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Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium vs Huawei P20 Pro: duel of the night owls

AndroidPIT Huawei P20 Pro vs Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium 8791
© nextpit by Irina Efremova

Two smartphones and an AndroidPIT editor embarked on a journey through the German capital city, and from this evening stroll, a number of shots were gathered from various low light scenes. Now, we need your help to compare the results of the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium and the Huawei P20 Pro in this blind test. Let's find out which is the best smartphone camera for night owls.

Learn more about the Huawei P20 Pro in our video:

Taking good photos in the daylight isn't exactly a feat anymore. Most smartphones released in 2018 are able to capture good quality shots of landscapes, objects and sometimes portraits, regardless of price point. On the other hand, low light shots are a real proving ground. Huawei raised the bar for night photos with the P20 Pro in the first half of this year. The P20 Pro features a triple camera and sophisticated software, making it the reigning champ, but Sony is launching its first dual camera smartphone, the Xperia XZ2 Premium. Will Sony be able to take the crown? We leave that up to you in this blind test.

With both cameras, we used the automatic camera app settings. And since the Xperia XZ2 Premium doesn't have a night mode, we didn't use night mode of the P20 Pro. Take a look at the photos we've taken along our tour of Berlin below and decide.

Scene 1: A port in low light

Along the waterfront of the Spree in Berlin, there is a small inland harbor, and it is here where the Huawei P20 Pro and the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium fought against each other to capture the best shot of two sailboats. Which of the two photos do you like better?

  • Download the photos in their original resolution: Photo 1 / Photo 2
Which photo captures the boats better?
View results

Scene 2: The Gendarmenmarkt during a warm summer night

At this famous site, there are several different light sources and still very little daylight left. Both smartphones had to cope with these conflicting lighting conditions.

  • Download the photos in their original resolution: Photo 1 / Photo 2
Which version looks best?
View results

Scene 3: A nighttime close-up

In the third scene, we capture the bicycle in very bad lighting. Both still managed to take good shots of it, and it looks like the bike was partially under a light source even though it actually wasn't. Which one do you like better?

  • Download the photos in their original resolution: Photo 1 / Photo 2
Which picture captures the bike best?
View results

Scene 4: East Side Gallery - The Berlin Wall at night

This shot of the Berlin Wall was particularly hard to capture. After all, the wall was in the shadow with lights behind it, and the cameras had to struggle to capture the brightness and colors in the foreground and background correctly despite this. Which do you think handled it best?

  • Download the photos in their original resolution: Photo 1 / Photo 2
Which shot of the wall best captures the scene?
View results

Which do you predict will be the winner? Let us know in the comments. We'll reveal the winner and which shots belonged to which phone soon!

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Go to comment (9)
Shu On Kwok

Shu On Kwok
Senior Editor

Since 1999, Shu has written about the colorful world of IT and telecommunications. His career started as a presenter at the five-hour TV show NBC GIGA, which led him through several career stages until he finally joined the AndroidPIT team in May of 2015. His passion for mobile devices and gadgets knows no boundaries. Whether Android, iOS or Windows, Shu feels at home with any OS.

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9 comments
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Write new comment:
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  • Kyara Luna 1
    Kyara Luna Nov 10, 2018 Link to comment

    @Shu on Kwok
    Are you going update this and to post the results? its been 2 months


  • Dream Master 1
    Dream Master Oct 25, 2018 Link to comment

    i picked 2122


  • 1
    Bigmak Sep 6, 2018 Link to comment

    i picked 2 2 2 1... were talking nightshot. im very impressed with that more light and a very neat pixel... just double tap the pic u can see the deference...


  • Tananchapong Chatpimolkul 1
    Tananchapong Chatpimolkul Sep 6, 2018 Link to comment

    I pick 2,1,2,2


  • 1
    Tapacirer NS Sep 5, 2018 Link to comment

    This one is easy: XZ2P is the one with blown highlights and sharper details.

    Unfortunately neither of these samples show the true potential of both phones in low light. These images look kind of botched to me.

    Also why not video? Video is equally important as still images.


  • Mike 2
    Mike Sep 5, 2018 Link to comment

    The photos that are less washed out have the correct exposure for the amount of given light. The phone with the camera that needs a larger aperture is going to produce overexposed images because it cannot handle low light sensitivity.The only way to avoid overexposure with this camera is a longer exposure time at a smaller aperture, but then the user would probably need to be a camera buff in order to judge the right amount of light going into the lens.


  • shahiiz mohd 1
    shahiiz mohd Sep 5, 2018 Link to comment

    1,1,2,2


  • 21
    Peter Harwood Sep 4, 2018 Link to comment

    Notice i picked all the least voted for ie 2,2,1,1 most have picked the brighter photos but just because there is more light dosent mean the camera is better in low light i would say the ones ive picked are from the sony camera the last photos there wasn't much difference.


  • Eakawee Ketjuntra 2
    Eakawee Ketjuntra Sep 4, 2018 Link to comment

    The right photos are warmer IMO.

    César Lamas Esteban

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