Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) review

13MP for detail, 2MP for depth sensing

The Y7 Prime (2018) comes with a dual camera setup of the more basic type - a main 13MP shooter and an additional 2MP for some of them faux bokeh portraits. Obviously, at this price point we weren't expecting fancy Leica triple zooms or monochrome cams.

The primary cam has an f/2.2 aperture lens with an equivalent focal length of 25mm in 35mm film terms. There's phase detect autofocus too, but no stabilization, naturally. A single LED flash is also present to help in the dark.

The camera app is a no-frills version of Huawei's usual camera app that you'd find on a P20 flagship. In the viewfinder you get toggles for the flash, 'Aperture mode, beautification, and front/rear camera. Stills and videos get dedicated viewfinders. A swipe from the left brings out the extra shooting modes, while a swipe from the right pulls out the settings pane.

Camera UI

Image quality

Image quality isn't great, let's just get this out of the way. Photos are lacking in sharpness, and there's a fair amount of noise. Dynamic range is pretty limited too. There is something positive to be found in the colors - lively, but not crazy saturated.

Camera samples

In our experience, switching to HDR mode didn't bring much of a difference - it just barely recovers a little in the highlights and doesn't do much for the shadows. Here are the same scenes shot in HDR mode.

Camera samples, HDR mode

It's always the same weather in our studio, where we shoot a bunch of test posters. Check out how the Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) handles those, compared to a couple of potential rivals.

Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) against the Moto G6 Play and the Xiaomi Redmi S2 in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

Subject isolation is the sole reason for the 2MP camera's existence. Huawei calls the mode 'Aperture' and you can simulate the blur level you'd get from different... apertures, the default being f/4.0. You mileage will definitely vary, and we were surprised by just how good the outdoor shot below turned out, with all the leaves and stuff ('stuff' being the dude's hair). Apparently, our headquarters proved more difficult for the subject recognition algorithm.

Portrait samples

Selfies

The selfie camera on the Y7 Prime (2018) is an 8MP unit with an f/2.0 aperture and fixed focus. The images it captures are decently sharp, but dynamic range is pretty tight, and skin tones get a minor pinkish tint. Overall, an okay showing, though. There's no portrait/aperture mode for selfies.

There is a flash though, or rather a floodlight, that can help illuminate your mug in the darkest of settings. We've shot a sample to give you an idea of the results you can expect - it can't do miracles, but you'll at least be able to tell it's you in the picture.

Selfie samples

Video recording

The video recording on the Y7 Prime (2018) maxes out at 1080p/30fps. The bitrate is a rather high 20Mbps and change, while audio is recorded in stereo at 96kbps.

Video quality is okayish - the level of detail is around 720p tops, but contrast is good, and the colors are spot on. Audio is decent too.

With just 1080p the highest-res mode, there's just one sample for us to upload on our server. You can examine a short 10s (26MB) clip the way it came out of the phone.

Business as usual, for some extra pixel peeping head over to our Video compare tool to see how the Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) stacks up against the competition.

Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) against the Moto G6 Play and the Xiaomi Redmi S2 in our Video compare tool