HONOR unveiled the new Magic5 Pro flagship in Barcelona at MWC 2023. The new high-end device has new tricks, design refinements, and a big hardware upgrade. The Magic5 Pro is equipped with the latest and the greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, comes with a triple 50MP camera setup, a large and colorful 6.81-inch LTPO OLED panel, and a 5,100mAh battery with support for 66W fast wired charging.

While we’re working around the clock to review the Magic5 Pro in-depth, we thought you might be interested in the camera performance in normal conditions, and spoiler alert… It’s magical indeed!

You might also be interested in our HONOR Magic 5 Pro first impressions: Magic meets beauty

Before we start, here are the specifications for the camera setup on the Magic5 Pro. The primary lens has a 50MP 1/1.12-inch sensor with f/1.6 aperture. It’s 23mm wide, and has laser autofocus, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), and PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus)

HONOR Magic5 Pro: Rear camera specifications

The secondary camera is a 50MP ultrawide with f/2.0 aperture. It’s a 13mm lens with 122-degree of FoV (Field of View) with autofocus. The third is yet another 50MP periscope telephoto sensor with f/3.0 aperture. It’s a 90mm lens with PDAF, OIS, capable of 3.5x optical zoom. There’s also digital zoom, which maxes out at 100x. As you’d expect, the device combines EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) with OIS to provide the best of both worlds.

There are several scene detection modes built in, such as AI Motion Sensing Capture, AI photography, the ability to shoot Super Macro, Smile capture, time-lapse, and the whole nine years. It has all the features you’d expect from a modern smartphone, and everything is neatly packed in the circular camera island on the back. Then there's also the Magic Take feature, which allowed HONOR to go as far as capturing a new Guinness World Record, we'll be taking a look at this in our upcoming review.

HONOR Magic5 Pro: Front camera specifications

When it comes to the front-facing camera, the Magic5 Pro packs a 12MP f/2.4 camera. There’s an additional 3D Depth sensor, enabling you to unlock the device just by looking at it, which provides a more comfortable unlocking experience. For those wondering, the fingerprint sensor is still here, making it excellent for occasions when you have to wear a mask.

This is a quick overview and first impressions of what the HONOR Magic5 Pro’s camera setup is capable of. We’ll provide more in-depth information in our upcoming review. Stay tuned to Pocketnow to read the full review when it becomes available.

Primary camera

The primary camera delivers excellent daylight photos, and it’s quite consistent as far as color reproduction, sharpness, and dynamic range go. The 50MP main camera captures impressive photos with plenty of detail, sharpness, and color, and I like that it doesn’t overcompensate anywhere.

The primary camera is well-balanced, with great dynamic range, excellent highlights, and shadows. During daylight, the camera captures impressive photos. The colors appear to be a bit oversaturated to my liking, but it’s not to the point where it looks like a completely different shade. The above photos were captured using the 12.6MP resolution, the sensor’s binned output.

Portrait photos can sometimes appear underexposed, but the level of detail, colors, and sharpness are excellent. The bokeh effect is convincing and can be customized to your liking in the settings. The dynamic range applies correctly, and you get the images you expect. Whether you’re taking photos of your coffee cup or a tree, it will be excellent and ready to be shared with friends on social media.

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera is excellent during the day, with plenty of detail and great colors. However, if there’s one thing that immediately becomes clear is that the dynamic range suffers a bit. As a result, there is some slight color inconsistency between the ultrawide and primary cameras, and the photos will sometimes appear underexposed with increased shadows. It’s not a big issue, but it’s something that needs to be factored in if you’re going for the perfect shot.

Focus didn’t appear to be an issue when taking them, but some have come out too soft when viewing on a large display. There’s no wide-angle distortion, most photos have punchy colors, and although they’re a bit on the contrasty side, they’re excellent and high quality. Only when you zoom in you’ll see softer images than the primary sensor, but it doesn’t appear to be a massive problem for the most part.

Telephoto camera

The telephoto periscope camera provides excellent overall results and matches the main sensor's color production. It has fantastic dynamic range, color production, exposure, and detail, and the 3.5x zooming capability is handy when you can’t get any closer to your subjects.

The objects are always clear, with plenty of detail and sharpness, and I haven’t experienced any issues. Even with my shaky hands, I was able to capture fantastic results in broad daylight, and you this is likely my phone of choice for taking photos of far-away objects.

There’s also a toggle for 10x zooming, and although it relies on digital zoom and the telephoto camera, the results are impressive and excellent. The only slight nitpick is that this sometimes struggles to focus on objects, resulting in blurry photos.

If you can take an extra second to focus and stabilize yourself, it will almost always result in excellent images, but for those like myself, who have shaky hands, it could be an issue. Luckily, EIS and the built-in OIS do a great job, and a little shakiness will not ruin the shot. That being said, if you want to use the 10x zooming feature, I would suggest using a tripod.

First impressions

It’s worth remembering that these are only first impressions, and I’ll go more in-depth in the full review. Stay tuned to Pocketnow, so you don’t miss the more in-depth article when it goes live!

Generally speaking, the three 50MP sensors are excellent and provide beautiful photos in daylight conditions. The primary camera is a big step up, in terms of quality, and it’s hands down one of the best camera smartphones I’ve tested so far in 2023. It captures plenty of details, excellent dynamic range, and shadows without overexposing subjects. It’s a true flagship camera with the hardware and optimization to prove it.

The portraits offer excellent bokeh effects and great object detection. We like the colors and that it doesn’t overexpose the background. The ultrawide sensor is also excellent, and while it’s not perfect, it offers balanced and fine detail with minimal loss of sharpness.

The telephoto sensor is one of the best I’ve tested to date, and it’s impressive. It’ll be interesting to see how it copes in low-light conditions, and we’ll include plenty of samples in the upcoming review.

Last year’s HONOR Magic4 Pro was one of the best camera smartphones on the market in 2022, and at first glance, it seems like the Magic5 Pro will easily dethrone its successor. The new camera setup and the new AI features play a major role in enhancing the image quality. HONOR went the extra mile to prove that it’s just as good, if not better in some areas, than the popular flagship devices from other manufacturers. I’m excited to see HONOR take its flagship phone to the next level, and I can’t wait to share my conclusions in the full review, coming soon.