, it's the Huawei or if you want something, that's just kind of like a dumb camera, just point and shoot, and the software will do all the work. Then maybe the Google Pixel 5. Anyway.

That's about it! For this camera comparison, I'm going to have a lot more content coming up, including a full review of the main 40 pro and a full review of the Google Pixel 5, and I'm going to do a lot more testing. I have more phones here on me. I haven't even touched yet, so I have a lot more content coming up if you're interested in stuff, like this, please subscribe to my channel. Follow me on Instagram at Ben's gadget reviews thanks for watching.

Source : ben's gadget reviews