There is an adage that says, “the best camera is the one that you always carry with you”.
Mobile photography has evolved to the point where smartphones sport more than just 1 camera. With the advent of multi-lens camera, mobile photography has changed for the better. It enabled mobile photographers to express their ideas through the lens of their camera phones and to treasure their precious memories.
Let’s have a test, shall we? We have 3 of the hottest midrange smartphones in the market – Huawei Nova 5T, OPPO Reno and Samsung Galaxy A70. We took a bunch photos using these smartphones to see which one is the better all-around device that can adapt to most shooting conditions.
Let’s see!
Test 1: Detail, Color, and Texture.
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
For this test, we took a photo of a set of plush toys with different colors. While all three were able to get fairly close with the real thing in terms of color, I’d hand the point to the Nova 5T here, as it was able to output better texture and detail over the A70, not to mention that the latter looks a bit underexposed too. Score
Nova 5T – 1, A70 – 0, Reno – 0
Test 2: Sharpness and Edge Detection
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this photo of markers in a glass, the photo taken by the A70 shows just a bit of overprocessing on the edges. Both the Reno and Nova 5T were able to capture the edges without any signs of such, so I’ll give a point to each.
Nova 5T – 2, A70 – 0, Reno – 1
Test 3: Detail
Nova 5T
Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this photo of a bowl of Ramen, all three were able to capture good detail as far as everything in the bowl is concerned, but the OPPO Reno was also able to capture the intricacies of the paper.
Nova 5T – 3, A70 – 0, Reno – 2
Test 4: Up Close
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this close up photo of a model kit, the Photo taken by the Reno has a sort of sepia tone, while the Nova 5T’s AI thought it would be better to give it a darker exposure. The A70 on the other, straight up veiled out the photo with a whitish filter. In this case, I’d give the point to the Nova 5T, as it was able to capture good color and detail with just the right exposure to make the subject stand out.
Nova 5T – 4, A70 – 0, Reno – 2
Test 5: Depth of Field
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this photo of delicious Mango Gelato, both the Nova 5T and the OPPO Reno were able to create a decent depth of field effect, but at the cost of accuracy. The Galaxy A70 on the other hand, managed to precisely “separate” the subject from the background, and retain good sharpness in the edges. It’s also able to retain a good level of texture.
Nova 5T – 4, A70 – 1, Reno – 2
Test 6: Up Close, Again
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
Again, the Galaxy A70 shows its prowess in producing a refined depth of field while showcasing good edge detection. The other two are good at the former, but tends to unnecessarily smudge parts of the edges. Look at the right side.
Nova 5T – 4, A70 – 2, Reno – 2
Test 7: Outdoor, Detail, Texture
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this outdoor shot, the OPPO Reno once again seems to put a sort of Sepia or warmer tone to its photo. The Galaxy A70 on the other hand, puts a contrasting cool tone. The Nova 5T’s AI went too aggressive and overly enhanced the green colors. All were able to capture good detail, but I’d have to go with the A70 here, for its more neutral output.
Nova 5T – 4, A70 – 3, Reno – 2
Test 8: 2x Zoom
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
At 2x Zoom, the Nova 5T beats the other two at preserving detail. Simply zoom in a bit, and you’ll see that photos taken by the Reno and the A70 appear to be already washed out in some parts.
Nova 5T – 5, A70 – 3, Reno – 2
Test 9: Night
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
When it comes to night shots, the OPPO Reno is the one that demonstrates mastery of taming background light sources. It also shows good sharpness in edges, and exposure control while keeping details in check. The other two ain’t far behind, but the Nova 5T’s AI seems to do a ton of over-processing that the leaves on the lower right section ended up looking like the smudge tool has been used on them.
Nova 5T – 5, A70 – 3, Reno – 3
Test 10: Night, Again
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
In this other night shot, the point goes to the Galaxy A70, for showing a complete balance of detail and sharpness. The OPPO Reno comes very close, but again, that orange/sepia tone that it puts onto its shots just kills what should be a great looking photo.
Nova 5T – 5, A70 – 4, Reno – 3
Test 11: Selfie
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
OPPO Reno
While detail is excellent on all three, the selfie taken by the Nova 5T looks a bit too yellowish in tone, the one taken by the Galaxy A70 looks overexposed, and the one taken by the OPPO Reno looks more natural.
Nova 5T – 5, A70 – 4, Reno – 4
Test 12: Coverage
Huawei Nova 5T
Samsung Galaxy A70
If you’re wondering why the OPPO Reno isn’t included in this category, that’s because it doesn’t have a wide-angle lens to begin with. In any case, the both the Nova 5T and the Galaxy A70 are able to take more subjects into the frame in wide-angle mode, but the latter shows a ton of distortion on the side.
Nova 5T – 6, A70 – 4, Reno – 4
Verdict
Final Score:
- Huawei Nova 5T – 6 pts.
- Samsung Galaxy A70 – 4 pts.
- OPPO Reno – 4 pts.
While all three phones have great cameras in their own right, the Nova 5T bests the two in a surprisingly close fight, and is the better all-rounder of the three. It’s not perfect of course, as there are areas that where the A70 and Reno will shine. Point is, if we had one phone to take, that would fit most shooting situations on a daily basis, that is the Huawei Nova 5T.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
