Infinix Note 30 review

A confusing triple camera setup

Infinix desperately wants to market the Note 30 as having a "64MP Ultra Clear Triple Camera" system. And counting the cameras on the back of the phone, we indeed arrive at three. However, in reality, the Note 30 effectively just has the one 64MP rear camera.

Looking through the specs sheet in more detail quickly reveals that the other two rear cameras are a 2MP supplementary snapper, likely for depth data for portraits and something called an "AI CAM". We honestly have no idea what it does and why it is present. The Note 30 doesn't even have a dedicated macro mode in its camera app, which rules out that possibility. Speaking of which, there is no ultrawide either. Including an ultrawide as a minimum is kind of the norm nowadays, and it's kind of weird Infinix decided to skip on one.

As for the cameras that are present, the main one is based on the 64MP OmniVision OV64B40 sensor. It is a 1/2" sensor with 0.7µm individual pixels. It has PDAF and sits behind an f/1.69 6P lens. Infinix also shares that its other two rear cameras have f/2.4 and f/2.0 apertures, for what that's worth.

On the selfies side, the Note 30 has a 16MP fixed-focus camera based on an SK Hynix Hi-1631Q sensor. It has a size of 1/3" and has 1.0µm pixels. It sits behind a 5P f/2.0 lens.

Finally, it is definitely worth mentioning that the Note 30 has a powerful Quad-LED flash on the rear, as well as an LED flash on the front for selfies. That's kind of a unique feature that's not too common.

Camera app

The default camera app is well-organized and has many options and additional features. A powerful AI scene detection system automatically switches between modes and sometimes suggests switching camera modes outright, like directing you to the dedicated Super Night mode when there is not enough light. There is a mode carousel on the bottom, a slide-out menu, and plenty of settings to fiddle with.

Main camera UI, modes and settings

There is now a clear and easy toggle for disabling the AI, which was not previously the case with the Infinix camera app and is an appreciated addition.

If you want more control over the camera, the included Pro mode is very in-depth and extensive. You get exposure correction (-2 - +2), shutter speed (1/1500 - 30s), ISO (100 - 6400), white balance (2000 - 9000K), manual focus and three metering modes.

There is also the Short video mode, which has beauty filters and Snapchat-style live effects and overlays-neat little addition. Short videos are 720p as well.

Short video filters and lenses

Daylight photo quality

The main camera on the Note 30 uses a Quad-Bayer sensor, which is why it captures stills in 16MP resolution by default.

These photos look very decent overall. Detail is good, and so is the dynamic range. Colors are quite oversaturated. The HDR rendition of the scene is a bit unrealistic-looking, and it leads to a loss of contrast, but we admit the photos come out quite attractive on the phone's screen.

From up close, the level of detail is very good. We do notice some visible noise, but that's nitpicking.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera samples

You can force the main camera to shoot in its full 64MP resolution. These photos do have slightly more detail than regular ones. Not much, though.

Infinix Note 30: 64MP main camera samples

However, what you are giving up in exchange is a bit of sharpness. These photos look softer overall with less sharpening applied. Their colors are a bit more muted as well. And, of course, there is the matter of file size, which is much larger in 64MP mode.

There is no telephoto camera on the Note 30, but the 64MP main camera is quite capable at capturing 2x zoom shots. These look sharp with plenty of detail, pretty much identical to 1x shots.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera 2x zoom samples

Portrait mode works reasonably well on the Note 30. Subject detection and separation have occasional issues and are not perfect. On the plus side, the background bokeh effect does look good.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera samples

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera portrait samples

Non-human subjects potentially make for even better portrait subjects.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera portrait samples

There is no dedicated macro camera on the Note 30. In fact, we could find no macro mode in the camera app. Still, the main camera does pretty well in focusing close-up subjects.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera macro samples

You can get even better results by using the 2x mode. These photos are surprisingly sharp and detailed.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera 2x macro samples

Before moving on, here's how the main camera stacks up against competition in our extensive photo compare database in 16MP and 64MP modes.

Infinix Note 30 against the Realme C55 and the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro in our Photo compare tool

64MP: Infinix Note 30 against the Realme C55 and the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro in our Photo compare tool

The only other "real" camera on the Note 30 is the 16MP selfie camera. It captures decent, though mostly unimpressive, shots. Detail is good, though facial texture isn't great and looks painted over and soft. Colors are not bad overall, but skin tones come out looking too light and ghostly.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera samples

We aren't overly impressed with selfie portraits either. The picture's overall quality is expectedly comparable to regular selfies, including all of the skin texture and tone issues. Subject detection and separation are far from perfect.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera portrait samples

On the plus side, at least the background blur effect looks convincing.

Video quality

The Infinix Note 30 can record video at up to 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution at 30 fps, also known as QHD. This is a hard limitation. We tried using Open Camera to get higher resolutions with no success. Still, most Helio G99 phones out there, and most other phones in this price range only do 1080p, so we can't complain. Videos get captured with an H.264 AVC video stream at around 50 Mbps and a stereo 48 kHz audio stream inside a standard MP4 container. There is no option for H.265 (HEVC).

The main camera captures pretty good quality video. Detail is good, considering the resolution limitation. Colors are nice and natural. Dynamic range, while not great, is good enough. Overall, a good showing for a budget device.

Dropping the resolution down to 1080p naturally lowers the level of detail in the frame a bit, but not by too much. The other quality parameters remain virtually unchanged.

Here's how the Infinix Note 30 compares to other devices in our vast video compare database.

Infinix Note 30 against the Tecno Camon 19 Pro and the Tecno Spark 10 Pro in our Video compare tool

The Note 30 captures surprisingly nice 2x zoom videos with its main camera. At 1440p detail is pretty good. The colors and dynamic range are identical to 1x videos and, as such, pretty good too.

Again, you can drop the resolution down to 1080p and still get comparable 2x results. Not too shabby at all.

You can use EIS on the main camera. Infinix calls it "Ultra steady," and indeed, its effects are rather drastic and very noticeable. The mode manages to transform shaky footage from unusable to pretty steady. There is a bit of focus hunting post-EIS application, which is not ideal, but not really a dealbreaker either.

One thing worth noting is that EIS lowers video resolution to 1080p. On a more positive note, it doesn't crop away too much from the frame.

The selfie camera on the Note 30 also tops out at 1440p in video capture. It does a decent, though unremarkable, job. Detail is good, though far from great, particularly in terms of skin texture. The same goes for colors. Skin appears kind of washed out and lifeless, though the overall color palette isn't that bad.

EIS works about as well on the selfie camera as it does on the main one. Once again, it lowers resolution to 1080p, but the detail is still acceptable and comparable. We have no major complaints about the mode.

Low-light camera quality

The main camera holds up decently well in low-light conditions. There is plenty of detail. Colors look nice and natural. Dynamic range is surprisingly wide as well. You get plenty of detail in the shadows. Light sources are slightly blown out, but not dramatically so.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera low-light samples

At 2x zoom, shots come out slightly softer and a bit noisier, but other than that, their quality is quite similar to 1x ones. These photos are very usable.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera low-light 2x zoom samples

There is a dedicated SUPER NIGHT mode on the Infinix Note 30. On the plus side, night mode boosts detail in shadows quite noticeably and cleans up those areas nicely. It also helps contain light sources a bit better.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera night mode samples

Unfortunately, night mode shots tend to be quite oversharpened. Straight lines and geometrical shapes are very pronounced in particular.

In 2x shots, night mode removes quite a bit of the noise. Other than that, it has the same overall effect on the shots as with 1x ones.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP main camera night mode 2x zoom samples

Low-light selfies are decent but unremarkable. Facial features appear quite soft and very washed out. Texture is almost entirely lost.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera low-light samples

Turning on the selfie LED flash brings back some much-needed color into the frame. The difference is not drastic but is still very much noticeable. More light results in slightly better skin texture too.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera low-light LED samples

You can use SUPER NIGHT mode on the selfie camera. Like on the main cam, night mode drastically sharpens the detail in these shots. So much so, in fact, that they are oversharpened, in our opinion. Other than that, you don't really get a boost to skin texture and tones.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera night mode samples

Finally, you can mix SUPER NIGHT mode and the LED flash together, but you probably shouldn't since this does not lead to better quality selfies overall. Just stick to just using the LED flash or, if you like the extra-sharp look, the SUPER NIGHT mode.

Infinix Note 30: 16MP selfie camera night mode LED samples

Low-light video quality from the main camera is also decent but mostly unremarkable. Detail is good, and so are colors.

Light sources are not particularly well contained, though, and the frame has plenty of noise.

Low-light 2x videos are generally identical in quality to 1x ones, which is a good situation to be in.