Huawei caught using DSLR photo to promote dual-lens smartphone camera
With Apple's upcoming "iPhone 7 Plus" rumored to feature a dual-camera design for better pictures, competing smartphone maker Huawei has pushed to market their own two-lens system. But in an attempt to suggest the Leica-branded lens can produce DSLR-quality images, the Chinese company actually used a picture shot with a full-fledged DSLR, not its new smartphone.
Huawei's new P9 handset is a photography-focused smartphone featuring a dual-lens 12-megapixel camera. To promote the handset, Huawei uploaded a picture to Google+, implying that the image was captured via the P9.
However, Google+ uploads include the EXIF data for each image, revealing what hardware was actually used to capture a picture. In the case of Huawei's promotional image, the photo was shot with a $4,500 Canon 5D Mk. III and EF70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens.
After the true source of the image was publicized, Huawei removed it from its Google+ account, and issued a statement to Android Police admitting that the picture was not taken with the P9 smartphone. Instead, Huawei said, the photo was captured while filming an advertisement for the P9.
"We recognize that we should have been clearer with the captions for this image," the company said. "It was never our intention to mislead. We apologize for this and we have removed the image."
It's widely rumored that Apple's forthcoming 5.5-inch iPhone, expected to debut in September, will also feature a dual-camera system. Claims about the new camera array date back to 2014, when it was said that Apple's implementation would somehow offer "DSLR quality imagery."
To presumably bolster its development of a dual-camera system, Apple in 2015 acquired LinX, an Israeli firm that specialized in squeezing high-definition images out of relatively small multi-lens configurations. It's believed that this year's so-called "iPhone 7 Plus" will use LinX technology and 3 gigabytes of RAM to handle much higher quality photos than ever before captured with an iPhone.
Whether Apple's implementation can rival actual DSLR cameras remains to be seen. But Huawei's advertising blunder would suggest that its P9 Leica camera is not quite at the level of an actual Leica DSLR --?or a Canon.
Huawei's new P9 handset is a photography-focused smartphone featuring a dual-lens 12-megapixel camera. To promote the handset, Huawei uploaded a picture to Google+, implying that the image was captured via the P9.
However, Google+ uploads include the EXIF data for each image, revealing what hardware was actually used to capture a picture. In the case of Huawei's promotional image, the photo was shot with a $4,500 Canon 5D Mk. III and EF70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens.
After the true source of the image was publicized, Huawei removed it from its Google+ account, and issued a statement to Android Police admitting that the picture was not taken with the P9 smartphone. Instead, Huawei said, the photo was captured while filming an advertisement for the P9.
"We recognize that we should have been clearer with the captions for this image," the company said. "It was never our intention to mislead. We apologize for this and we have removed the image."
It's widely rumored that Apple's forthcoming 5.5-inch iPhone, expected to debut in September, will also feature a dual-camera system. Claims about the new camera array date back to 2014, when it was said that Apple's implementation would somehow offer "DSLR quality imagery."
To presumably bolster its development of a dual-camera system, Apple in 2015 acquired LinX, an Israeli firm that specialized in squeezing high-definition images out of relatively small multi-lens configurations. It's believed that this year's so-called "iPhone 7 Plus" will use LinX technology and 3 gigabytes of RAM to handle much higher quality photos than ever before captured with an iPhone.
Whether Apple's implementation can rival actual DSLR cameras remains to be seen. But Huawei's advertising blunder would suggest that its P9 Leica camera is not quite at the level of an actual Leica DSLR --?or a Canon.
Comments
Any claims that they can should be ignored. Smartphone cameras should be enjoyed for the quality of the imags they can take, which is pretty good as it is, and certainly better today than professional digital cameras from 15 years ago, and possibly from some slightly newer ones than that. But lens quality is obviously an issue as well, as is jpeg only files.
Maybe, just maybe, with Apple's announcement of OS level RAW support, we MIGHT see RAW files from the built in camera finally appear for iOS devices, as they have for a number of Android devices for the last three years, or so. I really hope so, but we don't know that yet. OS level support makes it easier, but isn't necessary, and so I've always thought that Apple hasn't included it because of storage size issues. But maybe, if the rumors are true about 32GB being the new base storage size, Apple is relenting.
What's puzzling is that they have all the brains and creativity they need to do original work, yet they stubbornly and continually ape Apple. Is it a national inferiority complex? Bean counters at the top?
Can I give you 10 up votes? I had the D100 "back in the day" and had it coupled with that rare and discontinued 80-200 glass that is still all the rage. The results were amazing... and there is definitely not a single phone that could match let alone beat that combination.
You can tell right away that they used professional gear for that shot. To get a blurred background like that you need a low f-stop and a short focal length which I don't think you can duplicate with a smartphone.
Oh please! You're right, we shouldn't have this discussion again. It's a settled issue, a small sensor will never have the quality as a larger sensor from current generations of sensors. It's pretty obvious, and isn't worthy of argument.