TECNO Camon 19 Pro Review; Should you buy it?

For a while now, I’ve been using the Camon 19 Pro. In this review, I am going to highlight what you need to know about the device, my experiences with it, how I’ve found the cameras, how the cameras compare with similarly priced devices, and why it’s a pretty solid device from the company.

The embedded video includes camera samples, and comparisons, so watch it.

This year, TECNO has gone with a rectangular finish that emboldens the camera bumps. They’re raised and outstanding. Making you immediately want to see what sort of photos you can get from them.

The design on the other hand forces you to regard the phone as being premium. TECNO says they’ve won both the IF Design and Muse Awards for this design. I think it’s a bold statement, and we’ve already seen other companies launching devices after TECNO adopting this look.

The important specs:

For it’s asking price, KES 33,799, the Camon 19 Pro feels – for me – apt. There’s a huge 6.8- inch AMOLED display which supports 120Hz refresh rates. I have found it to be a good panel both in brightness and colour accuracy.

The phone is powered by a Mediatek Helio G96 processor – which we know is quite good in performance. There’s 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The RAM is expandable by 5GB of internal storage – giving you 13GB should you need extra RAM. This comes in handy when playing games, or using demanding apps.

To power it up, there’s a 5000mAh battery which you can fast charge with the included 33W charger. You will get between 6 and 7hrs screen on time depending on what you’re doing on your phone. I love fast charging devices, as they allow you to not have anxiety when using your device.

Cameras:

The Camon series exists for one thing: photography. That’s the message TECNO has been pushing with all the series we’ve seen through the years.

This year, TECNO has a new RGBW sensor they’ve co-engineered with Samsung. The sensor allows for more light and detail. This allows for incredible photos in low light scenarios. That’s the 64MP main shooter. It also has Optical Image Stabilisation allowing for very stable photos and videos.

Apart from that sensor, there’s also a whole 50MP sensor focusing on portraits. That’s why the portraits taken from this phone look quite something (check out samples in the video). I however don’t like that they’re so zoomed in.

You will have to move a little back to take a portrait photo compared to other phones. That aside, you’ll be getting really good photos that do a good job in separating the subject from the background. Details like hair and edge-detection look so well done.

Portrait mode however fails on one major thing: Dynamic Range. This is something affecting even the 64MP camera.

At the front there’s a 32MP selfie camera. It’s good for selfie lovers. Its processing on AI mode isn’t over-done. If you want to use it for videos, you’ll need to be in a well lit environment and to keep the phone on a very steady surface so as to avoid shaky videos.

General video recording using the phone’s cameras faces an issue TECNO – and many other phone companies are yet to very well address: constant shifts in light and contrast. So when watching content, you’ll notice the footage appears to be constantly shifting in processing. You need to really have both the camera steady and the lighting constant to get very good videos.

What TECNO excels at – which can be viewed as a bad thing by other people – is in saturation and processing. I mean this in the sense that when you take a picture using the camera, you are mostly going to post it online immediately. You need not re-touch it, to increase brightness or saturation. If you’re looking for very colour-accurate pictures or videos, that’ll be a challenge with this phone.

However, there’s a PRO mode which allows you to be able to shoot pictures while controlling every aspect of lighting, white balance etc. and get what pleases you the most. Unless you properly understand cameras, this won’t be a mode for many. But those who who know their ways around cameras will enjoy tinkering with it.

Comparison with other devices

Galaxy A33:

Where the Galaxy A33 beats the Camon 19 Pro is in the IP67 dust and water resistance. It’s also a 5G ready phone. However, it doesn’t come with a charger in the box, and from my use feels quite slow when switching between apps and has a lag in day-to-day use.

It has a 90Hz panel, a 48MP main camera, and a 13MP selfie shooter. These are in paper lower numbers compared to the Camon 19 Pro. However, since numbers aren’t everything, check out the photos –embedded in the video – taken by both phones and let me know in the comments which of the two cameras you prefer.

OPPO A96:

Where the OPPO A96 excels compared to the Camon 19 Pro is with the Snapdragon 695 chipset which also supports 5G networks. However, it has a smaller display which only supports 60Hz refresh rates. It also has a 48MP main camera, and a 16MP selfie camera.

The photos it takes – compared to those of the Camon 19 Pro appear to be very dull. Please let me know what you think of the camera performance, based on the images in the video, in the comments section.

Which one to get?

Given each device is almost similarly priced, it’s hard to outright choose one. For me software updates matter, for someone else it’s the cameras, or the 5G support. Which of the three do you prefer?

TECNO has promised an update to Android 13 mid next year. The phone also has 25 months warranty plus a 90 days screen-replacement warranty.

What are your thoughts on the new Camon 19 PRO based on this review? What do you like, and what don’t you like? Let me know.