When HUAWEI announced their XMAGE imaging system, it heralded a new era for the Chinese smartphone giant, one where they take full control of providing the best smartphone photography experience yet.

With the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro now released, we have managed to glimpse what’s possible, seeing that their latest flagship provides the best imaging experience yet.

The bigger view

Let’s start with a broad view, zooming in on the technicalities as we go along. For your main camera system, HUAWEI includes a 50 MP Ultra Aperture camera, a 13 MP Ultra-Wide Angle camera and a 64 MP Telephone camera. These are integrated into a seamless photography experience that provides you with the right camera choice depending on the shooting opportunity. It also needs to be said that the design choice of the camera module grouping at the back looks super stylish, in no small way to the iconic symmetrical circular form integrated alongside an intricate Clous de Paris pattern on the ridge.

While the main camera system provides ample opportunity for great looking photos, so too does the front facing camera for selfies. Onboard is a 13 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera + 3D Depth Sensing Camera, which delivers gorgeous shots alongside beautifying filters to enhance your images.

Technical advances

The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro camera system is based on four technical pillars: an optical system, mechanical structure, imaging technology, and image processing. Through the company’s focus on these elements, you’ll see technological advances such as a 10-size adjustable physical aperture, the first to be found on a smartphone.

This smart aperture system adjusts to match the aperture size with the scene and shooting scenario identified in Auto mode. Switching to Professional mode allows users to manually adjust the depth of field and degree of blur, much like that on professional stand-alone cameras.

The system takes full advantage of the large F1.4 aperture, not only allowing for high light intake in darker shooting circumstances but working alongside the XD Fusion Pro image engine to set the image brightness, light and shadow details, as well as cold and warm comparisons to capture images to perfection.

From Macro to Zoom, sorted

Similarly, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro is exceptionally good with macro photography, using the ultra-wide camera to delve deeper. With a Super Macro mode providing a focussing distance of only 2.5 cm, you are able to capture the minute, with the system also supporting macro video shooting and macro picture-in-picture to accurately convey scenes in motion.

But while the macro world is one thing, how about the zooming capabilities of the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro system? Here Huawei doesn’t let you down either, going from a 120° Ultra-wide Angle to zoom in all the way in with a 200x zoom range.

The best everyday shots

These capabilities allow for photography of the extremes, however, many users are just looking for great everyday shots. Huawei certainly knows this, and with image stabilisation, autofocus and depth sensing integrating throughout their imaging system, users can look forward to standout images regardless of the circumstances.

However, Huawei’s XMAGE imaging system extends imaging even further, integrating eight different shooting scenarios across the platform. This includes True-To Life shots, Super Night, Telephoto Shot, Cinematic-like, Super Macro, Fine Portrait, Large-dynamic-range, and Snapshot, which means less worry about being able to capture an amazing photo and more focus on enjoying the photography experience.

It’s clear that the hard work taken on by Huawei through their XMAGE imaging system has paid off. If you are looking for a truly astounding photography experience that integrates both advances in hardware alongside user-friendly software, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro is the one for you.

Price and Availability

The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro is available in South Africa from all network providers and is priced from R24 999 for the 256 GB and R26 999 for the 512 GB. You can also purchase the smartphone from the HUAWEI online store.