Mate 20 night mode: Camera — Low Light Evaluation

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Introduction & DesignThe Kirin 980 — A Recap OverviewFirst Cortex-A76 SoC — SPEC2006 Performance & EfficiencySecond Generation NPU — NNAPI TestedSystem PerformanceGPU Performance & PowerDisplay Measurement & PowerBattery Life — Contrasting Two ModelsCamera — Daylight EvaluationCamera — Daylight EvaluationCamera — Low Light EvaluationCamera Video RecordingConclusion & End Remarks

Low-light capture was a forte for Huawei this year, as they were the first to introduce a low-light mode that was able to capture vastly superior exposure shots without having to use a tripod. The results on the P20’s were excellent, so let’s see how the new Mate 20’s fare.

[ Mate 20Pro     ] — [ Mate 20   ] — [ P20Pro   ]
[ P20   ] — [ Mate 10Pro   ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ]
[ Pixel XL ] — [ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
 [ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

In the first scene, the Mate 20 Pro goes off to a bad start as noted focus issues when capturing the scene. Here the phone multiple times took out of focus captures, with none of my night mode shots actually ending up in focus. In the regular mode, the Mate 20 Pro’s camera switches over to its unique high ISO mode and is able to deliver great results at ISO25600. We have to remember that the phones don’t actually have OIS, so again like on the P20 Pro this is quite remarkable. Also a big change compared to the P20 Pro is the colour rendition, here the Mate 20 Pro is able to extract much better colours out of the scene, and all while reducing noise significantly.

The Mate 20’s regular mode isn’t all that impressive as pretty much in line with how most sensors behave in low light. Here turning on Night mode is a requirement, and greatly improves the picture quality.

Google’s new Night Sight mode outmatches Huawei’s phones in terms of light capture, noise and detail retention, however the images is so bright that it’s less natural than the Mate’s results.

[ Mate 20Pro   ] — [ Mate 20    ] — [ P20Pro   ] — [ P20   ]
[ Mate 10Pro  ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ] — [ Pixel XL ]
[ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
[ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

The second scene the Mate 20 Pro does a very different exposure to the P20 Pro, the latter did a much more accurate representation of the brightness and colour temperature of the sodium street lamps. Turning on night mode improved things a lot for both phones.

Overall the Mate 20’s are among the best low light shooters thanks to night mode, only recently dethroned by Google’s Pixel phones.

[ Mate 20Pro    ] — [ Mate 20   ] — [ P20   ]
[ Mate 10Pro   ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ] — [ Pixel XL ]
[ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
[ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ]

The next scene the Mate 20 Pro varies in its results while in auto mode. The first shot has better dynamic range and also better detail retention, here Huawei needs a way to keep things more consistent. The regular mode on the Mate 20 is also good, although it’s lacking in texture detail as well showing some very weird blur in the right part of the image. Here I think the lack of OIS is hampering the phones.

Turning on night mode again improves the quality, but again the regular Mate 20 is giving out some blurred results here as its multi-frame stacking doesn’t seem to work correctly.

I would say the Mate 20 Pro along with the Pixel’s Night Sight modes are leading closely together.

[ Mate 20Pro   ] — [ Mate 20   ] — [ P20Pro   ] — [ P20   ]
[ Mate 10Pro   ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ] — [ Pixel XL ]
[ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
[ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

Partial blurriness is again an issue of the Mate 20 in this scene. The Mate 20 Pro doesn’t have any issue in this regard, and captures the best regular mode shot among all phones.

Switching to night mode, it brightens up things for both units, and also resolves the blurriness issue on the Mate 20. Although Huawei’s phones are showcasing more realistic exposures, the Pixel phones night mode outclass them in terms of detail retention.

[ Mate 20Pro   ] — [ Mate 20   ] — [ P20Pro   ] — [ P20   ]
[ Mate 10Pro   ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ] — [ Pixel XL ]
[ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
[ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

This scene again showcases some big blur issues on the regular Mate 20’s auto shots that are only resolved by turning on night mode. The Mate 20 Pro’s auto mode here produces the most natural result out of all phones.

In night mode, things brighten up a bunch, and Huawei manages much better results than other devices, but is yet again beat by Google’s new software.

Extreme low-light

Extreme low light scenarios is something as early as last year we wouldn’t have expected phones to be viable in. Again I started shooting such scenes earlier in the year when Huawei made its Night mode usable without a tripod – along with vendors like LG introducing pixel binning modes that quadruple the light capture of the sensors.

[ Mate 20Pro   ] — [ Mate 20   ] — [ P20Pro   ] — [ P20   ]
[ Mate 10Pro  ] — [ Pixel 3 ] — [ Pixel 2 ] — [ Pixel XL ]
 [ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
 [ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

In extreme low light scenarios, the Huawei phones were in a league of their own until just very recently. The Mate 20 Pro in its regular mode relies on ISO25600 to achieve a very good shot, beating all other phones including the P20Pro. The Mate 20 doesn’t fare as well here as its sensor just can’t capture enough light.

In night mode, the Mate 20 Pro gains in sharpness and sheds some of the noise, and the Mate 20 now manages to sufficiently light up the scene, although sharpness and detail aren’t too good. Although the Huawei again have a better natural reproduction of the light in the scene, Google’s night sight just produces a just ridiculously brighter scene that offers significantly better details.

[ Mate 20Pro ] — [ Mate 20 ] — [ P20Pro ] — [ Mate 10Pro ]
[ Pixel 3   ] — [ Pixel 2    ] — [ Pixel XL    ]
[ iPhone XS ] — [ iPhone X ] — [ Note9 ] — [ S9+ ] — [ S8 ]
[ LG G7 ] — [ LG V30 ] — [ OnePlus 6 ] — [ OPPO FindX ] — [ MIX2S ]

Finally, in the darkest possible conditions, in a path under the light of the moon, the Mate 20 Pro and P20 Pro are the only camera sensors able to capture anything, with the Mate 20 Pro using its maximum ISO102400 mode. The Mate 20 largely remains blind. Night mode on the Mate 20 Pro actually regresses things in these conditions, while on the Mate 20 it allows to finally make out some parts of the scene.

Again both phones are beat by Google’s new night sight, achieving some pretty astounding results.

Low-light conclusion

Overall in low light conditions, the Mate 20 Pro is a clear leader in terms of its hardware capabilities. Just like on the P20 Pro, the massive sensor as well as is high ISO capabilities prove very beneficial for the phone.

The Mate 20 fared less well in regular mode, and underperforms most other flagships. Here the use of night mode is a requirement to get better shots out of the phone.

Up until recently this would have been the end of my conclusion, but the recent introduction of Google’s new night sight mode means that Huawei no longer is the best in low-light conditions. While I do feel that Google is overdoing it a bit and Huawei still produces the more realistic and representative exposures, the Pixel phones just have a tremendous detail and noise reduction advantage. Still, this is not to take away from Huawei’s great low-light performances, as it still stands above that of many other devices.

Camera — Daylight Evaluation
Camera Video Recording
Introduction & DesignThe Kirin 980 — A Recap OverviewFirst Cortex-A76 SoC — SPEC2006 Performance & EfficiencySecond Generation NPU — NNAPI TestedSystem PerformanceGPU Performance & PowerDisplay Measurement & PowerBattery Life — Contrasting Two ModelsCamera — Daylight EvaluationCamera — Daylight EvaluationCamera — Low Light EvaluationCamera Video RecordingConclusion & End Remarks

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Google Pixel 3 Night Sight vs Huawei Mate 20 Pro Night Mode

Huawei and Google are leading the field with impressive night-time photography shooting modes with their Night Mode and Night Sight features for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and the Google Pixel 3, respectively. We pitted the two against each other using the pre-release Google Camera APK.   Update – April 11: Since this article was written,  the final release of the Google Camera API was rolled out to the Pixel 3.

Don’t miss: Google Pixel 3 review | Huawei Mate 20 Pro review

Both companies’ technologies are based on the same idea. The cameras take multiple pictures at a variety of different exposures over the course of several seconds and stitches them into a single frame, balancing out the highlights while collecting enough light to properly expose the shadows. Depending on the time taken, the number of exposures, and how the algorithms combine and process the images, the results can look very different.

The pictures below were shot using a tripod, so treat them as a best case scenario for blur and sharpness. Shaky hands won’t produce results this good. First up, here’s a side-by-side of the two phones when using their basic, non-HDR camera modes.

A quick note here, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro comes out on top when taking a quick picture on the dark. The noise is much lower than the Pixel 3. The Pixel 3 also overexposes the candle inside the pumpkin while the Mate 20 Pro gets the highlight exposure much better and still captures some of the darker details.

Now for the night mode-enabled shot.

This is a tougher call — both pictures have pros and cons. The Pixel 3 is still considerably noisier than the Mate 20 Pro even with multiple exposures. However, its detail capture appears a little sharper when looking at the full image where the noise is less noticeable (with the exception of the Android figurine and background on the left). The Pixel 3 also has by far a better white balance and range of colors, which still pack a decent punch.

Meanwhile, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro doesn’t suffer from much noise at all, though that appears to be partly due to its heavy use of denoise post-processing. Unfortunately, the algorithm smooths over many of the finer details of the picture. This also has the side effect of smearing the color pallet, resulting in a brown smudged look across the picture.  The Mate 20 Pro does a slightly better job at capturing all of the darkest details of the picture — see the candle on the left of the pumpkin. This area is still underexposed on the Pixel 3, producing a slightly crushed black look in the shadows.

My personal preference is for the Google Pixel 3 in this instance, owing to the better range of colors and more detailed look. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is technically better at reducing the noise and exposing the entirety of the low light picture, but the result is a little too smudged looking.

Overall, both cameras improve exposure over their default camera modes quite a bit, clearly showcase how useful these options are, provided you can keep your hands still enough.

Do you have a preference out of these two phone cameras? What do you think about the long exposure smartphone shooting mode trend?

A friend who did not live to old age — Culture — Kommersant

A little more than a week after his 53rd birthday, the leader of the Moscow group «Old Friend» Alexander Zaretsky passed away. Last Friday, the singer fell into a coma, which was the result of a post-COVID heart attack.

Alexander Zaretsky

Photo: URA.RU / TASS

Alexander Zaretsky

Photo: URA.RU / TASS

Stariy buddy was formed in 1995, when Alexander Zaretsky showed guitarist Andrey Shurikov some of his songs. Both musicians were devoted fans of The Beatles, which left an imprint on all their further work. On the debut album «Don’t Cry!» (1996) all three major hits of the «Old Friend» were released — «Don’t Cry!», «New Day of the Calendar» and «Moscow Love».

In fact, the «Old Friend» picked up the banner of the Russian-speaking Beatlemania, which fell from the hands of the St. Petersburg quartet «Secret». nine0003

Despite the fact that after the emigration of Maxim Leonidov, «Secret» continued to exist as a trio and released nice catchy songs, it was felt that the new interests of the second leader, Nikolai Fomenko, who became interested in radio DJing and car racing, were leaving less and less time for music. And the Beatles’ harmonies and polyphonies have traditionally been held in high esteem in Russia. As soon as a young group appeared that could speak this language, the people immediately fell in love with it. Alla Pugacheva also gave her heart to the «Old Friend». In her short-lived magazine Alla, she called the group «the main musical discovery of the 1997 years.

Three hits, like three whales, kept the band afloat all subsequent years. These songs have always come in handy. «Moscow Love» sounded at graduation parties and meetings of the capital’s graduates. The song «Don’t Cry» healed the emotional wounds of young ladies. «New Day of the Calendar» was the quintessence of radio format optimism, which in the 1990s was in short supply on Russian FM frequencies. For radio stations, it was the perfect «beginning of the hour» and a win-win morning hit.

The band has released seven albums of original studio material, as well as a number of live albums and compilations. The latest album «Vremya» was released in December 2020. All these years, the only permanent member and main songwriter of the «Old Friend» has been faithful to the style chosen a quarter of a century ago. New songs got on the air of radio stations broadcasting rock in Russian, however, outside this field, the group passed through the “retro” category. Which did not really bother her leader. He was full of energy and optimism, regularly performed with the «Old Buddy» in clubs and rock festivals and believed in the best. Alexander Zaretsky announced his illness in social networks on March 11. The group canceled the planned concerts, but the leader swore an oath to the fans to return to the system by the summer. The disease, alas, ordered otherwise. nine0003

Boris Barabanov

RDR2 Mission Goodbye Old Buddy Walkthrough

RDR2 Mission Goodbye Old Buddy is one of the main missions available in Red Dead Redemption 2. Colm O’Driscoll is in prison. Sadie, Arthur and Dutch travel to Saint-Denis to see the execution.

If you need help with any other wild west prequel areas, you can head to our Red Dead Redemption 2 Complete Guide . On this main page, you can find all the information you need to access the adventure. Including all the power-ups and tricks you need.

How to unlock: after completing the «Rage Surge» mission.

Walkthrough: Meeting Sadie and Dutch in Saint Denis. Follow them to the execution site. Then follow Dutch and eavesdrop on the conversation between the bandits. Climb the stairs, go down the corridor, go past the woman in the red dress and get to the next floor. nine0003

Go through the open door. Turn right and walk along the roof.

You will soon reach a building with a bag. Approach him — Arthur will be attacked by members of the O’Driscoll gang. Defeat the enemy. Pick up the sniper rifle and watch the execution.

Cover Sadie and Dutch.