Huawei Mate 9: Blogging to go thanks to powerful front camera
16.6.2017
Translation: machine translated
An SLR camera is not always better for blogging. A razor-sharp front camera on your mobile can make your life much easier. For example, reporting on the move.
"Which mobile should I buy?" That's the question I was recently confronted with. Not quite as tech-savvy as I am, I let others make the decision for me. The only requirements:
- The device must be affordable
- The front camera must meet the requirements of a beauty blogger
So I hit up a few fellow bloggers and asked for their recommendations. The result: The Huawei Mate 9 with its Leica camera was mentioned quite often. The next thing I remember is the order confirmation in my mailbox.
Until now, I always took the pictures for my blog and the associated social media channels with my Nikon D5200. Unfortunately, that's not always practical. Especially not when I'm travelling and want to report spontaneously from there via social media. This is where the mobile comes into play, where I want to show off a sharp and colour-true end result despite using the front camera. With 8 megapixels, the Huawei Mate 9 leaves everything I've used so far behind. The regular camera has 12 megapixels.
A new era begins
Mission of changing mobile phones a success: no more blurred make-up pictures despite using the front camera. This aspect was particularly important to me for games such as live functions on Facebook or Insta stories (the Instagram equivalent of Snapchat). After all, my viewers need to see whether a foundation is settling in the pores, looks cakey or blotchy. Soft focus and blurry filters, such as those available in beauty mode (beautify function) in the Mate 9, are of no use to anyone except me and my ego. And since the camera app that Instagram has built into its app leaves a lot to be desired anyway (a hint of milky-washed out), it's not necessarily an advantage if the mobile phone camera is also weak. Towards the end of our time together, the performance of my last mobile phone camera deteriorated considerably, which meant that the pictures taken with the front camera outside of the Instagram app came out washed out and not true to colour.
But those days are now over. The front camera of the Huawei Mate 9 is simply fantastic and shows every pore - even if this is not to everyone's advantage. However, if you don't want that, you can press the aforementioned Beautify button at any time and the imperfections in your complexion are gone. Of course, I use the main camera for still life pictures. You can see the photos and stories I've taken and filmed with my mobile on my Instagram page.
Settings in Pro mode
Exposure metering, ISO value, shutter speed, exposure compensation, autofocus mode and white balance - all adjustable in Pro mode. However, unlike with the SLR camera, the latter does not allow you to measure the white balance yourself, but gives you the choice between five modes and the setting to adjust the colour temperature. This bothers me a little, as the white balance is really important for my bright, true-colour pictures.
The thing about depth
You can also "build" depth of field into a photo and even change the focus afterwards. However, I am absolutely not a fan of this setting option. I think that you can clearly see from the photo that the blur was "artificially" created using a filter. And since I like to show pictures with a nice depth of field on my blog, I prefer to stick to my digital SLR camera from a blogging perspective.
Heavy bones
A really significant problem with this mobile phone: at 190 grams (excluding the case), it's extremely heavy to hold. What's more, with a screen diagonal of 5.9'' (14.98 cm), I can't use the mobile phone with one hand under any circumstances. My hands are simply too small. What helps a little: a popsocket. Without it, taking photos with the front camera would be impossible for me, even if I used the volume control on the side to take the photo. The mobile would fall right out of my hand. Taking a decent photo of yourself could therefore fail due to the weight and size of the camera, but not due to the camera quality.
Conclusion
I now almost only use my mobile phone camera out of convenience and then edit the pictures on my PC. Simply because I can do it now. Of course, it's not quite the same as with an SLR, especially when it comes to beautiful depth of field. That's why I only use my mobile phone for my social media pictures. For the blog - if only because the investment has already been made - it can be the Nikon after all.
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Natalie Hemengül
Senior Editor
Natalie.Hemenguel@digitecgalaxus.chAs a massive Disney fan, I see the world through rose-tinted glasses. I worship series from the 90s and consider mermaids a religion. When I’m not dancing in glitter rain, I’m either hanging out at pyjama parties or sitting at my make-up table. P.S. I love you, bacon, garlic and onions.
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