Tecno Thinks It Can Compete with ZEISS Lenses

The Camon 30 Premier has some pretty interesting spec sheet of choice.

Today, Tecno revealed a new series of smartphones. Three of them in fact, for the Philippines. We also think it’s wise of them not to release (or release later) the 4G variant as it is somewhat redundant, as even the Tecno Camon 30 5G is already a very affordable and valuable affair.

One phone in particular caught our attention, the Camon 30 Premier because of its very interesting and familiar spec sheet. Let’s see here… triple 50MP cameras one of them being the Sony IMX890, a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultra chip, and a 120Hz OLED display… wait a minute, this is just Tecno’s revision of the Vivo V30 Pro! Wait, get this, it has a lower price tag. No ZEISS but it can compete!

We’ll expand upon that later, but let’s get to the other two first.

Tecno Camon 30 5G:

Before we continue, we’d like to say how Tecno is very creative when it comes to slogans, and that’s on every device. In the website, every feature comes with a rhyme like a Dr. Seuss book while the slogan of the 30 5G is “Leading Role in every Roll” which we find catchy and interesting. Whoever is behind the marketing behind Tecno should be given a raise.

The main common feature of all devices is the 50MP Sony IMX890 camera with OIS. This is the same sensor found on more expensive midrange phones but now you get to experience it on a budget which no other company can pull off. The other sensors found on the 30 5 sadly had to be sacrificed but that’s a choice we think they should have done. See, the other sensors found are a 2MP depth and macro. The front is thankfully retained which is a really good decision on Tecno’s part. It gets pretty exciting that you can use a 50MP camera at the front with all details and pores of your face truly visible, not just that, flagship-quality AI effects are part of this too.

The phone features a 6.7″ FHD+ (2400x1080px) flat AMOLED display with 120Hz which is more than your usual budget phone. Oh, this gets 2160Hz PWM Dimming. The only true sacrifice here is not using LTPO but when was the last time a consumer said, “Yeah but you’re not using LTPO.”?

There is a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chipset here. Knowing the previous series did not get a 5G version, we’d say this is a great choice. It comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM, and of course, virtual RAM because we truly needed that.

The battery capacity has not been changed but it charges at 70W. Yes, the same 5000mAh Li-Ion battery pack is seen here. In terms of connectivity, the phone has an IR blaster, surprise surprise, alongside an in-display fingerprint sensor, a USB-C port, and of course 5G and dual-band Wi-Fi. NFC and Bluetooth 5.2 are also supported.

Three colours: Iceland Basaltic Dark, Uyuni Salt White, and Emerald Lake Green. The latter of which has a unique pattern design inspired supposedly by nature but what we see here are floor tiles, ceramic floor tiles. In the Philippines, you’d be happy to know that the phone is available for PHP 11,999 but thanks to its official debut today, you can get it as low as PHP 9,499 on Shopee and PHP 10,999 on TikTok! If you could avail some of Shopee’s voucher, you can purchase it for an even lower price!

SPECS:

• 6.77? FullHD+ (2340x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, HDR10+, L1 Widevine
• MediaTek Dimensity 7020 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 1/1.56?, 2µm, Sony IMX890, OIS
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • 2MP (Depth)
  • FRONT: 50MP, AF, 100ms focusing speed
• HiOS 14 based on Android 14
• 5000mAh, 70W fast charging
• USB-C, In-display fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster, Stereo Speakers, Hi-Res Audio
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6, Dual-band Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
• Iceland Basaltic Dark, Uyuni Salt White, Emerald Lake Green
• PRICE:
  • 8/256: PHP 11,999 (PHP 9,499 on Shopee | PHP 10,999 on TikTok | Early Bird Price)

Tecno Camon 30 Pro:

The middle child and the one with the most differing design is the Camon 30 Pro. While all three share the same camera ring island (almost matching that of the OnePlus 12), their camera sensors are different.

As the middle child, it offers better quirks than the 30 5G but is worse than the 30 Premier. In particular, the 50MP Sony IMX890 and MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate chipset were retained. Also, the resolution is the same as the Camon 30 5G but its refresh rate is now up to 144Hz. It is still using AMOLED too, but not LTPO.

It retains the same camera setup as the Camon 30 5G, which is a 50MP+2MP+2MP setup, as well as the same 50MP selfie camera. Its battery and charging specs are identical too. Again, it’s 5000mAh with 70W fast charging. This is to make the phone more affordable for the masses. The Premier is where things get really interesting.

It is priced in the Philippines not too far off from the Camon 30 5G, at PHP 19,999. Currently, it is a TikTok-exclusive device. Color combinations include Iceland Basaltic Dark, Alps Snowy Silver, and a limited LOEWE Design Edition. This design features a Vegan Leather back which is getting trendy recently thanks to its perceived premium value and the grip that it offers.

SPECS:

• 6.77? FullHD+ (2340x1080px) AMOLED, 144Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, HDR10+, L1 Widevine
• MediaTek Dimensity 8200 “Ultimate” (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 1/1.56?, 2µm, Sony IMX890, OIS
  • 50MP (Ultrawide)
  • 2MP (Depth)
  • FRONT: 50MP, AF, 100ms focusing speed
• HiOS 14 based on Android 14
• 5000mAh, 70W fast charging
• USB-C, In-display fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster, Stereo Speakers, Hi-Res Audio
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6, Dual-band Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
• Hawaii Lava Black, Alps Snowy Silver
• PRICE:
  • 12/512: PHP 19,999 (TikTok Exclusive)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier:

The REAL reason why you’re here. You read the title, scrolled to the bottom, and you probably want to hear more about the Premier. As promised, we’ll discuss the spec sheet here, our opinion on the device, and how it compares to the Vivo V30 Pro, at least in terms of spec sheet because we currently do not have the phone in question.

The Tecno Camon 30 Premier is the main highlight of it all. It is the only one in the entire lineup to have three triple 50MP cameras. These are the Sony IMX890 Primary with OIS, the 50MP Ultrawide, and of course, the 50MP telephoto. Let’s not forget the front camera which is also 50MP.

While no, it does not have ZEISS talents, the Premier does have a trick up its sleeve, a dedicated imaging chip from Sony that is just too long to say. Just refer to the image for the name. This imaging chip features 4.6TFLOPS computing power which sounds like tech jargon but as a consumer, all you really got to know is that this is how intelligent the phone is at recognizing scenes and improving upon them using a specific algorithm. The higher the TFLOPS the better it can recognize a scene, the faster the results. The phone, being aimed at professionals, has RAW support so you can play around with the phone and see what the phone actually sees without any of those fancy post-processing effects. We have used this on the Pro mode of the Vivo V30 Pro too and it appears that the sensor is actually bright and overexposed when used naturally.

This imaging chip is embedded inside the Dimensity 8200 Ultimate. We believe this customized imaging chip is what makes this version of the MediaTek chip an “Ultimate” variant. Like the Camon 30 Pro, and by extension, Vivo’s V30 Pro, has 12GB RAM and 512GB ROM which is not expandable. Fancy virtual RAM that is.

You may be wondering what’s that tiny red dot at the top left? It’s a notification LED styled to a videocam’s recording dot. As you can see, there is a periscope camera here which zooms up to 60x optically. The telephoto sensor also handles macro shots if you zoom in even closer to your subject, 4cm away. The Vivo V30 Pro uses the ultrawide instead for macros.

The battery is your usual affair, 5000mAh and 70W fast charging. Wireless charging is not available for cost-cutting reasons. As more and more brands begin to bring camera features to what once were available to flagships, it will be about time to see customized chips, say, similar to Oppo’s MariSilicon X, down to this range as well. Sony’s imaging chip is almost that. Midrange phones still have a long way to go to be on par to ultra flagships, including wireless charging, LTPO screens, and better processing.

Among other things, the phone features a flat 6.77″ LTPO 4.0 AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. The Vivo V30 Pro, though uses a curved AMOLED with similar properties, is not LTPO, which means it can only go down to 60Hz, so it might appear not as fluid.

In the eyes of a casual consumer, none of those things matter so long a phone functions as intended, and for the content creators, a phone like the Camon 30 Premier is more than enough. It can create great videos, it can shoot far and wide, and has a chipset good enough to play even the most demanding titles available currently. A flagship is just niche, especially in the Philippine market. As Marques Brownlee said “good phones are getting cheap and cheap phones are getting good”.

Now, with that out of the way, how much does the Camon 30 Premier cost? Well, it’s actually a fraction of what the Vivo V30 Pro costs, one of its main competitors. The Premier costs PHP 23,999 and is available online through Lazada, TikTok, and Shopee. The phone also comes with a FREE wireless speaker worth PHP 3,000 until supplies last. It comes in Hawaii Lava Black and Snowy Alps Silver.

Just like the Camon 30 Pro, the Premier has an IR Blaster, 5G services, in-display fingerprint sensor, 4G LTE, NFC, and dual-band Wi-Fi. Unlike the Vivo V30 Pro, the Premier has stereo speakers with Hi-Res certification.

Can it compete with the ZEISS-powered Vivo? Definitely, and at the fraction of the price too! Do note that the Vivo V30 Pro uses a much newer and larger IMX920 and has different post-processing capabilities. It also has a faster 100W fast charging and a special type of flash called Aura Ring, and when we tested it, it actually made pictures much more natural than a regular flash, which the Premier uses. ZEISS also makes a huge difference and the license to use it is not exactly cheap, hence why it is priced at PHP 34,999. Even then, that is actually quite reasonable.

SPECS:

• 6.77? 1.5K (2780x1264px) LTPO 4.0 AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, HDR10+, L1 Widevine
• MediaTek Dimensity 8200 “Ultimate” (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 1/1.56?, 2µm, Sony IMX890, OIS
  • 50MP (Ultrawide)
  • 50MP (Telephoto), 3x optical zoom, OIS
  • FRONT: 50MP, AF, 100ms focusing speed
• HiOS 14 based on Android 14
• 5000mAh, 70W fast charging
• USB-C, In-display fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster, Stereo Speakers, Hi-Res Audio
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6, Dual-band Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
• Hawaii Lava Black, Alps Snowy Silver
• PRICE:
  • 12/512: PHP 23,999