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DisplayWe put the Honor Magic4 Ultimate through our rigorous DXOMARK Selfie test suite to measure its performance in photo and video from an end-user perspective. This article breaks down how the device fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases and is intended to highlight the most important results of our testing with an extract of the captured data.
Overview
Key front camera specifications:
- 12MP sensor
- f/2.4 aperture lens
- Video: 4K/30fps, 1080p/30 fps (4K/30 fps tested)
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
53rd
37th
Pros
- Generally accurate target exposure in photo and video
- Fairly wide depth of field
- Natural white balance in indoor and outdoor conditions
- Good level of texture in video
- Pleasant color rendering
Cons
- Dynamic range sometimes limited, clipping can be visible
- Skin-tone rendering not always accurate
- Artifacts, including anamorphosis or hue shift
- Local noise and local loss of texture
With a DXOMARK Selfie score of 122, the Honor Magic4 Ultimate offers a capable front camera for daily front camera photo and video capture, but it did not make it among the very best selfie shooters in our testing. Selfie aficionados with money to spend will find better alternatives in the Ultra-Premium segment. Both still images and videos showed good exposure and fairly accurate white balance. A wide depth of field helped keep multiple subjects in focus. However, our testers observed skin-tone issues in some scenes, and a lack of dynamic range meant that highlight clipping was noticeable on some images.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Selfie tests: For scoring and analysis, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 1,500 test images both in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor and low-light natural scenes, using the front camera’s default settings. The photo protocol is designed to take into account the user’s needs and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as close-up and group selfies. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements on images of charts captured in the lab under different lighting conditions from 1 to 1,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K. For more information about the DXOMARK Selfie test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here. The following section gathers key elements of DXOMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us on how to receive a full report.
Photo
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
149
Exposure
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
99
In Photo mode, the camera produced accurate target exposure and fairly accurate white balance. Dynamic range was limited, though, resulting in slight highlight clipping on faces and overexposed backgrounds. Skin tones were an area for improvement, as color rendering was inaccurate in some shots. Detail was below the level of many competitors, with local loss of texture and local noise noticeable in several of our test scenes. Our testers also noticed some image artifacts, including anamorphosis (perspective distortion of faces close to the edge of the frame).
Color
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
110
Exposure and color are the key attributes for technically good pictures. For exposure, the main attribute evaluated is the brightness of the face(s) in various use cases and light conditions. Other factors evaluated are the contrast and the dynamic range, eg. the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image. Repeatability is also important because it demonstrates the camera's ability to provide the same rendering when shooting consecutive images in a row.
For color, the image quality attributes analyzed are skin-tone rendering, white balance, color shading, and repeatability.
Focus
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
105
Autofocus tests evaluate the accuracy of the focus on the subject’s face, the repeatability of an accurate focus, and the depth of field. While a shallow depth of field can be pleasant for a single-subject selfie or close-up shot, it can be problematic in specific conditions such as group selfies; both situations are tested. Focus accuracy is also evaluated in all the real-life images taken, from 30cm to 150cm, and in low light to outdoor conditions.
Texture
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
79
Texture tests analyze the level of details and the texture of subjects in the images taken in the lab as well as in real-life scenarios. For natural shots, particular attention is paid to the level of details in facial features, such as the eyes. Objective measurements are performed on chart images taken in various lighting conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different kinds of dynamic range conditions. The charts used are the proprietary DXOMARK chart (DMC) and the Dead Leaves chart.
Noise
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
94
Noise tests analyze various attributes of noise such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, and structure on real-life images as well as images of charts taken in the lab. For natural images, particular attention is paid to the noise on faces, but also on dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Objective measurements are performed on images of charts taken in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different kinds of dynamic range conditions. The chart used is the DXOMARK Dead Leaves chart and the standardized measurement such as Visual Noise derived from ISO 15739.
Artifacts
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
91
The artifacts evaluation looks at lens shading, chromatic aberrations, distortion measurement on the Dot chart and MTF, and ringing measurements on the SFR chart in the lab. Particular attention is paid to ghosting, quantization, halos, and hue shifts on the face among others. The more severe and the more frequent the artifact, the higher the point deduction on the score. The main artifacts observed and corresponding point loss are listed below.
Video
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
156
DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2 hours of video in controlled lab environments and in natural low-light, indoor and outdoor scenes, using the front camera’s default settings. The evaluation consists of visually inspecting natural videos taken in various conditions and running objective measurements on videos of charts recorded in the lab under different conditions from 1 to 1000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
When shooting selfie videos, target exposure and white balance were good, just like for stills. The device was capable of rendering a good level of video texture, but our testers observed fairly high levels of noise as well. Video stabilization was only capable of counteracting camera motion to a certain degree, but a wide depth of field meant that the camera was able to achieve good focus on different planes of the scene.
Exposure
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
87
Color
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
90
Exposure tests evaluate the brightness of the face and the dynamic range, eg. the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image. Stability and temporal adaption of the exposure are also analyzed. Image-quality color analysis looks at skin-tone rendering, white balance, color shading, stability of the white balance and its adaption when light is changing.
Texture
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
97
Texture tests analyze the level of details and texture of the real-life videos as well as the videos of charts recorded in the lab. Natural video recordings are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the level of detail on the facial features. Objective measurements are performed of images of charts taken in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux. The chart used is the Dead Leaves chart.
Noise
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
83
Noise tests analyze various attributes of noise such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, structure, temporal aspects on real-life video recording as well as videos of charts taken in the lab. Natural videos are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the noise on faces. Objective measurements are performed on the videos of charts recorded in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux. The chart used is the DXOMARK visual noise chart.
Stabilization
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
82
Stabilization evaluation tests the ability of the device to stabilize footage thanks to software or hardware technologies such as OIS, EIS, or any others means. The evaluation looks at overall residual motion on the face and the background, smoothness and jellow artifacts, during walk and paning use cases in various lighting conditions. The video below is an extract from one of the tested scenes.
Artifacts
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
92
Artifacts are evaluated with MTF and ringing measurements on the SFR chart in the lab as well as frame-rate measurements using the LED Universal Timer. Natural videos are visually evaluated by paying particular attention to artifacts such as quantization, hue shift, and face-rendering artifacts among others. The more severe and the more frequent the artifact, the higher the point deduction from the score. The main artifacts and corresponding point loss are listed below
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