Professional-grade pictures are super easy to take with the new Huawei P30 and P30 Pro smartphone.
Gone are the days of needing to lug a heavy SLR camera everywhere. Unless you’re a professional photographer who shoots for a living most of us want a sharp looking Instagram feed with as little effort as possible. I was impressed with portrait mode on the iPhone Xs but recently got my hands on the Huawei P30 smartphone and can honestly say the camera quality is incomparable, especially when it comes to low-light. To put it to the test I headed to the heart of Australia, Ayres Rock, to capture some of the most Instagrammable shots in the country. Here’s what I learnt.
The Huawei P30 and P30 Pro take great wide angle shots
Both models feature Leica cameras that combine a 40 megapixel sensor with a sophisticated optical zoom. It has the ability to deliver precise but natural wide aperture shots that measure the distances between the subjects and background. When combined this technology delivers an amazing photo as you’ll see in the shot above.
It’s incredible in low light
I took both photos below before sunrise, in near pitch-black, at the Field of Lights art installation in front of Uluru. The first is on my iPhone Xs, the second is on the Huawei P30 in night mode. I haven’t edited either, the results speak for themselves. I was blown away by how much light you can capture without the use of a tripod. The second is going straight to Instagram!
Enhance your selfies with the built in beauty enhancer mode
I’m not sure how I feel about the beauty mode on the new phone, it’s totally superficial and self-indulgent but I did have fun playing around with it. While in selfie mode you can edit your face to make it thinner and smoother to achieve that flawless “Instagram model look”. On the left you’ll see my natural face (wrinkles and all) and on the right a much thinner, smoother version. I did try it out again with a smile vs the pout and it actually looked quite nice, but still quite fake. The front camera is 32 megapixels making the quality nice and clear when in normal mode.
Great battery life and high speed charging
There’s nothing worse than snapping pictures all day on your holiday only to have your phone die before uploading them to Instagram. The Huawei P30 Pro can go from zero to 70 percent charged in 30 minutes. You can also charge other wireless devices such as wireless headphones from the back of the phone making it a portable charging device.
The verdict
I am completely blown away by the quality of this phone. Am I ready to leave my entire Apple run eco-system and convert to this smart phone? Probably not. Would I consider buying one just to use for the camera and on work trips for social media alone- yes.
The P30 is priced at $1099 in Australia and the P30 Pro costs up to $1599. They both come in two different colours is Breathing Crystal and Aurora.
I attended this press trip to Uluru with other media for the pre-launch briefing of the Huawei P30 courtesy of Huawei but these opinions are all my own.
