Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro review

A potent triple camera setup

The CMF Phone 2 Pro boasts a 50 MP main camera with a large-for-the-class 1/1.57" sensor, which captures 64% more light than the Phone 1's main sensor, according to the company. The camera can record 4K video (at 30fps, 60fps is available at 1080p) and features AI-powered image stabilization.

While Phone 1's camera stood alone, the Pro model adds two more shooters. The more interesting of the two is arguably the 50 MP telephoto camera, a rare sight in this price bracket. It has a 1/2.88" sensor and a 2x f/1.85 lens (with 20x digital zoom). Additionally, there is an ultra-wide camera - 119.5-degree FoV on its f/2.2 lens and a modest 8 MP 1/4" sensor. This is a huge upgrade over the sole 50MP camera on the Phone 1. The selfie camera is the same, a 16MP module (f/2.45, 1/3").

• Wide (main): 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN9, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.57", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF; 2160p@30fps
• Ultra wide angle: 8 MP GalaxyCore GC08A8, f/2.2, 15mm, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; 1080p@30fps
• Telephoto: 50 MP OmniVision OV50D, f/1.9, 1/2.88", 0.612µm, PDAF; 2160p@60fps.
• Front camera: 16 MP GalaxyCore GC16B3, f/2.0, 22mm, 1/3", 1.0µm; 1080p@60fps

The rear and selfie cameras on the CMF Phone 2 Pro support what the company calls "True Lens Engine 3". It includes Ultra XDR, AI Vivid Mode, Night Mode, Portrait Optimizer, and Motion Capture.

The AI Vivid mode claims to create "true-to-life images with extra vivid hues and high contrast." Ultra XDR is a Google-backed HDR photography tech and an opt-in feature on the CMF Phone 2 Pro.

Swiping on the viewfinder or using the mode scroller below allows you to switch between modes. Additional shooting options are tucked away in the "More" menu. Flash and timer controls are located on the opposite side of the viewfinder, and you can access further settings like resolution (12 MP/50 MP), aspect ratio, Live Photo, and advanced options by expanding the settings menu.

Expert mode is available and so is RAW capturing.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

Photos from the main camera are good but not what we would call maturely processed. Colors look good and have a bit of pop to them. The dynamic range and the contrast are also quite good.

Detail, however, is lacking, and the detail that is there is quite heavily processed. The algorithm produces lots of artifacts too.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP main camera samples

The main camera does a decent job with portraits. Skin texture and tones look great, and the background blur is convincing. The only thing lacking at times is the subject detection and background separation. The phone can sometimes make pretty big mistakes, especially with a busier background.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples

You can force the main camera to capture in its full 50MP resolution, but you probably don't want to do that since there isn't any boost in resolved detail and overall quality. Perhaps the shots are a little less processed, but not by much.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 50MP main camera samples

Telephoto camera

Having a dedicated high-resolution, 2x telephoto camera at its relatively affordable price point is probably one of the highlights of the CMF Phone 2 Pro package. While the processing on these shots is still heavy-handed, we do believe there is more and better fine detail in these photos than in the 1x ones. The colors are good, and so are the contrast and dynamic range. Generally, a pretty good match to the main camera.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera samples

The telephoto camera does a great job with portraits as well. Skin texture and tone look great. For some reason, subject detection and separation seem more consistent than on the main camera. The quality of the background blur is excellent.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera portrait samples

The full resolution, 50MP mode is about as useless on the telephoto camera as it is on the main camera. The extra size is just not worth it since the overall quality is about the same.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 50 MP telephoto camera samples

Ultrawide camera

We can't realistically expect too much from an 8 MP fixed-focus ultrawide camera. The shots are decidedly soft with little resolved detail.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 8MP ultrawide camera samples

On the plus side, the colors look good and are well-matched to the other two cameras.

Selfie camera

The selfie camera does a solid, even if not class-leading job. The detail levels are good, but at the same time, there is plenty of noise and softness. At least the colors are good once again.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 16MP selfie camera samples

Low-light camera quality

The CMF Phone 2 Pro captures solid low-light photos with its main camera. The detail is well preserved, the colors look good, and the dynamic range is plenty wide. Light sources are pretty well-handled as well.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples

The only real gripe we have with these photos is that they are a bit soft and noisy. But they are not terrible in even those two aspects.

There is a dedicated Night mode in the camera app, but it doesn't really differ from the automatic night mode that is being triggered by the camera app on its own.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP main camera night mode samples

The dedicated telephoto camera also does a surprisingly good job with low-light photos. The detail is plentiful, and the colors are lively. Contrast is high, while the dynamic range is wide.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera low-light samples

Again, enabling Night mode on the telephoto camera has little to no effect on the actual photo quality.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera night mode samples

The ultrawide camera struggles badly in low-light conditions. Photos look soft and blurry, with little detail and plenty of noise.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 8MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

Even here enabling Night mode doesn't really help or have much effect at all.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 8MP ultrawide camera night mode samples

Night mode is arguably the most influential for selfies, but not exactly in a positive manner. Night mode destroys skin tones and gives everything a yellow and ghostly hue. We preferred just using the regular selfie mode with screen flash left on for extra light.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 16MP selfie camera low-light samples

CMF Phone 2 Pro: 16MP selfie camera night mode samples

Video capture quality

The main camera and telephoto cameras on the CMF Phone 2 Pro can capture video at up to 4K@30 fps resolution. The ultrawide camera is limited to 1080p. By default, videos get saved with an AVC/h.264 video stream (around 50 Mbps at 4K) and a stereo AAC audio stream inside an MP4 container. If you prefer, you can switch to HEVC/h.265 and save some space at the same quality level.

Quality-wise, the main camera captures excellent 4K footage with plenty of detail, nice colors and a wide dynamic range. There is a little fringing around small moving objects, but nothing dramatic. The telephoto camera is not nearly as impressive - its videos are a bit soft. Videos from the ultrawide are very rough around the edges. Both figuratively and literally. There is a very little detail, and plenty of visual defects like halos around finer objects.

There are no dedicated stabilization settings or modes in the camera app. Still, the main camera has always-on EIS. It works reasonably well, but it does have a negative effect on the autofocus system, triggering focus-hunting.

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.