Lab – The Huawei P40 Pro and its very efficient ultra wide-angle module

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Despite the circumstances, we were able to use our photo lab to Review the Huawei P40 Pro. If he is gifted in all configurations, his ultra wide-angle module particularly appealed to us.

The Huawei P40 Pro was formalized a few weeks ago and represents the most high-end proposal of the manufacturer, except for the P40 Pro Plus which is not intended to be marketed in our latitudes. It is also equipped with a 6.58-inch OLED screen (1,200 x 2,640 pixels), a Kirin 990 SoC associated with 8 GB of RAM, or a 4,200 mAh battery with a wired load of 40 W and a wireless load of 27 W.

It is especially the photo configuration that interests us here. The P40 Pro has four sensors on its back: a wide-angle of 50 megapixels (f / 1.9), an ultra-wide angle of 40 megapixels (f / 1.8), a telephoto of 12 megapixels (f / 3 , 4), and a ToF sensor for depth.

An ultra wide-angle more gifted than that of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

During our tests, we were able to see the remarkable photographic performance of the camera, which we will have the opportunity to return to in other articles. For now, let's focus on the ultra wide-angle sensor of this P40 Pro, which is frankly convincing. We compared it to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, the other very high-end smartphone of the moment that went through our lab shortly before the P40 Pro.

For example, there is great sharpness in the center of the image, with the appearance of fine details that are not always visible with the S20 Ultra. We think for example of the two characters who dance (on the left) and whose facial features are distinguished, or the vertical lines of the card which are quite visible. Color management is also good.

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In low light, it is especially the entry and mid-range mobiles that are struggling. The most technically advanced smartphones generally manage to provide correct images, although the ultra wide-angle module is not really intended for night photography. At least that’s not its strength. With the P40 Pro, we are once again surprised by the richness of the details in the center of the image. The book is quite neat, as are the tarot cards, and there is not even electronic noise that can affect image quality. It’s pretty blatant when you compare the picture to that of the S20 Ultra. That said, it should not be forgotten that the module is not similar in the two cases, the focal length being comparable to 18 mm on the P40 Pro when it is equivalent to 13 mm on the S20 Ultra. The P40 Pro thus offers an aperture at f / 1.8, the S20 Ultra being content with f / 2.2.

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Impressive sharpness at the edge of the image

Showing a sharp image in the center is something most smartphones can do. But the difficulty is to transform the Review by having a satisfactory rendering on the edges. Suffice to say that the P40 Pro scores points in this area, with a rather stunning rendering, and even a fairly contained deformation. We feel that the manufacturer has worked on his automatic image retouching, especially as the night image is taken at ISO 3200, for an exposure time of 0.06 s and an aperture at f / 1.8. Obviously, it is this aperture which explains part of the glaring difference with the S20 Ultra, the latter only offering an aperture at f / 2.2.

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