Decent dual setup, no telephoto though
The Realme P4 Power carries its priorities in its name, and there’s no ‘camera’ in its name. It has what appears to be a slightly downgraded version of the P3 Ultra’s camera setup, consisting of a dual rear setup and a fairly unimaginative choice on the front as well.
The main camera relies on a 1/2.0″-ish Sony sensor – it’s seemingly the same as on the OppoReno15, for example, so in a way, the P4 Power gets more upmarket hardware. On the other hand, it’s a smaller sensor than what the P3 Ultra offered (1/1.56″), so it’s more of step back than an improvement. Again though – ‘Power’.
The ultrawide is apparently carried over from the P3 Ultra – it’s an unassuming 8MP unit with a fixed-focus lens. That’s more or less par for the course in the segment, though we’ve been seeing AF-capable 8MP units pop up here and there.
What’s missing is a telephoto camera, and a number of the P4 Power’s key competitors have that. Then again, none has a 10,001mAh battery, so there’s that.
The selfie camera is another unremarkable unit that relies on a 16MP Quad Bayer-type sensor and a fixed-focus lens.
Wide (main): 50MP Sony IMX 882 (LYT-600, 1/1.95″, 0.8µm-1.6µm); 26mm, f/1.8, OIS, multi-directional PDAF; 4K30/1080p60 video recording.
Ultrawide: 8MP (1/4.0″, 1.12µm); 16mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 1080p30.
Front camera: 16MP (1/3.0″, 1.0µm-2.0µm); 23mm, f/2.4, fixed focus; 1080p30.
Daylight photo quality
Main camera
The P4 Power’s main camera may be a downgrade if you look at the specs, but the photos are still pretty great-looking. Detail is very good and is rendered reasonably well, though you could still find sharpening a bit much if you’re super critical (which you shouldn’t be at this level). Exposures and dynamic range are generally great too, with a slight tendency for brighter and flatter shots. The white balance is mostly accurate, and saturation is well judged too.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
Human subjects get good skin tones and facial detail is developed well. We also like the subject separation we get without the Portrait mode’s computational bokeh, which can be a little artificial.
Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
The full-res mode comes with limited dynamic range but at least you get no meaningful detail improvement.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP
The 2x zoom results from the main camera are decent, but they’re no replacement for an actual zoom camera, which you can get on a lot of the alternatives in the P4 Power’s price bracket. Again though, it’s worth keeping in mind that you’re conceding some camera prowess for extra endurance.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
With that said, the 2x people shots we got are still pretty solid, and worth the drop in quality for the improved perspective and more comfortable shooting distance.
Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide camera puts up a decent performance. Global properties are very good – dynamic range and colors are easy to like. What’s not so great is the meh sharpness.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
Selfies
The P4 Power’s selfies are not without flaws. The camera doesn’t deal well with backlit scenes and in anything but perfect lighting the photos are soft and quite noisy. If the stars align and you have a well-lit scene, you just might get a nice shot, but even then you shouldn’t expect 16MP worth of detail.
Selfie samples
Low-light photo quality
Main camera
The P4 Power’s unassuming main camera actually does admirably at night, outperforming larger-sensor competitors. Its images are nicely detailed, if a little gritty, which is a sensible tradeoff. Exposures are excellent and dynamic range is great. Admittedly, the white balance can be a little off in certain types of lighting – there are a few greenish images in the set below – but colors are otherwise quite good too.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x)
The 2x zoom results are usable if you don’t look too closely – there’s pixelation and aggressive sharpening going on.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide camera’s results aren’t too hot either. They’re soft and noisy, and highlights are harsher than we’d like.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
Video quality
The P4 Power records video up to 4K30 with its main camera, and you can also do 1080p60 if you’d be willing to trade resolution for frame rate. The ultrawide and the selfie camera max out at 1080p30. The Pro video mode adds a 24fps option too.
The default video codec is the newer and more efficient h.265 (HEVC), but you can also switch back to the more widely compatible h.264.
You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.
The 4K videos from the P4 Power’s main camera are solid, having good dynamic range and pleasing colors, and alright detail. The 2x zoom results are hard to like though. The ultrawide maintains the dynamic range and color rendition, which is nice, but it’s just 1080p and hardly the best of 1080p footage we’ve seen.
Realme P4 Power video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
At night, the main camera at 1x maintains a decent level of quality, capturing good detail and dynamic range. 2x zoom footage is hard to like and the ultrawide’s clips are much too soft.
Realme P4 Power video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
There’s an always-on stabilization, which does a great job from a standing position on both the main camera and the ultrawide, but walking footage suffers from the combined effects of shake and focus hunting. There’s also a toggle to enable the Ultra Steady tier of stabilization, which doesn’t impose any quality limitations, but it doesn’t change much in terms of actual stability, despite the added crop.
Camera quality verdict
The Realme P4 Power’s main camera does well during the day and even better at night when it comes to stills. That said, the phone is missing a telephoto when many competitors have one, plus the ultrawide is a bit of a letdown. Similarly, video quality is good at 1x, but that’s it. Selfies are just about average.