[freddyttt]

Coming from a Mate 9 that I absolutely treasured for the year+ I had it.. especially the camera !! I took pictures of everything and most came out pretty good to great.

P20 PRO..

I love the screen(great blacks) albit a tad small compared to the Mate 9. the lack of headphone jack has turned me off because the connection did not work once... but i can go over to bluetooth.

everything elase is pretty great.

the Camera though is becoming used less and less. at least compared to my Mate 9. some pics(indoor cat) are outstanding. most pictures (outdoor shots) are over-blown messes. so less and less this camera for now is being used less.

any help tricks have people learned...
some examples below....

nice love it cat Pic.
basic overblown out door pic.

[freddyttt]

some mate 9 shots that im not sure the p20 pro can take on a daily bases...

[orangecroc]

That looks like you used night mode or HDR outdoors.
You would have had better results with AI off and natural colour profile.
The camera is excellent outdoors.

[freddyttt]

thanks orangecroc for the quick reply ... yeah im starting to second guess myself on all modes. this never happened on my Mate.. hopfully this post will get me back on track !!

[RaRa85]

thanks orangecroc for the quick reply ... yeah im starting to second guess myself on all modes. this never happened on my Mate.. hopfully this post will get me back on track !!

Btw those Mate 9 pictures (the swing pic was a little too processed most likely because of the movement) are out if this world. I definitely think the P20 Pro can match it though. I've seen a lot of reviewers recommend turning the AI cam off depending on the scene as well.

[orangecroc]

Btw those Mate 9 pictures (the swing pic was a little too processed most likely because of the movement) are out if this world. I definitely think the P20 Pro can match it though. I've seen a lot of reviewers recommend turning the AI cam off depending on the scene as well.

The swing photo is using portrait mode badly, that's probably what makes it look odd.

[JZ VR]

Definitely play around with it more, try turning artificial intelligence off, the P20 Pro camera is much more capable and versatile than the Mate 9's for sure.

[dsneedmd]

Try Pro mode & fix DNGs on computer, then convert to JPEG. Much more latitude for personal choice & preferences. I like your Backyard pic, but it's obviously HDR which many people don't like. Your Pro 20 can take the Mate 9 type pics if you adjust the settings correctly.

[nlm]

Try setting the light meter on a brighter area to darken the photo overall and reduce the over saturation. Just long press on a bright area before taking the picture. You can also set the light meter and focus area independently.

[freddyttt]

Try setting the light meter on a brighter area to darken the photo overall and reduce the over saturation. Just long press on a bright area before taking the picture. You can also set the light meter and focus area independently.

Thanks already sold my p20 pro and have upgraded. coming from one of the best phone ive ever owned(mate 9) the p20 pro was a real disappointment.

[Visc]

What phone did you go to?

[Fred98TJ]

The P20 Pro often (even with AI off) over processes the images (oversharpens) which causes noticeable ringing artifacts. The Mate 9 to a lesser extent. The Mate 9 and 10 series (P10 Plus, Mate 10 and Pro) usually take very good photos with tons of dynamic range (even without HDR on).
At any rate, I would certainly leave AI off on the 20.

[freddyttt]

What phone did you go to?

Note 9.....

[nlm]

You can leave AI on and if you don't like the look just tap 'x' to dismiss the scene selection and it turns AI off for that shot.

[chmun77]

Note 9.....

Do you not miss the Night mode capability of P20 Pro when on Note 9? I don't see Samsung camera that fantastic when comes to low light photography. TBH, I don't think the photos are that bad or overly-blown. I do quite like them in fact.

[freddyttt]

Do you not miss the Night mode capability of P20 Pro when on Note 9? I don't see Samsung camera that fantastic when comes to low light photography. TBH, I don't think the photos are that bad or overly-blown. I do quite like them in fact.

my night shooting consist of about 3 % of my camera shots.... so no, not at all !!

[nlm]

Going back to the OP, after playing around with the camera settings I am more into the phone than before. I have figured a few things out, when to use certain camera settings and still look forward to try new things out. I haven't had this level of interest in phone photography since my Nokia days. So definitely am still keen on the camera and phone! BTW I love PrivateSpace on the phone, it's essentially a second account so I can seperate out a few things and play with different launchers without ruining my current goto. They should call it something else though, PrivateSpace is a limiting concept.

[chmun77]

Just gotten the phone. Still playing around and trying out the low light capabilities of the phone. However, 1 thing really makes me quirk. Why does the camera tends to displaying the message "sharpening the photo, please steady your device", especially between low light shots. I thought it was something to do with Master AI, but it is still displaying regardless of the toggle state. Occasionally, it also happened during day shots and even in the regular Photo mode. Some say that's how the P20 camera works and just like other DLSR as well. But I'm not too buying into that idea.

Firstly, it's a mobile phone camera not some sophisticated DLSR gears. Consumers point and shoot and move on. The few second delays are causing photo blurs and missing moments. Secondly, I'm not in any long exposure modes so it shouldn't ask me to wait. Thirdly, the delay time does not have any significant improvements at all for the low light photos comparing to my Note 8. And come on Huawei, it's 2018 and do we still need to keep steady hands when taking low light photography?? I'm kinda of getting skeptical about how good the camera is actually.

[nlm]

That's weird, moving the phone during that message has no impact on the quality of the photo for me. The night photo setting isn't actually a long exposure shot but a layered HDR composite, what they call pixel binning. The advantage is that you don't need to keep the phone as steady as any other phone for in focus shots during low light and a lot of detail will be retained. The disadvantage is that there is a chance for dynamic/motion to be blurred. If you are taking a dynamic/moving shot in low light you can switch to Photo and adjust the brightness by tapping an area to set the light meter or goto Pro and adjust the ISO and shutter as needed, similar to the other phones.

[dc52ltr]

Yep, have seen the same message in nearly all modes I've tried however I always ignore it without any loss of quality or blurring.

[chmun77]

That's weird, moving the phone during that message has no impact on the quality of the photo for me. The night photo setting isn't actually a long exposure shot but a layered HDR composite, what they call pixel binning. The advantage is that you don't need to keep the phone as steady as any other phone for in focus shots during low light and a lot of detail will be retained. The disadvantage is that there is a chance for dynamic/motion to be blurred. If you are taking a dynamic/moving shot in low light you can switch to Photo and adjust the brightness by tapping an area to set the light meter or goto Pro and adjust the ISO and shutter as needed, similar to the other phones.

Sorry, are you referring to the Night mode or the regular Photo mode? I do understand that the Night mode require the user to hold the phone as steady as possible while waiting for the countdown to complete. But what irks me is there is a possibility of getting blurry images even for regular low light Photo mode. I just finding it weird that the message actually telling us to steady the device, do not move or whatsoever. Situations are better during day shots (yes, the message appears as well for day shots) but not for the low light. Could it be the binning process is happening? I think you can give it a try again: Just snap in a low light environment, not pitch black places. Try moving away after snapping a photo, ignoring the message. See if the image is fine. Perhaps I'm just too used to snap and go on my Note 8 even for low light shots.

[nlm]

I was referring to night mode for picture binning. But when I said there was no loss in quality when moving the phone during the message ballon I was referring to all modes when ever this message comes up.

I just tried it again a few times as requested. In Photo mode I took a shot of a darker place with the phone steady, then when the message popped up and spun/waved the phone really quickly until the message went a way. All results were a crisp, clean photo with no blur.

[Fille84]

Just gotten the phone. Still playing around and trying out the low light capabilities of the phone. However, 1 thing really makes me quirk. Why does the camera tends to displaying the message "sharpening the photo, please steady your device", especially between low light shots. I thought it was something to do with Master AI, but it is still displaying regardless of the toggle state. Occasionally, it also happened during day shots and even in the regular Photo mode. Some say that's how the P20 camera works and just like other DLSR as well. But I'm not too buying into that idea.

Firstly, it's a mobile phone camera not some sophisticated DLSR gears. Consumers point and shoot and move on. The few second delays are causing photo blurs and missing moments. Secondly, I'm not in any long exposure modes so it shouldn't ask me to wait. Thirdly, the delay time does not have any significant improvements at all for the low light photos comparing to my Note 8. And come on Huawei, it's 2018 and do we still need to keep steady hands when taking low light photography?? I'm kinda of getting skeptical about how good the camera is actually.

It's using hdr when you get that message.

[mwboost]

I've found indoors in mid kind of light that there is green and pinkish blotches and streaks surrounding the main focused area where there's light. It looks aweful. With and without hdr/sharpening photo. Second device and still does it. Also all of my videos from my 2XL that have been transferred to the P20 pro are now aweful quality. Other devices have been fine after transferring from my 2XL.Not sure what's going on. Probably sell it.

[slivy58]

I've found indoors in mid kind of light that there is green and pinkish blotches and streaks surrounding the main focused area where there's light. It looks aweful. With and without hdr/sharpening photo. Second device and still does it. Also all of my videos from my 2XL that have been transferred to the P20 pro are now aweful quality. Other devices have been fine after transferring from my 2XL.Not sure what's going on. Probably sell it.

Not seeing anything of the sorts on my P20 Pro.

On the photo end of things, wouldn't to be related to the type of case you are using would it (if you are using one that is)? Could be interfering with lenses in some way or causing light to be directed into them non-conventionally.

I've transferred many a videos from security / dash cams, and other, to my P20 Pro with no degradation in quality whatsoever.

Your screen resolution still set at its default of FHD+? Haven't noticed it makes a whole lot of difference on mine. Have you viewed photos on a computer monitor, same green and pinkish blotches present?

Either you got unlucky twice with a defective device or it's something related to your settings and/or, something other.