Huawei Nova 3: First Camera Samples

Recently, we visited Cebu's Bantayan Island for vacation. On the side, I brought the new Huawei Nova 3 with me as my primary camera phone.

Dual cam at the back

The Huawei Nova 3 boasts an AI-assisted quad camera system. It include a 16MP16MP f/1.8 RGB sensor + 24MP f/1.8 monochrome sensor at the back and a 24MP f/2.0+ 2MP setup in front.

Dual cam in front

At the back, it has PDAF, contrast focus, Master AI, and LED flash. For selfies, It has Master AI, HDR Pro, and screen flash.

Like the lower-end Nova 3i, the AI is there to automatically detect scenes like blue sky, flower, plant, beach, sunset sunrise, cat, dog, food text, night snow, portrait, and more. Then it will automatically adjust the settings of your camera for the best shot possible.

The selfie camera has HDR pro on the other hand. It is designed to help you take well exposed selfies even if the shot is against the light.

Intriguing right? Here are the first few shots I took at the beautiful Bantayan Island, Cebu.

Camera Samples

Daylight 1

Daylight with AI

Daylight no AI

Another shot with no AI

2x zoom with AI

AI overcast

Aperture mode f/4.0

Lowlight cropped

Lowlight normal

Night mode long exposure with tripod

Daylight 1

Portrait with AI

Selfie stickers

Aside from its flagship grade design and specs, the new Nova 3 has really good cameras for the price too.

It shoots better photos than its lower-end sibling, the Nova 3i. To my eyes, it can compete even with some higher-end phones from other brands in terms of camera performance.

We believe that the cameras of this handset can even give some flagship phones a run for its money.

The AI could even help you take great shots even on auto mode. The AI could be too aggressive at times, but it is amazing when it works.

Shutter and focus speed is isn't as fast as the Mate 10 series and P20 series, but it is still decent in speed. If you are patient, it can even take shots with close to Mate 10 quality.

As expected, it has plenty of details, vibrant colors, and nice contrast most of the time.

Lowlight performance is decent on auto mode, but it can produce amazing night shots if you have a tripod. The pro mode is robust and the night mode is outstanding as usual.

It has no AIS yet though.

The dual selfie camera of this device is even better than the single selfie cam of the P20 to my eyes.

The HDR Pro on the selfie cam really works.

So far, the Nova 3 is so good. It could be the photography phone to beat for the price.

Stay tuned for our full test soon.

Let's see!

What do you think guys?