In partnership with TECNO
It’s hard to think of a more vibrant and colourful place to test camera phones than London’s Notting Hill carnival. So how did the UKBFTOG group get on with the TECNO Camon 30 range of phones?
So what better setting to team up with members of the UK Black Female Photographers group to try out the latest TECNO Camon 30 series of phones, which boast the company’s next generation skin-tone recognition technology, the aptly named ‘Universal Tone.’
Developed in collaboration with scientists at leading international universities, Universal Tone sets a new benchmark for multi-skin tone imaging. TECNO is a market leader in this area because it’s products are designed specifically for emerging markets in Africa and Asia. Indeed the Chinese brand is the market leader in Africa with a 40% market share.
The Camon 30 range in more detail
- The 5G features a 50MP AF Eye-tracking selfie camera plus a 50MP rear camera with optical image stabilisation
- The 5G Pro adds an additional 50MP ultrawide lens plus 4K 60fps video
- The 5G Premier features Quad 50MP cameras, including a 3x optical zoom periscope lens
So how did TECNO handle Notting Hill carnival?
We joined the UKBFTOG photo walk on the sunday, which is designated as ‘family day’. Samples of all three models were available for four participants, so let’s see how they got on…
Rochelle
I had the privilege of using the TECNO Camon 30 Premier, which has quad 50MP lenses. I had heard about the quality of the high-performance camera so getting the chance to try it out at Notting Hill Carnival was a no brainer!
The camera has amazing quality and is easy to use. I especially loved using the portrait mode, which blurs the background. Most of my images came out perfect.
Sherion
I used the TECNO Camon Premier during our photo walk at Notting Hill carnival. I hadn’t planned to use it exclusively for the day but alongside my Canon EOS R6 and 24-70 mm lens. This was mainly because I didn’t know how well the phone would work and I didn’t want to miss any shots or change the way that I would normally shoot. But as the day went on I put away my camera and shot exclusively with the TECNO Camon because I was so impressed with it.
I loved the clarity of the shots and how well it picked up the available light. It’s so easy to switch quite quickly from one mode to another, for example portrait mode, which gives a beautifully shallow depth of field. I found myself switching from documentary style to street style portrait, all without having to change lenses.
I’m normally not a video person but again, with the ease of this phone and its controls, I found myself shooting the bands in one take as it was so simple to zoom in and out. The results looked professional and the sound quality was great, too.
Kiya
I used a TECNO Canon 30 Pro. The phone was simply incredible, really sharp and great at capturing natural skin tones. It was also really quick and the autofocus was similar to a ‘real’ camera.
The portrait mode was really good, though it did take a bit of texture from faces for a more polished look – so this might be good for some people who like to have a more ‘edited’ look but straight from the phone.
The biggest plus was definitely the great camera options, from wide, telephoto and portrait. Videos were not laggy and came out sharp even when zoomed in. The phone is slightly larger than I am used to, but overall I’d give a 9/10!
Corine
The camera on my TECNO Camon 5G delivered stunning portraits, beautifully preserving both intricate details and rich colours. To create the portrait of the girl below, I had to crop and enlarge the image significantly.
Impressively, the TECNO retained sharpness and detail, without any noticeable pixelation. I am impressed!
Further reading
Why the TECNO Camon 30 is perfect for all skin tones
AP partners with TECNO for Shot On CAMON Contest
