HONOR Magic5 Pro is the company’s new top-of-the-range smartphone. Available on the official hiHonor website but also on Amazon, it is a device sold at the price of €1,199.90, thus exceeding the €1,000 threshold but certainly below many other competitors such as Samsung, Apple, and Motorola, with which it collides.
We have already tried it in a first preview immediately in Barcelona, where HONOR had presented it at Mobile World Congress 2023, and we then tested it properly in our review, where we defined it as a real camera phone. Now we are ready to talk a little more about its photographic sector, trying to understand specifically all the technical characteristics of the sensors it has and above all to see in practice how it shoots and why we have called it the new camera phone of the moment.
HONOR Magic5 Pro: What Specifications!
Let’s start with the technical specifications possessed by HONOR Magic5 Pro because if the photographic side of the sector is certainly top of the range, we can also declare the same thing on all other fronts. Yes, because the new HONOR is a highly premium smartphone on the hardware and design sides and its materials. It is a smartphone that uses a resistant aluminum frame in perfect union with what appears to be its body which is instead made of glass.
Previously we found an important 6.81-inch OLED HDR10 + panel (with a resolution of 2848 x 1312 pixels and a density of 460 PPI). It pushes a lot also thanks to the presence of the adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz but above all for the possibility of reaching a peak brightness equal to 1800 nits, which we have never seen on a smartphone to date.
Display among the most powerful but also excellently calibrated by HONOR. At the hardware level, it has the latest processor released by Qualcomm or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which works very well, especially because it is supported by 12GB of DDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage.
To all this is added a 5100 mAh battery capable of being recharged with rapid speeds up to 66W with the cable, up to 50W with the wireless solution, and still being able to recharge in a reverse way up to 5W. HONOR Magic5 Pro is also released with the latest version of Android 13, which is customized by the company with its own MagicUI 7.1 and, if you’re still wondering, with pre-installed Google services.
HONOR Magic5 Pro: A 50 Megapixel Trio!
The configuration of the rear photographic compartment of HONOR Magic5 Pro has a familiar logic even if it offers improved performance. Specifically, know that there are three different sensors by nature and, therefore, shooting modes, but all three are 50 megapixels each. Suppose we have seen noble materials in the choice by the Chinese company to make Magic5 Pro a robust smartphone during use.
In that case, the design choice on the rear structure of the photographic sector is undoubtedly more than original and certainly such to make it more than iconic the phone from this point of view. HONOR Magic5 Pro sees the presence of a circular and huge structure containing the three cameras on the back but also an 8×8 dToF laser focus system for autofocus and depth mapping, a single LED flash, a flicker sensor, and a multispectral color sensor (under the white cover next to the yellow LED flash).
A set of certainly prestigious components to which Magic5 Pro also adds a 12 MP front camera with another ToF system for autofocus and depth mapping. The primary camera utilizes a custom 1/1.12″ 50 Megapixel sensor with 1.4 µm pixels. It sits behind a brilliant 23mm f/1.6 picture balanced out (OIS) focal point. As frequently occurs, the camera application saves trimmed pictures relating to 27mm comparable central length for this situation.
This primary camera is a massive update as far as the light ability to assemble contrasted with Magic4 Ace, which had a 1/4″ sensor 1.56″ and an f/1.8 opening, and, surprisingly, better, HONOR has empowered optical picture adjustment on the main camera (Magic4 Ace didn’t have it). The 50 MP (FOV 122°) super wide-point camera upholds self-adjustment and has a 13 mm focal point with a more brilliant f/2.0 gap contrasted with the f/2.2 of the past Magic4 Race cam.
At last, the third camera on the back depends on a 50MP sensor yet is coupled to a 90mm periscopic balanced-out focal point with f/3.0. This camera likewise appears to chip away at the harvest, saving pictures compared to 95mm equiv. Mid-length. The decision by Distinction to have the option to utilize two sensors to make full-scale pictures is specific: the super wide module can do it very close at around 2.5 cm away while the principal one can do it a good ways off of 30 cm.
Very Full-scale mode involves the super wide camera for close-ups. The 50 MP (FOV 122°) super wide-point camera upholds self-adjustment and has a 13 mm focal point with a more brilliant f/2.0 opening contrasted with the f/2.2 of the past Magic4 Master cam. At last, the third camera on the back depends on a 50MP sensor yet is coupled to a 90mm periscopic settled focal point with f/3.0.
This camera also appears to chip away at the harvest, saving pictures of 95mm equiv. Mid-length. The decision by Distinction to have the option to utilize two sensors to make full-scale pictures is specific: the super wide module can do it very close at around 2.5 cm away while the principal one can do it a ways off of 30 cm. Very Full-scale mode involves the super wide camera for close-ups.
How Are The Shots Of HONOR Magic5 Pro?
- Main camera: using the main camera, know that it shoots by default at 12.5 megapixels, which is more than normal for a 50-megapixel sensor on smartphones. In this case, we obtain exciting results in all light conditions. In broad daylight, there is incredibly high detail, balanced sharpness, and virtually zero visible noise. It is a mature elaboration with faithful and always-winning color rendering with excellent white balance, and you can see it in these examples that scroll on the video. Even in the dark, the shots are excellent, with a specific, very fast night mode capable of excellent exposures, little noise, and many details.
- Ultra Wide Angle Camera: excellent use of the ultra-wide angle module, which always uses shots at 12.5 megapixels by default with a barrel effect resolution that tastes very professional. On the colors, know that we are very close to the main sensor, and this is undoubtedly a very important peculiarity on a smartphone. Bright, lively, but also realistic colors and, above all, with many details that allow, and you see it, to have solid photos worthy of a real top-of-the-range. During the darkest hours, know that you can use this sensor in a captivating way with shots that will result in surprisingly bright exposure and more than enough detail.
- Periscope Telephoto Camera: then there is still the periscope sensor which exalted me above all for the ease of shooting as well as the details, the accuracy of the colors, the elimination of noise, and, in short, a shot that, even with 10x zoom can be considered Optimal. Stabilization is king here, and it’s easy to quickly find the right shot, especially with 3.5x zoom, which has always been enough for me to find a more original image than that of the classic wide-angle sensor in some situations. At night, this lens’s photos are good at 3.5x zoom, with higher zooms up to at least 10x. There is good dynamic range, excellent exposure, and little noise, which, in fact, almost always exists with this sensor.
The ”Motion detection” mode is innovative, which is nothing but an icon with a little man running and which, once activated, will allow you to get the best shot of a moving scene without having to do anything, i.e., without having to click on the button to take the shot physically. The algorithm of HONOR Magic5 Pro will do nothing but observe the moving scene and find the most suitable moment to take the photo and create truly unique shots.
Comfortable during situations of extreme movement, perhaps during sports matches of football, basketball, or even during particular evolutions of athletes who make jumps. During the test, we took original and high-quality photos by activating the mode and waiting for the shot to be captured independently by the smartphone. It is a function that differentiates HONOR Magic5 Pro from other devices, and I admit that I enjoyed using it because it is simple and immediate.
In short, HONOR Magic5 Pro is a device we can confidently define as a real camera phone. A smartphone with a photographic sector is undoubtedly the main component of this device which is enhanced by all three 50-megapixel sensors, always managing to find the right place for high-definition images, bringing home amazing shots even if you do not. They are true professionals. If you are, however, HONOR Magic5 Pro is certainly a more comfortable and portable alternative to a more expensive camera which clearly remains the first working tool but can easily be accompanied by a smartphone without any hesitation.
