Honor Magic5 Pro Camera test

We put the Honor Magic5 Pro through our rigorous SBMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in photo, video, and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. This article breaks down how the device fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases and is intended to highlight the most important results of our testing with an extract of the captured data.

Overview

Key camera specifications:

• Primary: 50MP 1/1.12″ sensor, f/1.6-aperture lens, AF, OIS
• Ultra-wide: 50MP sensor, f/2.0-aperture lens, 122° field of view
• Tele: 50MP sensor, f/3.0-aperture lens, 3.5x tele, OIS
• Video: up to 4K resolution at 60fps

With a SBMARK Camera score of 152, the Honor Magic5 Pro is the new leader in our ranking. It also takes the No. 1 spot in the photo ranking, thanks to outstanding photo results across all light levels. In our tests, the Magic5 Pro shone particularly in our Friends and Family use case, using fast shutter speeds to freeze subjects in motion while capturing excellent detail and keeping noise levels low.

With excellent image quality across all ranges, the zoom performances were outstanding as well, with improvements over the previous model, which was already the best device we tested for this aspect.

The Magic5 Pro also did very well for video and is currently the best Android device for recording moving images. Video clips offered accurate exposure and low noise, but while stabilization was generally effective, frame shift was noticeable when panning or moving with the camera.

The Magic5 Pro’s camera hardware specifications are, apart from the chipset (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs Gen 1 on the Magic4 Ultimate), very similar to those of last year’s Honor flagship, which were already very impressive. The improvements on the new model are therefore a great demonstration of what’s possible with a new chipset, better software, and optimized tuning. It’s also worth mentioning that, unlike some flagship competitors, the Magic5 Pro does not feature a large 1″ sensor in the primary camera. However, thanks to a very fast aperture its light collection capacity is still impressive.

Given the Honor’s outstanding results in our testing, it makes sense to compare it more closely to some of the other currently best flagship phones: When pitched Cons the Google Pixel 7 Pro, both cameras delivered excellent results and were more or less on par in terms of photo and video quality in bright light as well as close and medium range zoom. However, the Magic5 Pro has an advantage in terms of ultra-wide and tele zoom in low light. It also comes with the slightly better video mode and delivers a more consistent still image performance under indoor light conditions and in low light, with faster shutter speeds, excellent HDR processing, and an outstanding texture/noise compromise. On the other hand, the Google Pixel 7 Pro has the edge in terms of color, across all camera modules and light conditions.

For many test attributes, the iPhone 14 Pro and Honor Magic5 Pro were on a very similar level but when shooting in low light or under indoor conditions, including with the ultra-wide camera, the Honor was the better choice. It also offered a much better tele zoom, especially at medium and long range. For dedicated smartphone videographers, the iPhone remains the undisputed number one option, though.

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro and Honor Magic5 Pro cameras were very close overall. In bright outdoor conditions, exposure, color and contrast were balanced in a very similar way. In these conditions, the Huawei’s variable aperture allowed for a wider depth of field in group shots and kept more subjects in focus. Under indoor lighting and in low light, the Mate 50 Pro’s more limited light collection capacity meant it needed slower shutter speeds than the Honor and was therefore less capable of freezing motion. Its texture/noise tradeoff was not quite as good as on the Honor either. However, the difference between the two devices was most noticeable in video mode. The Mate 50 Pro was the first Huawei device to come with HDR video. In our testing, this caused some issues, for example, exposure instabilities and higher levels of noise, that had a fairly significant impact on its video score.

For our Friends and Family use case, we assess both photo and video performance. In our tests, the Honor Magic5 Pro achieved the best result to date for photo and got close to the best for video. In terms of still images, our testers noticed several improvements over last year’s Magic4 Ultimate. The new model provided better contrast and skin color rendering. In addition, it was better at freezing motion, thanks to faster shutter speeds in daylight and indoor conditions. This made it easier to capture images with motion, for example, kids running around, pets or sports. The Honor Magic5 Pro also features an excellent bokeh mode with very good subject isolation.

In video mode, we noticed a significantly improved autofocus in all light conditions. Face exposure, contrast, and texture/noise tradeoff were all improved, too, resulting in overall better video quality when recording clips of friends or family.

The Honor Magic5 Pro set a new benchmark for low-light performance, delivering great results for photo, zoom, and video. Both low-light still images and video clips offered high levels of detail, good exposure and nice colors. In addition, the autofocus performed well in photo mode and the auto exposure system did well at retaining some of the low-light atmosphere while rendering the scene bright enough to not miss any detail.

When zooming in low light, the Honor came close to the very best devices we have seen. Zoom images offered a good tradeoff between exposure, detail and noise,  but some texture artifacts could be noticeable. The Apple iPhone 14 Pro remains the device to beat for low-light video, but the Magic5 Pro proved to be a real challenger, providing good contrast, nice face exposure and effective stabilization.

Test summary

About SBMARK Camera tests: SBMARK’s Camera evaluations take place in laboratories and in real-world situations using a wide variety of subjects. The scores rely on objective tests for which the results are calculated directly by measurement software on our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests in which a sophisticated set of metrics allow a panel of image experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo, Zoom, and Video quality are scored separately and then combined into an Overall score for comparison among the cameras in different devices. For more information about the SBMARK Camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores are available here. The following section gathers key elements of SBMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us  on how to receive a full report.

Still imaging on the Honor Magic5 Pro was significantly improved over the last generation of Honor devices, with better results for exposure, color, texture/noise and night shots. This includes portrait shots, which in our tests showed well-controlled contrast across all types of skin tones and light conditions, as well as generally nice skin colors. Some slight white balance and saturation issues were still noticeable but well within acceptable limits.

Zero shutter lag kicked in most of the time, allowing for pretty much immediate image capture when pressing the shutter button. Only in some high-contrast scenes was the feature not available, resulting in slower capture times. In terms of balancing texture preservation and noise reduction, the Honor was one of the best devices tested to date, and image noise levels were generally very low across all light conditions. Detail levels were high, but we also observed some instances of unnatural rendering of textures. The excellent texture/noise tradeoff extended to night scenes, which also showed very good exposure and contrast.

Close-Up

Close-up image quality was overall very similar to the Magic4 Ultimate, with only some minor differences in terms of corner softness. Overall, macro results were acceptable.

Exposure was one of the Honor’s strengths, thanks to excellent face exposure in portraits, target exposure in low light and very good highlight preservation in high-contrast scenes. Target exposure on faces was pretty well balanced across all skin tones and contrast was noticeably improved over the Honor Magic4 Ultimate.

In scenes with very strong contrast, the Honor protected highlights very well, even though tone compression was visible, but competitors such as the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max or Huawei Mate 50 Pro delivered a better tradeoff between contrast and highlight preservation.

Lab measurements were in line with what we saw in the perceptual evaluation of real-life scenes, with very good results all around. Contrast (Local Contrast Quality indicator) was improved over the Magic4 Ultimate. Entropy (measured on the backlit panel of our AF HDR and portrait HDR lab setup) was very good for all lighting conditions.

Color rendering was also very good, and again a noticeable improvement over the Magic4 Ultimate. Skin tone rendering was better across all types of skin tones. White balance was also very stable and accurate but occasionally slight casts could be visible.

Under indoor lighting and in low light, colors remained accurate and well-saturated. Thanks to improved contrast over the Magic4 Ultimate, saturation and overall color rendering were better as well.

In a small number of test scenes, our testers observed some white balance and color rendering issues, such as the lack of saturation in this image, which also had a negative impact on skin tones. This is why the Honor’s color score was not quite on the same level as the best in class for this attribute, such as the Google Pixel 7 Pro and Apple iPhone 14 Pro.

In our tests, the Magic5 Pro autofocus did a good job but, like on many other top-end devices with large image sensors and fast apertures, depth of field was limited. In group shots and other complex scenes, this means that objects behind or in front of the main subject can be rendered soft. We also noticed that zero shutter lag did not kick in in scenes with strong contrast.

In this scene, the two subjects were not in the same focus plane. In this kind of situation, the Honor’s limited depth of field resulted in the background subject being out of focus. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, which comes with a variable aperture, was capable of creating a wider depth of field and rendering both subjects in focus.

Honor Magic5 Pro images showed high levels of detail in all light conditions. This was particularly true for landscape and architecture shots. This said, our testers observed some slightly unnatural rendering of textures in a small number of samples, especially backlit portrait shots.

Motion blur was fairly well under control, thanks to pretty fast shutter speeds in daylight and indoor conditions. As a result, the Honor was capable of freezing subjects in motion, as long as the autofocus worked well and zero shutter lag kicked in.

Image noise was very well under control across pretty much all our test scenes, including daylight, high-contrast and night scenes, and overall the Honor Magic5 Pro was one of the best devices we have tested for this attribute. It was also one of the best in terms of texture/noise tradeoff. Considering the fast shutters speeds in daylight and indoors, this achievement was even more impressive.

Unwanted image artifacts were pretty well controlled on the Magic5 Pro. Color quantization and some fusion artifacts were the most noticeable effects. We also observed some hue shift, at acceptable levels, in scenes with very strong contrast.

The Honor’s bokeh mode was again among the best tested to date and on the same level as the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, thanks to very precise depth estimation, good detail and colors. Bokeh image quality remained high in low light. For some distances, the blur applied on the background was stronger than iPhone 14 Pro’s blur,  but this had no impact our evaluation because both levels of blur were acceptable.

Preview was good but not on par with the latest iPhone devices. When capturing high-contrast scenes, the iPhone preview image was much closer to the final capture in terms of dynamic range, but the Honor was on the same level as other top-end Snapdragon-powered devices. The Honor also applied a bokeh effect to its preview image when shooting in bokeh mode, but the differences to the capture were quite noticeable.

The Honor Magic5 Pro provided a noticeably improved zooming experience, from ultra-wide to long range tele, over the Magic4 Ultimate, making it one of the best devices for zooming in the market. With very similar camera hardware on the two models, these improvements are mostly down to software and tuning optimizations.

The Honor uses smaller image sensors than some of its competitors but compensates for some of this disadvantage in terms of light collection capacity with faster apertures. The ultra-wide camera performed very well, providing a wide field of view and very good image quality across all light conditions. Fine detail was rendered nicely at the center of the frame and remained well controlled across the frame, even though some loss of sharpness was noticeable towards the edges at the widest settings. HDR rendering and dynamic range were on par with the primary camera and noise levels were low. Overall this makes the Magic5 Pro’s ultra-wide camera the best we have tested to date.

The tele was also very good across all tele zoom settings, especially when shooting in bright light or indoors. In low light our testers noticed some unnatural rendering of detail but overall the Magic5 Pro came very close to the best in class for tele zoom (Honor Magic 4 Ultimate and Vivo X90 Pro Plus). The slight difference to the predecessor is mainly explained by the unnatural detail rendering in low light. Taking into account the Magic5 Pro’s improved video zoom capabilities, the device offered the overall most consistent zoom performance we have seen to date.

Video Zoom

Video zoom results were decent and also an improvement over the previous model. The level of captured detail was high across all tested zoom settings but noise could also be quite noticeable. We also observed some issues with zoom smoothness.

The camera provided very good results at the ultra-wide’s native focal length (measured at 13mm) and when slightly zooming in. Image quality was great in all light conditions, especially in bright light and indoors. In low light, noise levels remained low but we observed some unnatural rendering of detail. A wide dynamic range ensured good detail in both highlight and shadow areas of the frame, and only a few contrast issues were observed.

In low light the ultra-wide camera captures very good detail in architecture and landscape shots. The slight loss of sharpness we observed is in line with the best competitors in the Ultra Premium segment.

Tele image results were great as well, with good detail, low noise and a wide dynamic range. Landscape and architecture shots had very good image quality across all tele settings. In the lab indoor and low light samples measured very high for detail and showed low noise levels, but the overall score was impacted by some slight artifacts. Please note the samples below are only a small selection, we test a camera’s tele capabilities at more than 10 different focal lengths, from short tele to very long.

The Honor Magic5 Pro’s video mode was tested at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second. Our testing found the Honor to be the best Android smartphone for video, and the best device in SDR video format. However, it could not quite match the class leader, the iPhone 14 Pro.

Video was improved over the Magic4 Ultimate across all test attributes. Video noise was generally low in most light conditions, with accurate target exposure. Stabilization was an area with potential for improvement, with frame shift noticeable when panning or moving with the camera.

The Honor Magic5 Pro delivered good video exposure in most conditions. Dynamic range was wide in daylight and indoors, capturing good detail in both highlight and shadow areas of the frame. However, it wasn’t quite as wide as on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro, which is the current benchmark for video dynamic range, thanks to its outstanding HDR processing capabilities. Exposure transitions on the Honor were generally smooth but some stepping was often noticeable.

Color was generally accurate in indoor conditions and low light, but our testers sometimes observed a slightly cool color cast when recording in daylight and bad weather conditions. Other than that, color rendering was accurate and skin tones looked nice in most conditions. White balance transitions in changing light were generally smooth but slight instabilities could occur.

Video autofocus was smooth and did a good job at tracking subjects. In addition, it reacted quickly and accurately to changes in the scene.

In static scenes, the Honor’s video clips showed good detail, but some loss of fine detail was noticeable on moving subjects, particularly when recording in low light.

Video noise was pretty well under control in all light conditions. Noise mostly became noticeable in moving scenes or close to the edges of the frame. Overall, noise management was one of the Honor’s strengths in video mode, but it did not quite match the best-in-class iPhone 14 Pro.

Video stabilization was generally effective at counteracting camera motion, even walking while recording. However, running or panning resulted in noticeable frame shift in most light conditions.

Video artifacts were generally well under control but maze/moiré could often be noticeable on fine patterns, and the glass in front of the lens had a tendency to generate flare, which was sometimes visible on the faces of portrait subjects.