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Paris - Most recently Chinese electronics manufacturer introduced the world to their latest flagship smartphone the Huawei P10 - but could this be the world’s best camera smartphone right now?
Celebrity photographer and Leica ambassador Manfred Baumann endorsed the P10 device, while a very exclusive group of selected media, including Fin24, was afforded an opportunity to attend a Lecia Photography Masterclass in Barcelona, using the P10 device.
During the short course, Baumann coached guests on the features of the P10’s camera and different shooting modes.
While the Huawei was not the pioneering manufacturer of dual cameras in smartphones, the company became the first to feature a branded dual camera after a partnership with German optics company Leica in production of the camera in the P9 and P9 Plus devices.
While camera smartphones are able to capture sharp images, the picture of which in general seem to increase in quality with each passing year across all manufacturers, the P10 makes an impact.
The device is able to capture vivid and crisp images with incredible detail.
The P10’s rear camera features a 20 and 12 megapixel camera and has been re-engineered to produce sharper images.
The P9 which first introduced the dual cameras featured one monochrome and one colour camera - offering the user an increased depth of field known in photography as the bokeh effect.
The bokeh effects brings subjects of an image in sharp focus while the background is seemingly blurred in different degrees making for a more professionally produced image.
The pitfall of the P9’s dual camera was that the bokeh effect seemed digitalised, which often tended to draw the blurred effect into the subject, for example the edges of hair of person in an image drew some of the bokeh effect.
The bokeh effect on the P9 could easily be created on photoshop or even before posting an image on Instagram with the Tilt Shift edit.
While the P9 still created great images, the P10’s dual camera is dual camera now able to capture a more natural depth of field with a bokeh effect comparable to Single Lens Reflex camera.
For the first time, Huawei has also included the Leica lens on the front for the device for better selfies.
The selfie camera also allows for more detailed images with editing features to create a digital depth of field.
P10 and P10 Plus devices were launched alongside the new Huawei Watch 2, a day ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday.
The smartphones are expected to arrive in South Africa by the second quarter of 2017, with availability of the Watch 2 yet to be announced.
