Realme 14 Pro+ review

A familiar triple camera with some twists

The Realme 14 Pro+ features a trio of cameras on its back that is similar to the Realme 13 Pro+. There is a 50MP OIS primary, a 50MP OIS 3x telephoto, and an 8MP ultrawide. All cameras except the 3x zoom cam use new sensors and optics. The front camera even has autofocus capabilities, which is nice.

Here is your usual list of sensors and optics.

• Wide (main): 50 MP Sony IMX896, QuadBayer, 24mm f/1.8, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, OIS, multi-directional PDAF; 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps
• Telephoto 3x: 50 MP Sony IMX882, QuadBayer, periscope 73mm f/2.65, 1/1.95", 0.8µm, OIS, multi-directional PDAF; 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps
• Ultrawide: 8 MP Sony IMX355, 16mm f/2.2, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps.
• Front camera: 32 MP GalaxyCore GC32E2, QuadBayer, 21mm f/2.0, 1/3.0", 0.7µm; eye-trackinng autofocus, 4K@30fps

Daylight photo quality

The main camera saves good 12.5MP photos, though they are not spectacular. While there is a good amount of detail, closer examination reveals wax-looking details that lack absolute sharpness.

At fit-to-screen magnifications, the photos look contrasty and lively. The dynamic range is wide but not over the top. Overall, we have solid but not flagship-grade photo quality.

Main camera

Here are some of the shots we took with the Realme 14 Pro+ in Copenhagen.

Daylight main camera samples

Realme offers 2x zoom in the camera app, but it is not as advanced in-sensor zoom as we hoped for. The 2x option is a simple digital zoom achieved by cropping and upscaling from the center of the 1x image.

Main camera, 2x zoom

Here are some of the shots we took with the Realme 14 Pro+ in Copenhagen.

2x crop zoom samples

The 3x photos from the telephoto camera are great - they are detailed and sharp, with lively and mostly realistic colors, good dynamic range and no visible noise. The fine detail rendition is nicer than on the main camera, and we really like the photos that come out of this camera.

Telephoto camera, 3x zoom

Here are some of the shots we took with the Realme 14 Pro+ in Copenhagen.

Daylight telephoto camera samples

The zoom camera can focus from as close as 60cm away, which may not be macro photography, but will still do for some good closeups. The phone is very good at seamlessly switching to the main camera in closeup scenes.

Telephoto camera, closeup

Anything over 3x zoom is digital magnification, and even if Realme advertises 6x and up to 140x zoom, those options are not lossless and may look good only on fit-to-screen magnifications.

Telephoto camera, 6x zoom

We quite liked the 8MP ultrawide photos. While they do not excel when it comes to resolved detail, they are certainly above the average we've seen from 8MP imagers in this class. Furthermore, those are a match to the other cameras when it comes to color presentation, white balance, and contrast.

Ultrawide camera

Here are some of the shots we took with the Realme 14 Pro+ in Copenhagen.

Daylight ultrawide camera samples

The main and zoom cameras are good for capturing people, be it in regular or portrait mode. The 2x option is digital zoom, as expected. The test subject here was always well-exposed, with good rendition and enough resolved detail.

Regular: 1x • 2x • 3x

The 3x option in the portrait mode corresponds to 81mm instead of 73mm, which means there is some digital zoom involved, and looking at 100% magnification - it is obvious. Still, the 1x and 3x portraits are likable, the subject separation is proficient, and the simulated bokeh is convincing.

Portrait: 1x • 2x • 3x

Regular: 1x • 2x • 3x

Portrait: 1x • 2x • 3x

Finally, the 32MP selfie camera, which uses a Quad-Bayer color filter, still saves 32MP photos instead of 8MP. That is why all selfies offer average detail at best - they all have been upscaled.

On a positive note, this year the camera offers autofocus with face and eye detection, which improves the quality as there is no risk of blurry faces like on all Redmi Note 14 models we reviewed. The photos offer accurate colors, wide dynamic range and low noise. Downsizing those to 8MP will offer you close to class-leading selfies.

Selfies

Low-light photo quality

The Realme 14 Pro+ camera app supports automatic night mode and it appears to be the preferred way of shooting at night.

The photos from the main camera are top-notch - they are detailed, very well exposed, colorful, with no visible noise, and outstanding dynamic range.

Main camera

Low-light main camera samples

The same goes for the 2x zoomed shots, but the detail is not as high due to the digital zoom.

Main camera, 2x zoom

The 3x zoomed photos are very good at night. They offer enough detail, great colors, wide dynamic range and are exposed quite well.

Telephoto camera, 3x zoom

Low-light telephoto camera samples

The 6x zoom is crop and upscale from the 3x output, and the photos are poor in detail but should do at fit-to-screen magnifications.

Telephoto camera, 6x zoom

Finally, the 8MP ultrawide photos, while not champs in detail and sharpness, offer some solid processing and rendition and they will do a good job if an occasion at night arises. You should stick to the main camera and use this only in extreme cases.

Ultrawide camera

Low-light ultrawide camera samples

MagicGlow flash test

The three-LED flash is called Magic Glow, where the LEDs are arranged in a circle and spaced 120° apart. These LEDs are intended for low-light portraits - they should create more natural lighting for the subjects thanks to their different color temperature.

And they are not just gimmicks! We shot the following two scenes without flash, with standard flash, and then with the MagicGlow flash. You can clearly see the samples shot with MagicGlow offer more natural colors with pleasant skin tones and warm surroundings.

No flash • LED flash • MagicGlow flash

No flash • LED flash • MagicGlow flash

Video recording

The Realme 14 Pro+ supports video recording at up to 4K at 30fps with its main and 3x zoom cameras, while the ultrawide and the selfie are capped at 1080p@30fps. The main and zoom unit can do 1080p@60fps.

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

Electronic stabilization is available across all cameras, resolutions and frame rates, and does a very good job in stabilizing the footage, which is a nice upgrade from the Realme 13 Pro+.

The 4K videos from the main cam are solid, with bright exposure and excellent color saturation, but average detail.

The 2x zoomed videos are digitally zoomed and poor.

The 3x telephoto videos look very good, but their detail is average and there is some visible noise.

The 1080p videos from the ultrawide camera offer enough detail day and night, good colors, contrast and even the dynamic range is adequate.

Finally, the 4K selfie footage is fantastic with excellent detail, sharpness, subject rendition and faithful colors.