Moto G50 review

Three cameras, no ultrawide

Unlike the Moto G10, the G50 doesn't have an ultrawide camera but retains the main 48MP sensor, which is once again paired with an f/1.7 aperture. The popular 48MP imager measures 1./2.0" in size and has 0.8µm pixels. Natively, it shoots in binned 12MP photos.

Now, instead of an ultrawide, the handset offers a relatively better 5MP camera for macro shots. The sensor is still tiny, though, measuring 1/5.0" and offering 1.12µm pixels. The lens aperture is f/2.4. As for the third camera, it's a 2MP unit used for depth information during bokeh photography.

One would argue that the Moto G50's missing ultrawide can be a big disadvantage compared to some of its rivals carrying a dedicated ultrawide snapper, but given the price range and the usual low-quality ultrawide cameras in this segment, we can't really say that this is a major drawback.

The front camera gets a decent upgrade over the Moto G10, however, bumping up the resolution to 13MP. The 1/3.1" sensor is paired with an f/2.2 aperture.

Camera menus

The default Motorola camera app has gone through some changes in the past couple of software versions, but the main way of navigating through the menus and camera modes remains the same. The modes are arranged in a customizable carousel formation, with the hamburger menu holding a couple of other shooting modes. There's also a Pro mode giving you almost full control over the camera's settings like white balance, ISO, autofocus, exposure and shutter speed.

Default camera app

Additional settings for each camera mode can be found by swiping up in the viewfinder. And the gear icon for the general settings menu can be found in the upper-right corner of the viewfinder. It holds several collapsable sub-menus. One thing we've noticed is that there's no way to change the video recording resolution, and the files are set to H.265/HEVC encoding by default, so you might want to revert to H.264/AVC if you want the best compatibility when playing those videos on other devices.

Daylight samples

Seeing how the Moto G10 and G50 share the same camera hardware and the ISP on the Snapdragon 480 has been ever so slightly improved upon the one found on the Snapdragon 460, we would expect almost identical processing. And we are right for the most part.

Just like the Moto G10, the G50 tends to present the colors lifelike without turning up the saturation. There are small traces of noise in the sky and uniform backgrounds that might put off a more critical eye. The dynamic range is pretty good, giving the images a more balanced look. Even the tiny highlights in the scenes are well-preserved.

12MP daylight samples

The only noticeable difference between the G10 and the G50 is that the latter produces considerably sharper images overall. Fine detail pops more, the edges of the buildings look better, and the foliage isn't murky by any means. If you look close enough, you might spot some oversharpening halos here and there but we can let that one slide since it drastically improves the clarity of the photos.

12MP daylight samples

And as expected, you stand to gain little to nothing switching to the 48MP mode. Using the full resolution of the sensor produces softer and considerably noisier images with a narrower dynamic range. Only fine detail is easier to spot in this mode.

48MP daylight samples

Macro camera

The Moto G50 has one of the better macro cameras compared to most of its competitors. It leads the pack with a more competent 5MP sensor, so images are a bit more detailed and a tad sharper too. Colors are vivid, and noise is kept to a minimum. However, the lack of autofocus makes things a lot difficult when trying to snap a moving object, even if the movement is minimal. There's also no indication whether or not the subject is in focus, which is hard to tell by the viewfinder under direct sunlight.

Macro samples

Low-light samples

Come nighttime, the Moto G50 does a pretty good job for its class. The images do appear a bit soft, and some highlights are clipped, but the camera resolves a lot of detail.

The HDR algorithm is also doing a generally good job and creates an overall balanced exposure, despite missing some highlights in more challenging scenes.

If we had to point out just one thing that needs improvement the most, that would be sharpness as the nighttime photos come out soft. And here's where the Night mode steps in.

Low-light samples: default Photo mode

The Night mode improves upon the shots taken with the standard Photo mode and clears up the scene by introducing some contrast, brightening up the shadows while preserving the highlights and adds some much-needed sharpness.

Surprisingly, this mode lets in some extra noise, but we think it's a fair trade-off. Even then, images are sharper and clearer. With that being said, we suggest using the Night mode in any low-light scene. You don't have to wait much longer for the image stacking to take place either.

Low-light samples: Night mode

Time for some more pixel-peeping with our photo compare tool where you can see how the Moto G50 compares to its rivals in capturing our test posters.

Motorola Moto G50 vs Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro and the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

If you have sufficient ambient light in the scene, you can expect sharp-looking portraits with a rather convincing bokeh effect, even with more complex backgrounds. However, the software isn't as consistent with the skin tone as one would expect. Sometimes the subject's face looks more reddish than it should and sometimes a bit too pale.

Portrait samples

On the other hand, the HDR algorithm seems to be doing a pretty good job, the rest of the colors are lively but not over the top, and the fine detail is there. Naturally, as the light drops, the device seems to struggle with the latter, and the noise starts to become much more apparent. And we are not talking about drastic changes in the lighting. Even small light reduction can change the end result.

Selfies

The selfies are unsatisfactory, considering the high-resolution 13MP sensor. We expected sharper-looking images, and even the slightest drop in the ambient light makes the pictures even softer.

The subject's skin often doesn't come out right, having a bit of a pale, yellowish tint in addition to the overall bland colors.

On a more positive note, the selfies contain a decent amount of detail and the dynamic range is pretty wide, with the subject always being prioritized and well-exposed.

Normal selfies

The portraits often come out with lower exposure and are also a tad sharper since the HDR isn't allowed in this mode. Edge detection isn't ideal either.

Portrait selfies

Video

The Moto G50 caps its video recording at 1080p, and there's no way to change the resolution in the camera settings too. The overall quality, though, has been improved over the G10.

The Moto G50 is more generous with the colors, although they are still a bit bland to our taste. Sharpness is rather good for a Full HD video, noise is non-existent, and contrast is good. Perhaps the only minor issue is that the software goes for a higher contrast leaving some highlighted areas and bright cars clipped and some shadows too dark.

Once you are done with the real-world examples, take a closer look at our video compare tool to see how the Moto G50 stacks against the competition.

1080p: Motorola Moto G50 vs Samsung Galaxy A22 5G and the Realme 8 5G in our Video compare tool