Content
- Video review
- Equipment and design
- Software
- Camera
- Performance and Benchmarks
- findings
Smartphone prices have skyrocketed in recent weeksup. It seems unlikely that they will bounce back in the short term. And what to do if you want a smartphone with a cool camera, but there is simply nowhere to lay out 100,000 rubles? Tecno has an interesting option: its Camon 18 Premier is equipped with a 64-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel wide camera with gimbal stabilization and an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto camera. The goodies do not end there, and the price before and after the fall of the ruble does not change and is about 25 thousand rubles. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Let's figure it out.
Technical specifications of Tecno Camon 18 Premier
Network
2G, 3G, 4G
Firmware
Android 11 with HiOS 8.0
Screen
6.7″, 2400x1080 pixels, 20:9, AMOLED, 120 Hz, 240 Hz touch
Chipset
MediaTek Helio G96, 12 nm
CPU: 2 x A76 x 2.05 GHz + 6 x A55
GPU: Mali-G57MC
Ram
8 GB
ROM
256 GB
SIM and memory card
Triple tray: 2 x nano-SIM + microSD
Camera
Triple
Main: 64 MP (->16 MP), Samsung GW1, 1/1.72″, 0.8 µm (->1.6 µm), f/1.9, video recording 1440p@30fps
wide angle: 12 MP, OmniVision OV12D2Q, 1/2.43″, 1.4 μm, f/2.2, gimbal stabilization (gimbal), video recording 1080p@30fps
telephoto: periscope, 5x zoom, 8 MP, OmniVision OV08A10, 1/4.4″, 1 µm, f/3.4, video recording 1080p@30fps
Selfie
hole in the center, 32 MP (->8 MP), Samsung GD2, 1/3.4″, 0.8 µm (->1.6 µm), f/2.4, video recording 1440p@30fps
Battery
4750 mAh
Charging
USB Type-C, 33 W
Wireless interfaces
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS
NFC
Eat
Biometrics
Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
Sound
3.5mm headphone jack
Water protection
Not declared
Dimensions and weight
163.8 x 75.85 x 8.15 mm
201 g
Video review
Equipment and design
The delivery set for Tecno Camon 18 Premier is verypleasant: the smartphone itself, a 33-watt charger, a USB cable, a protective film, a silicone case, a needle for removing the SIM tray and documentation. I don't know why Tecno doesn't want to hire a couple of people who will stick films on phones at the factory, but the film does indeed lie in a box separate from the phone itself, which is somewhat unusual. But otherwise, everything is fine.
The smartphone is sold in Russia in two colors -light blue and dark blue-green. The second option replaces the "black classics" and looks no less solid, although not so boring. The DNS catalog still has a white Camon 18 Premier - but with an “out of stock” plate and no photo. Some kind of phantom, although Tecno has a different line of Phantom. The frame is made of plastic, but the back is made of frosted glass.
The location of the elements on the body is maximumstandard, there is nothing to even discuss. The fingerprint scanner, combined with the power button, works quickly, but not always accurately - sometimes you have to apply your finger repeatedly. Vibro here is simple, there is no stereo sound. Triple tray: you can insert two nano-SIMs and a microSD memory card at the same time.
The screen diagonal is 6.7″ - enoughsmall by the standards of Tecno, which actively produces 6.8″-6.9″ smartphones, but familiar to most users. The phone cannot be called either particularly shovel or compact; the dimensions are completely standard. There are no complaints about ergonomics. The edges in reality are not as flat as in the renders, so nothing sticks into your hand, and holding the phone is comfortable.
The display is excellent - bright, clear (2400×1080points), with maximum viewing angles, without obvious problems with color rendering. There is no DC Dimming option, because it is not needed here - the phone by default uses DC Dimming as almost the only method of controlling display brightness. In other words, there is almost no PWM here - and this is very cool for an AMOLED on a budget. Hertzovka 120 Hz is supported even in many games (although Google Play for some reason works at 90 Hz), touch – 240 Hz absolutely everywhere. When the battery charge is below 30%, the screen frequency is limited to 60 Hz, and there is no way to disable this. Strange implementation, but so be it.
Software
Tecno Camon 18 Premier runs on the sameHiOS firmware like other Tecno smartphones, but this device made me look at it differently. Because, probably, that before I saw it only in budgets. There, performance was in the first place, and HiOS did not cause any complaints. And in a phone of this level, I still want to see a neat, well-thought-out shell. Does the Tecno firmware meet these criteria? I think it's enough to look at the screenshots to answer this question:
In my opinion, HiOS looks much lessmodern than the software in Realme or Redmi smartphones. There are many more jambs of localization (why is one of the items set up written in caps, huh?!), as well as pre-installed "garbage" of our own design - such as Boomplay free audio streaming, T-Graffiti AR drawing tool and a TikTok clone called "Vskit" (exactly in Cyrillic ). Fortunately, most branded applications can be removed.
In addition, there are quite a few settings in the system - II specially screened them very carefully so that you do not think that I am hiding something. MIUI and Realme UI / ColorOS give much more freedom to their users. The desktop is almost not configured, the display is almost not configured. But the energy consumption parameters are a whole sea, Tecno worked this part well.
Cameras
So we got to the really, really cool part.Tecno Camon 18 Premier. I recall the main points that sound cool - 64 MP in the main camera, 12 MP wide with a gimbal (gimbal) and 8 MP periscope telephoto (5x). Upon closer examination, however, all sorts of nuances begin to emerge. For example, the main camera uses the Samsung GW1 sensor, which was already in the very first 64-megapixel smartphones. In width, an extremely strange OmniVision OV12D2Q sensor is used, which has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 - because of this, the vertical viewing angle of the main and wide-angle cameras is almost the same. Finally, the telephoto is based on the 8-megapixel OmniVision OV08A10, but at least there are no surprises in terms of aspect ratio. Its aperture is f / 3.4, this is a normal value for a periscope camera. See photo examples:
The main camera pleases - it really gives outhigh-quality result in good and, let's say, average conditions. Colors are usually quite close to true, although sometimes they "dance" a little. But at least there is no artificial contrast boost, as some manufacturers like. Although AI scene recognition is also here and constantly generates lulz, calling a spruce branch a pet, and the view from the window of a snow-covered city is a beach. But the width is completely unpresentable; shoots as if there are five megapixels, not twelve. On the contrary, there are no complaints about the periscope - shooting distant objects on the Tecno Camon 18 Premier is many times better than on any other smartphone in its price category (and most of the more expensive ones too).
With a lack of light, all cameras pass - the maindue to the relatively large sensor, not so much, and the width and periscope are of little use. As a partial solution, you can enable night mode. It really improves the detail, but at the same time it raises the exposure to the skies and turns on the oversharp. And in addition, the width of the distortion correction is turned off (in normal mode, there are no complaints about it); To be honest, this is the first time I've seen this. In general, pictures in night mode look strange, but if the main thing for you is information content, and not beauty, use it safely. I note that some of the algorithms that work in night mode would coolly allow you to pump automatic - and perhaps Tecno will do the same with updates. But it is not exactly.
All examples of photos and videos on the Tecno Camon 18 Premier camera
The situation with the video is contradictory.To begin with, due to the processor, 4K video recording is not supported. But traditionally for Tecno smartphones there is a 1440p@30fps mode with excellent detail. Here, very sensitive microphones are added to it, which transmit sounds well from all sides of the smartphone. True, only the main camera can shoot at 1440p, while the periscope and wide camera can only shoot at 1080p. And if you can switch to the periscope in the course of shooting, and the quality is good, then the shooting is carried out only separately and with poor detail.
But it is the width that is equipped with a cardan suspensionfor excellent stabilization and therefore cool video recording. And indeed, the stabilization in the wide video works flawlessly, the video sequence turns out to be absolutely smooth even when shooting with hands trembling from frost on the go. No shaking, no ghosting, no "drunk" camera effect. And it's a shame that this coolest stub is paired with OV12D2Q. I hope that along with the update to Android 12, the smartphone will receive improved algorithms for this strange sensor, since it is hard to believe that 12 megapixels can really shoot so badly.
32 MP front camera (Samsung GD2 sensor)good, no complaints about it. Selfie makes high quality, video in 1440p also writes great. There is a flash of a couple of diodes to make cute selfies at night. Well, or not very cute, as you're lucky.
Performance and tests
Hardware basis of Tecno Camon 18 Premier - chipsetMediaTek Helio G96. This is the very parameter due to which the manufacturer managed to keep a fairly low price for this smartphone, because the G96 is a rather cheap processor, which is inferior in performance to any Dimensity and even Helio G95. Well, at least it doesn’t throttle and heats up slightly:
But, on the other hand, MediaTek Helio G96 is notsuch a bad chipset, and it copes with most games with a bang. It is clear that in Genshin Impact you will have to reduce the graphics to low, in some other games, sacrifice a little settings. But in most titles you will be able to play without straining and with an excellent frame rate. Sometimes even at 120 fps, because the increased hertz works in many games. But the lack of stereo and the simplest vibro - this is something you can’t get rid of in the gameplay with this smartphone.
The battery in Tecno Camon 18 Premier seems to benot bad: 4750 mAh. But the battery runs out pretty quickly. For example, in two hours of showing a video on YouTube, the battery was discharged by 24% - I have not seen this on amoleds for a long time. Game hour (Shadowgun Legends) - minus 16%, this is already a normal figure. On average, it turns out about 5 hours of screen on a single charge, this is not so much, but almost any user will have enough for a full day. So I don't see a problem with that.
The bundled 33W charger is fast,A full charge takes just over an hour. At the same time, in 15 minutes a smartphone can be charged by almost a third, and in half an hour - up to 59%. 90% are recruited in 50 minutes. Wireless charging is not supported. Of the little things, I note a full-fledged proximity sensor and a solid amount of memory: 8 + 256 GB. A quarter of a terabyte in a smartphone for the money is powerful. There is also NFC, and with the MirPay application and the MIR card, you can pay for purchases using a contactless method.
Conclusions
Tecno Camon 18 Premier - very ambitioussmartphone, and not everywhere the manufacturer was able to realize its ambitions. First of all, I'm talking, of course, about the gimbal width. The stabilization there is really great, but overall the quality of this camera…could be better. What can not be said about the main module and the periscope, they are cool. The screen was a surprise in a good way: the 120Hz silent AMOLED panel is the best you can get in this price segment and beyond. It's also one of the most affordable smartphones with 256GB of storage and a great design with a frosted glass back. So despite a number of unpleasant moments, Tecno Camon 18 Premier is an excellent smartphone in its class, which you should definitely pay attention to.
Buy from DNS
© Oleg Lazarev.