How to Make The Most Out of the P20 Pro’s High ISO Mode

How to Make The Most Out of the P20 Pro’s High ISO Mode

More tricks for this beast of a phone

When Huawei launched the P20 Pro in Paris, France a few months ago, they promised to give owners of the flagship an OTA update that would allow them to shoot on insanely high ISOs up to 102400. The company finally made good on their promise with an OTA a few days ago, which also had a few bug fixes thrown in for good measure.

We tested out the new update on our own P20 Pro, and settled on our barely-lit living room. For the uninitiated, higher ISOs allow you to shoot in extreme low light though at the cost of noise in images.

Now there are several caveats when you shoot at high ISO: Aside from being only accessible via Pro mode, you can’t adjust the shutter speed (it is preset to 1/15, 1/8, and 1/4 depending on the ISO). Zooming and RAW shooting are disabled, and you are limited to 10 megapixels. Even with such limitations, it is possible to get decent snaps with the P20 Pro’s High ISO mode.

Why shoot in high ISO, you ask? Well, there are times that the “moment” is there but you hesitate to shoot because of lighting conditions. With a high ISO, you can capture images even at near-impossible situations. In the case of the P20 Pro, what makes this feature noteworthy is that you don’t need to lug around a big camera to get that shot in near darkness; nowadays, smartphones are capable of such.

How to make the most out of the P20 Pro’s insane camera feature? Here are some of our tips:

Pre-focus your shot first

Since you are likely shooting at near darkness, you should remember to pre-focus your shot. The P20 Pro’s autofocus system does work even in barely lit situations, so focusing at such situations should not be a problem.

Turn on the AF auxiliary light if possible

If 1) The P20 Pro’s autofocus fails, and 2) The subject does not mind being beamed by a bright light, enable the AF auxiliary light in the settings. This feature lets the P20 Pro beam a bright light to aid in focusing. It works like those DSLRs with built-in flash—minus the strobing light that can be annoying at times.

Keep your hands steady

Since you are dealing with slow shutter speeds, and Huawei’s AIS does not work at this point, you’ll need to have a steady set of hands for blur-free shots in High ISO mode. Otherwise, a selfie stick, monopod, or tripod is useful for getting that blur-free shot in near darkness.

Have some allowance (for processing)

Just like the P20 Pro’s night mode, High ISO processes the photo for a second or two before it is saved to your gallery. Make sure to put this into consideration, as run-and-gun shooting is not going to work during High ISO mode. Remember: If you are shooting in near darkness, it is best to plan your shots.

Another photo shot at ISO 102400. Because of the slow shutter (it is 1/4 at this ISO setting), a slight movement can cause blurry images.

Shoot like you are using a regular camera

Using High ISO mode disables the majority of the Pro mode’s settings including RAW shooting and zoom. That being said, think of it as using a point-and-shoot camera—the only difference is that you are shooting in near darkness, which by itself is an achievement for the P20 Pro.

 

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