I’m old enough to remember the days when mobile phones didn't come with integrated cameras. When they finally did, it’s nowhere near anything we would call photography. Everyone used to carry a pocket digital camera (remember those?) when travelling, which is at least clear enough for us to recognise who’s who in the picture.
Ah, the good old days.
Ever since the advent of smartphones in the late 2000s (which was still out of reach for many then), we now don’t even blink twice at how smartphone cameras today are above and beyond compared to the digital cameras of yore. Might we dare say that amateurs such as myself can now take images comparable to those taken on DSLRs by professionals?
Megapixels what?
In the blink of an eye, we now see the trend of “megapixels” being thrown around as a measurement of camera quality. As photography enthusiasts ourselves, we know that while megapixels do contribute to overall image quality, it’s definitely much more than that.
It is with this thought that realme decided to perfect the art of photography via exploration of what makes a great camera great. Specifically, how do megapixels fare against superior camera technology?
Their latest smartphone addition, the realme 9 Pro+ 5G, promises to deliver a fantastic flagship-level smartphone experience without an outrageous price tag.
The realme 9 Pro+ 5G claims the best-in-class camera system for mid-range smartphones and it’s not a claim without merit. To start, it features the Sony IMX766 camera sensor. When combined with an optical stabilisation system (OIS), it’ll produce fantastic photography even when compared with a phone having twice its megapixel count.
Low-light conditions are when its camera system shines the best. Equipped with large sensors, they allow for greater detail to show up. The overall image-shooting process is further supported by the camera’s OIS to ensure sharper images, even when pictures are taken in the dark.
Aside from its reasonable specifications and build, another outstanding feature for this phone, in its class, is its clear 90hz screen for buttery smooth visuals. Expect amiable performance that’s capable of running even the most demanding mobile games.
Moreover, the realme 9 Pro+ is optimised for 5G connectivity; another phone that’s future-proofed for the years to come.
realme: “Dare To Dream” For Real
realme is still relatively a young brand, having sprouted only in 2018 from one of the most notable smartphone brands around, starting as a sub-brand that offers budget phones with unparalleled performances. Within a month, realme released their first phone - realme 1, which is quite a feat in mobile phone history.
Soon after, realme decided to establish itself as an independent brand.
Very quickly, realme became well known as a very competitive value smartphone brand internationally, surpassing even bigger smartphone brands in key markets such as India. In recent years, they have proved to not only be competitive in terms of pricing but also dominant when it comes to technologies in their products.
From what we have experienced, the promise is likely true, as we were given the chance to experience its outstanding camera performance and image quality. We’re keen to see its journey in narrowing the gap between premium flagships and budget options than ever before.
For instance, the newly-released realme 9 Pro+ 5G is a mid-range smartphone that boasts an advanced camera system so great that you don’t have to spend a fortune on a top-of-the-line flagship smartphone just for fantastic photography.
Is it really what it claims to be? How can the realme 9 Pro+ 5G “dare to dream” that they can dominate the phone photography industry? Thinking through it, we can understand how with our breakdown here.
1. Technology Quality: Very Important
For those who aren’t familiar with it; not every smartphone component is built by the brands themselves, although some utilise their own proprietary technology more than others.
Components such as modems and processors are often sourced from Intel, Qualcomm (of Snapdragon fame) or Mediatek. For smartphones, Samsung is one of the top manufacturers of smartphone displays in the world. It is to the point where even most iPhone displays are Samsung-made.
As for camera components, one company proved dominant over the rest - Sony. Particularly, their powerful IMX camera sensors have been constantly dubbed the “flagship killer”. That, coupled with modern technology such as Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), are the real secret sauce to great photography, even ahead of megapixel (MP) count.
2. Camera: Not Everything
Cameras are essentially light-capturing devices. In the olden days, film cameras captured lights and translated them onto negative films. Meanwhile, digital cameras were the pioneer in using a combination of lenses, electronics and sensors to record lights, then converted into digital files that you can view later on screen. (Learn more: Howstuffworks did a fantastic job explaining how it works for those of you who are curious.)
It is for this reason that low-light photography has always been so challenging on phone cameras as they are becoming niftier and quicker which allows only so little light in. Longer exposure to light is needed in order for the camera to capture details. If you don’t allow enough time to “open” your camera, the result is always guaranteed to be a blurry mess.
3. Megapixel (MP): Also Not Everything
Most smartphone manufacturers market this as the definitive metric to measure the quality of their cameras. To be frank, megapixel is a measurement of the camera resolution or in short, how detailed the picture is. A low megapixel camera will definitely suffer in image clarity. On the contrary, at best, a high megapixel camera probably only helps you zoom better.
Additionally, this may not apply to all smartphones, but some manufacturers are known to artificially bump up their MP count on their budget devices and apply sharpening techniques afterwards to make their image sharper. While this may not be noticeable since not many users take very zoomed-in shots, you’ll see the difference once you do.
4. Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS): Key To Perfecting Stable Shots
Stabilisation is a technology made to fix shaky images and videos. There are digital and optical systems (or you could always get a bulky gimbal), with optical stabilisation being the better of the two. What it does is it tries to minimise movement when you shoot, so if you ever take a picture or shoot a video while running, it won’t look like you’re trying to escape an earthquake.
This can be very apparent especially when you’re shooting in low-light conditions when the camera needs more time to capture a single moment. Even with just micro-movements from your hands, it might turn the final image into a blurry mess without OIS.
5. Camera Sensors + the Sony IMX766: Lovebirds
Digital cameras rely on special electronic sensors (they call it CMOS) to translate lights into beautiful images, and the king among them is none other than Sony.
The best of these highly coveted Sony sensors, the IMX766, is exactly what you’d find on the realme 9 Pro+ 5G smartphone. After diving into everything mentioned beforehand, we can understand how realme will confidently prove its claims.
Increasingly, camera sensors have become one of the most important factors when deciding on a better camera, and for a good reason. Again, larger sensors (and diameter of lens) allow bigger dynamic colour ranges and clearer images, especially in low lighting conditions - and this is a fact shared by many in the industry.
6. Software Improvements: Back-end Support
Just like how having an expensive pen does not make you a better writer, a great camera system also does not make you a better photographer. Well, that is, unless you have great software to improve your shortcomings (or hide your flaws).
Modern smartphone cameras are usually equipped with great software to turn a seemingly dull image into a National Geographic level of quality. The tech behind it essentially understands the context of the picture by applying colour correction and necessary effects, all within microseconds of you clicking the shutter button.
This brings us to the realme UI; it’s there to aid an incredible job and make sure pictures that you take will look fantastic. For instance, on AI mode, it automatically recognizes the scene and applies the necessary adjustments so your images will look the best they can be, all without needing you to fiddle with any complicated setting.
The inclusion of HDR processing also allows the phone to retain details in parts of an image that would normally be lost due to overexposure (you know, when the image is too bright) or underexposure (when the image is too dark).
Rising Star - realme 9 Pro+ 5G
realme is promoting their latest smartphone, the realme 9 Pro+ 5G, as the new king of mid-range smartphones. The phone’s camera system will be one of the first to include both a superior Sony sensor together with a fantastic OIS system.
As tech journalists, we remain sceptical about any claims until we can prove them ourselves. Lucky for you readers, we’ve got the chance to play with the realme 9 Pro+ 5G.
Looking at the phone, we have to say it is a very elegant piece of engineering wonder. At first glance, the back of the phone is a mesmerising, photochromatic back that displays a gradient of colours depending on the angle you’d look at it from. Covering the phone with anything other than a clear case would be criminal.
On the inside, the realme 9 Pro+ 5G has pretty much what you’d expect from a mid-range smartphone, if not better. It seems to operate very well for a device of its price range, notably for its HDR-capable 90hz screen and satisfactory gaming performance.
And that’s all before you consider its star - the camera.
Cameras Compared (Sample + Review)
For the sake of comparison, we took another midrange smartphone with an allegedly inferior camera sensor, but with a 108MP camera, which is double the megapixel count of the realme 9 Pro+ 5G’s 50MP setup.
To achieve a comprehensive test, our images are taken in a variety of scenarios using both devices at the same time. A gentle reminder; everyone’s photography preferences are different, so we’ll let you be the judge of which image is better.
Based on the images above, we find that in good lighting conditions, images from the phones showed great quality. Again, it’s really up to your preference, but we are largely satisfied that the realme 9 Pro 5G+ was able to achieve great details with suboptimal lighting conditions. At its best, it almost seemed as if the images were taken at different times during the day.
To us, it’s also noticeable that the realme 9 Pro+5G’s night shots are visibly sharper with better detail retention, as compared to the other “high MP” camera which is significantly more blurry and with more image noise. The sky captured by the realme 9 Pro+ 5G was lit perfectly while the other looked as if we shot it with a dirty lens.
We will attribute this feat mainly to the difference in the capabilities of the camera sensors. The Sony IMX766 in the realme 9 Pro+ 5G is able to capture more light and therefore acquired more details, as compared to the other device, especially in the darker sections.
The images above, believe it or not, was taken by hand and not with the help of any tripod. We were generally amazed as it really shows how powerful and acute the optical image stabilisation on the realme 9 Pro+ 5G is.
Having OIS will immensely be one of the most helpful support as micro-movements in your hands would usually cause blurry images. Since the camera needs more time to “catch light”, an issue that the OIS is key in mitigating.
Trivia: That’s also one of the reasons why camera flash takes sharper (but artificial looking) images.
Conclusion
With this, we can safely say that we are close to ending the belief and dependency on megapixel superiority. While we would still love to have high megapixel cameras in the future, it wouldn’t be any good if it doesn’t come with an equally high-performing image sensor.
If anyone (of us) was not a believer of such a concept in the past, at least we’ll say that we do now with the realme 9 Pro+ 5G. At this point, we’re excited to see more from realme on visioning their achievements with this breakthrough.
The realme 9 Pro+ 5G will officially be available for sale on 9 March 2022 at RM1,399. Interested users and fans can purchase each unit from selected online retailers. Additionally, catch a live glimpse of the phone on realme Malaysia’s Official Facebook Page here.
[This post is made in collaboration with realme Malaysia.]