As a giant of mobile manufacturing, Huawei has led the trend of the dual-camera smartphone ever since the bestselling Huawei P9. And now the revolutionary rear Leica triple-camera makes the Huawei P20 Pro, arguably, the best photo phone on the market.

The P20 Pro has already replaced the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus as the top mobile camera phone on the DxOMARK mobile ranking, with a record score of 10 points higher than the runner-up. Even the popular rivals such as Apple iPhone X, the Google Pixel 2 and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S have been left behind.

But the question remains: what actually makes the Huawei P20 Pro camera so great for the average user?

Here's everything you need to know.

Before taking a closer look at the P20 Pro camera's performance, let's go over the tech specs first:

●  Leica triple rear camera: 5X hybrid zoom

40MP main camera: RGB f1.8

20MP secondary camera: BW f1.6 ( monochrome sensor )

8MP telephoto camera: RGB f2.4

●  Front camera: 24MP RGB f2.0

● Super slow-mo video, 960 fps slow motion video at 720p

● 4D predictive focus, 3D portrait lighting

● AI image stabilization, AR lens, snapshot, best low-light performance

Huawei P20 Pro camera vs. other rivals

It's a bit hard for us to know what the tech spec means for P20 Pro, but if we have a glance at the following contrast table, we will see the obvious advantages for Huawei P20 Pro camera clearly between its close rivals:

As we can see from the chart, the adjustable sensitivity of HUAWEI P20 Pro camera goes up to ISO 102400, which levels the same as Canon 5D Mark IV Camera. This way, theP20 Pro allows you to capture vivid, sharp images anytime and anywhere.

Leica triple cameras — better than ever

Huawei worked together with Leica, the honored German optics brand, to create a truly special camera — the Huawei P20 Pro camera, the world's first rear Leica triple cam.

Let's see what this means.

The Huawei P20 Pro has a super clear 24MP camera on the front that supports self-portrait and video chats. The 24MP front camera with autofocus is capable of producing images that are three times (or more) clearer than those made with the Galaxy S9 Plus and iPhone X, meaning that every selfie you take will look stunning. The 20MP monochrome lens is also remarkable compared to its rivals — but we've seen that on a couple of generations of Mates such as Huawei Mate 9 and the Huawei P10. The Huawei P20 Pro features an unparalleled sharp rear 40MP RGB camera that delivers ultimate color accuracy, focus and contrast for every single shot you take. The third camera with 8MP resolution captures images with an optically stabilized 3X telephoto zoom.

Featuring a new AI-assisted camera system, the Huawei P20 Pro camera works best with light fusion technology, 5X hybrid zoom and ensures the ultimate low-light performance. This means that the images you take will come out beautifully whether you have taken them during the day or at night.

3D portrait lighting — capture that studio look

Equally as impressive is the 3D portrait lighting, which is as good as that of any professional camera. The P20 Pro camera has impressed for professional as well as amateur photographers with its ability to capture 3D portrait lighting shots with a blurry bokeh effect — even in low-light conditions. What it does is make your face appear more "prominent" in photos by applying studio-grade lighting effects to your photos.

Open the camera, choose Portrait, then touch the 3D icon and select your desired lighting(there are five lighting modes to choose from depending on the effect you are looking for: soft, butterfly, split, stage and classic lighting) and capture a stunning studio grade portrait with just your phone.

Needless to say, this is one of the key features that have put the Huawei P20 Pro on the camera pedestal that it proudly sits on now.

5X hybrid zoom — capture incredible details from a distance

When it comes to zooming, the Huawei P20 Pro's camera shines once again with its 5X hybrid zoom, in addition to its 3X optical zoom and the 10X digital zoom. It means that you will be able to capture very clear detail even at medium and long range — no blurs, super bright,  P20 Pro might just be as good as its ads.

AR lens — change hand gestures to have a fun mix

At the official presentation, the AR lens did not get enough spotlight. At least, this is the conclusion we've come to after we've spent some time using it.

Open the camera, go to More from AR lens, and select the gesture effect. Now, you can take photos with fun AR effects. For example, lift your index finger to activate the "rain effect", make the "call gesture" with your hand to change to the "snowy effect" or arrange your fingers into a heart shape for the "rainbow effect". And this is not all — try out more gestures for even more stunning effects.

Night shot — discover the beauty of the night

There is not much (if any) exaggeration in saying that the Huawei P20 Pro's camera is the best low-light camera we've ever seen on a smartphone. It's actually quite hard to believe that a smartphone camera can capture such bright, vibrant night shots with impressive detail and clarity — the P20 Pro can do it. Open the camera and go to NIGHT mode, you will need to hold our phone steady and wait for 10 seconds as you capture the image there's a few-seconds (3-10s) countdown period needed for the camera to self-adjust the brightness.

AI Master — shoot photos like a professional photographer

With the AI Master, the Huawei P20 Pro's camera lets you capture a shot like a pro photographer without using a tripod. The phone will automatically switch to the optimal camera mode (19 identifiable categories) based on the scene and subject.

That's not all. With the EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization ), OIS ( Optical Image Stabilization) and the industry-leading AIS (AI Image Stabilization ), the Huawei P20 Pro camera performs exceptionally well when capturing movement — you will be able to record the details of moving actions and instantly capture fleeting moments.

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In addition to all of the above, the Huawei P20 Pro comes with features like superfast autofocus, slow-mo video record, snapshot and denoise processing. As a result, you can use the Huawei P20 Pro to capture professional-grade wide-edged scenes without carrying a heavy tripod. And while the debate on whether you can use a strong camera smartphone instead of a professional digital camera had been going on for quite some time — the Huawei P20 Pro may just be the phone that makes the difference.

Conclusion

As the world's first triple Leica camera phone, the Huawei P20 Pro offers the best smartphone camera experience we've encountered to date. In a world where consumers are demanding more and more from smartphone cameras, the Huawei P20 Pro camera is undoubtedly the strongest choice for mobile photographers. For those just starting out — the phone will be a great inspiration for taking your casual photography further.

And for the rest of us — the P20 Pro's cam can really take your Instagram account to a whole new game level.