I mentioned in my realme 12 Pro+ 5G first impressions that I wanted to do a dedicated camera review. Here we are! While the periscope camera is the main attraction, I wanted to know whether the other cameras were pushovers. Do these cameras make realme’s claim of making you a “Portrait Master” hold water? Let’s find out in my realme 12 Pro+ camera review.
Disclaimer: I’ve used the realme 12 Pro+ in Submarine Blue for around 3 weeks. My use has generally been for taking photos, but I did try taking some videos.
The Camera Specs
In case you need to know the specifications of the cameras in the 12 Pro+, here they are:
- Rear cameras:
- 50MP Sony IMX890 (1/1.56″ sensor) primary camera with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS)
- 64MP Omnivision OV64B (1/2″ sensor) periscope portrait camera with f/2.8 aperture, OIS, 3x optical zoom and 6x In-Sensor Zoom
- 8MP ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture 112° field-of-view
- Up to 4K / 30fps video recording
- Front camera:
- 32MP Sony IMX615 front camera with f/2.4 aperture and 90° field-of-view
- Up to 1080p / 30fps video recording
Now that the specs are out of the way, here are my thoughts on the realme 12 Pro+ camera capabilities!
Click on the photos for full-resolution versions!
Let’s Talk About That Periscope
I’ve seen how realme optimizes for the hardware they’re familiar with. This isn’t the first time realme used the OV64B sensor (the last time was with the realme 9 Pro). Thanks to that and several years of image processing experience, realme brings out the best of that OV64B sensor paired with a periscope lens. This ensures 3x optical zoom, 6x In-sensor Zoom, and up to 120x digital zoom.
It should be noted that the periscope telephoto camera will only kick in when you use 3x Zoom in the Camera app. There is still some color shifting when switching between the primary and periscope portrait cameras.
Even with that minor color shift, realme did a good job with color reproduction on the primary and periscope portrait cameras. The latter excels at this even in low light with 6x In-sensor Zoom! This is because both cameras support OIS, allowing for longer exposure time.
The color shift is more apparent in things like this Pikachu Oreo cookie. While the real color of the cookie is probably in between these two photos, the primary camera shot on the right seems closer to the real thing.
Speaking of that primary camera…
Was There Less Focus on the Primary Camera?
While it’s not the first time realme used a good Sony sensor for the primary camera, realme’s image processing works its magic here. In my opinion, moving away from those sensors with high megapixel counts is a better move. realme can better focus on improving its image processing algorithms that way. The Sony IMX890 sensor used in the realme 12 Pro+ may be old, but it is plenty capable.
Is It Truly a Portrait Master?
realme markets this phone and the realme 12+ as “Portrait Masters”. While the tagline seems familiar, I buy the brand’s claims based on the photos I got. Thanks to realme’s Omnifocal Mastershot Algorithm paired with the 64MP periscope portrait camera, these are some of the most detailed flower pictures I’ve ever taken. These are INSANE coming from a midrange phone!
I tried the three camera filters inspired by iconic movies that were made in collaboration with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda. My favorite is the Maverick filter, which has this “focus” look. It’s also nice that the Portrait mode of the realme 12 Pro+ camera also works with multiple people as subjects.
While the realme 12 Pro+ does a good job of focusing on these flowers, there is a noticeable blur in the bottom part. I still think it is a pleasing photo overall.
Does The Ultrawide Camera Hold Up?
One thing that worried me was how the 8MP ultrawide camera would hold up. I’m not sure if realme bothered to do anything with it. While the company did a good job overall with the realme 12 Pro+ camera quality, the ultrawide camera is sadly left out. It’ll still be my go-to for wider group photos, but I might use it less.
I’m Loving This Front Camera!
It was fun using the 32MP Sony IMX615 front camera in various situations. Even with retouches turned off, faces are clear but tend to have some smoothing.
Group selfies look good as well, whether indoors or outdoors. The background wasn’t washed out in the outdoor shot, while the indoor shot didn’t have that “outdoor effect”.
It was nice to know that the portrait filters also work in the front camera. I forgot to mention how inconsistent the hair cutouts are in portrait photos. Some would turn out very well, other times it would blend with the bokeh.
My Verdict on the realme 12 Pro+ Camera
The last time I had fun taking photos using a realme phone was the realme 9 Pro+. Since then, I haven’t seen any meaningful improvements in the Number Series phone cameras.
I found that fun again with the realme 12 Pro+ camera system. Each camera has its purpose, and realme’s image processing takes advantage of all those cameras. Find out whether this phone is worth P25,999 in my full review.
