I Captured my Korea Trip with only the HUAWEI Mate20 Pro (video)

I captured my Korea trip using only the HUAWEI Mate20 Pro and without any gimbal or electronic stabilizer. Many years ago, if you asked me to use only a smartphone to film or take pictures for a family trip, I would give you that stare and ask if you are crazy.

Just to be clear, I brought my DSLR, compact camera, a few other phones for the trip. However, as the saying goes, the best camera is the one that is nearest to you. And the HUAWEI Mate20 Pro is always with me, and the 4,200 mAh of battery helps a lot.

At first, I wanted to use a variety of equipment to capture the trip. After just one day (or less), I decided that the Mate20 Pro is the main device for everything (pictures and video).

Check out the video I made on the entire trip. This version is compressed into less than 9 minutes with 10 days worth of videos.

Video

Huawei has greatly improved on the video stabilization but it is not perfect. For example, if I use it at 4K resolution, the stabilization is not able to make it.

And in low light condition, jello will appear in the video. Some of the low light videos are unusable due to this.

However, the game changer is definitely the wide angle lens. With the wide angle, everything looks nice. I am able to capture cinematic clips during the trip.

That is just half of the story. The HUAWEI Mate20 Pro takes great pictures too. Check out these sample pictures from the trip. They are resized with zero edits except for the watermark.

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Pictures

The pcitures from the HUAWEI Mate20 Pro are awesome. Using the Master AI, it switches to the optimum condition for the scenes.

Of course, some of them have to be done manually. For example, the Night Mode.

Night Mode

The lava cave is very dimly lited. I can say that without Night Mode, it is impossible to take any pictures in it (PS: Using flash will be too harsh and it will not be able to capture the background details).

The Night Mode can be used during daylight too. This statue is against a strong backlight. Usually you will just get silhouette of the statue. With Night Mode, it balances out the image.

Food

Taking food pictures is a breeze. Point and shoot. Period.

Wide Angle

This is the gem on the Mate20 Pro. The Wide Angle really helps to make the picture better. Sometimes, if space is a constraint, wide angle helps too.

This an example of without and with wide angle.

Without Wide Angle

With Wide Angle

Portrait

Using AI, the camera “adds” in the Depth of Field in the picture. I really love it. There is no jazzed edges on the main subject. Everything is perfect.

Optical Zoom

Love the Optical Zoom. With 3x optical zoom, you can frame your subject without losing details.

Aperture Mode

This is used when the subject is an object. The Master AI will automatically determine and switch it on. However, if it does not, you will need to switch it manually. No big deal, actually.

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Macro Mode or Close Up

I love the macro mode. Now, with HUAWEI Mate20 Pro, it can get even closer.

HDR Mode

I have forgotten if this is HDR or Night Mode. Nevertheless, please experiment with the different modes and you will be surprised with the results.

Candid Shots

Using a smartphone, it is less intimidating for the people around you. They tend to be more natural.

PS: If you are the person in the picture and do not want to be shown on this blog, please drop me a message.

Summary

The HUAWEI Mate20 Pro becomes my main camera for pictures and video during this trip. Of course, it is difficult to replace the DSLR now. However, based on the results, I am sure it is getting near.

My friends commented that regardless of which camera we used, the results are the most important. If you like it, that device (smartphone, DSLR, Compact) will be the best camera.

I totally agree with them. Let me know what you think.