realme 14 Pro+ 5G First Photo Samples in Netherlands, Spain - Near flagship-level imaging
Alongside the OPPO Find N5 foldable and Xiaomi 14, one of the phones I carried for our MWC 2025 trip is the newly announced global realme 14 Pro+ 5G.
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| Is this the best mid-range camera phone? |
Why? Even if it is a mid-range smartphone, the device is equipped with strong camera specs and a 6,000mAh large two-day battery capacity.
realme 14 Pro+ Camera Specs
- Primary camera - 50MP f/1.8 Sony IMX898 w/ PDAF, OIS (24mm equivalent)
- Ultra-wide camera - 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (16mm equivalent)
- Zoom camera - 50MP f/2.65 Sony IMX882 periscope camera w/ OIS (73mm equivalent)
- Flash - MagicGlow Triple Flash w/ adjustable brightness and color temperature
- Selfie camera - 32MP f/2.0
- Video - Up to 4K 30fps recording (back and front)
realme claims that this smartphone is capable of shooting high-end-level photographs in different lighting conditions, even low light, has improved Portrait shooting capabilities, and up to 120x digital zoom thanks to its Triple Reflection Tetraprism tech.
I took photos with this phone in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Barcelona, Spain.
Let's see.
realme 14 Pro+ 5G First Photo Samples in BCN, Amsterdam - Near flagship-level imaging
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| 1x daylight |
One of the first images I took using this phone is from one of the iconic Jordaan canals in daylight.
This smartphone camera gave justice to the postcard-like scenery with near accurate colors, plenty of details, and minimal grain. The shot is warm with spot on dynamic range. As you can see, even the details on the reflections are crisp.
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| Ultra-wide daylight |
Even if it is just an 8MP shooter, the shot we took from the same spot using its ultra-wide camera remained crisp enough for most. The distortion is not that noticeable as well. The colors are more accurate on ultra-wide mode.
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| Ultra-wide to 1x |
Obviously, the 1x mode is better. But, look at the difference in colors in the image above.
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| Some shots from BCN |
More vibrant shots above. It could be a hit or miss. But at least, the 1x cam of this phone has great HDR.
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| 1x to 6x zoom daylight 1 |
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| 1x to 6x zoom featuring the Tower of Church |
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| Our hotel to Sagrada Família (10x zoom) |
For me, the zoom is crisp up to 239mm or 10x. After that, the quality will understandably dip little by little.
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| 60x, 120x zoom |
To those who are wondering, it has up to 120x digital zoom. Don't expect the quality of its 60x and 120x zoom to be great. The purpose of this feature is to allow users to see what the naked eye can't see at those distances.
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| Almost nighttime shot using its primary camera |
Even if it is getting darker, shots are not grainy. It actually emphasized the shadowy HDR-like effect that time, which is nice.
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| Portrait of our friend Gian (Gadget Pilipinas) while partying inside a Barcelona club |
The other advantage of having a nice zoom camera is you can take Portraits with more accurate proportions. Yes, even in low light.
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| Dry-aged Galician steak (Rubia Gallega), arguably the best beef in the world (3x zoom) |
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| Coke Zero in Barcelona |
As expected, it is good for taking food shots using the zoom camera. Again, crisp details even in dimmer lighting conditions. The natural background blur on our Spanish Coke Zero snap looks good as well.
While this may be a downside for some, it's slightly more saturated output may help those who are lazy in editing their images before uploading on social media.
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| More low light samples |
Going back to low light shots, I love how crisp and capable it is, especially the primary camera. Look how little the noise is and the way the camera sensor handled lights and exposure.
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| It has a light painting mode too |
For those with steady hands or a tripod, you can enjoy playing around with its lighting painting mode.
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| Ultra-wide vs main cam in low light |
The primary camera produced some of the best night shots on a mid-range smartphone. Thankfully, even if it has a lower-end sensor, the ultra-wide camera is still respectable and good.
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| Selfies in Fira, BCN and Jordaan, Amsterdam |
AND thankfully, realme did not forget about selfies. It has some beautification going on by default, but its selfie camera won't make you look like a different person with a lighter skin tone. The details are crisp and the field of view is wide enough for groufies.
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| Portrait selfie in the dark |
I also tried the Portrait mode in the dark, and its edge detection is not bad. There are some minor details lost, but it retains my natural skin tone.
Note: What I forgot to try during the trip is the MagicGlow Triple Flash with adjustable brightness and color temperature. If it really worked, it would have helped us in taking even more impressive portraits.
Our thoughts
My first few days using the realme 14 Pro+ 5G for photography are fun. Knowing that this will come with a competitive price tag, I can't help but feel excited for those who will purchase this as their camera or content creation phone starting March 20.
It is one of the most capable camera phones for photography in different situations. On my end, I enjoyed using it on my last quick trip to Amsterdam to take some touristy photos.
I will be trying it out in the next few days for our camera comparison with another mid-range phone. Stay tuned.
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