Tecno Phantom V Flip review

A total of three cameras

The Tecno Phantom V Flip has two cameras at the back and one on the inside a punch hole on the foldable screen for selfie/video call purposes.

The rear camera setup comprises of a 64MP primary and a 13MP ultrawide, both featuring PDAF. The inner camera is a 32MP shooter, also with PDAF capabilities.

The V Flip's primary camera is based on the 64MP Samsung ISOCELL GWB (S5KGWB) sensor. It's got a 1/1.73" optical format and 0.8µm pixels, and a Tetrapixel color filter array (Quad Bayer, in Sony speak), but with an RGBW twist. The lens has an aperture of f/1.7 and an equivalent focal length in the 24-25mm ballpark (according to the hardware scanning apps).

The ultrawide camera uses Samsung's 13MP (S5K)3L6 sensor - 1/3" optical format, 1.12µm pixels and a conventional RGB filter array. This ultrawide camera has f/2.2 aperture lens and most importantly - it comes with autofocusing capability.

For selfies, you get the 32MP (S5K)GD2 sensor - 1/2.8", 0.8µm, Tetrapixel) filter - with a 24mm-equivalent f/2.5 lens. And, surprise, surprise, it also supports autofocus!

The V Flip has four-LED flash in a ring-like arrangement at the back and a dual-LED front flash embedded within the screen bezel.

The Tecno doesn't miss the opportunity to offer cover screen UI for operating the rear cameras with the device in whichever state - folded or unfolded. In either case you can use the rear camera to take selfie photos and video. You can also use the rear screen as a preview if you are taking someone's portraits.

When operating through the cover screen you get a small shutter key and you can switch between Video, Photo, Portrait modes with swipes. You cannot switch to ultrawide this way, though.

When using the camera app on the inner display, you will find a cover screen preview switch and once active, you can go to the ultrawide camera and take a selfie picture.

Outside of these foldable-related bits, the camera app is straightforward - well, maybe aside from the full-auto photo mode being called AI Cam. There are Portrait, Super Night, Super Macro, Pro, and Sky Shop (change the sky) modes. The Pro works on both rear cameras.

Camera app

Photo quality

The main camera saves 16MP photos by default and those are mostly great. The resolved detail is plenty and the images are not over-sharpened, the foliage looks natural, the noise is kept low, the dynamic range is enough even if not that wide, and the contrast is good.

The white balance and the color rendition need tuning - the photos are a bit warmer than they should be and sometimes the colors can be a bit too saturated. But overall - the photos are quite likable.

Main camera, 16MP

There is a 2x zoom toggle, but it provides a simple digital zoom over the main camera and the zoomed photos are soft and lacking in detail.

2x zoom main camera, 16MP

On the other hand, the 64MP photos turned out surprisingly detailed with very greatly rendered high-frequency detail like foliage and the detailing on the building facades. The noise is notably low, and everythingelse is a match to the default output. You can use these 64MP photos for more detailed 2x-like crops.

Main camera, 64MP

The portrait mode offers 1x and 2x options. The 1x photos are excellent - the subject is detailed, always well exposed, the dynamic range is mostly wide, the colors are lively even if a bit over-saturated, and there is no noise.

The algorithm offers proficient subject separation and the simulated blur is convincing.

Portraits with main camera

You bet the selfies with the main camera are of high quality - they are incredibly detailed, with over-the-top colors and wide dynamic range. The face is somewhat over-sharpened, but still - some impressive shots we have here.

Selfies with the main camera

The ultrawide camera is supposed to combine the output from the main camera in order to achieve a sharper and better developed center part.

And hands down, the photos we took with this camera indeed have the sharpest central part we've seen in a while with outstanding quality, sharpness, dynamic range, and popping colors.

Judging by the rather average sides and corners, it looks like the processing has indeed taken the 16MP image from the main camera and crammed it into the center of the ultrawide photo. The transition from sharp to soft is gradual and overall, we liked what Tecno had done here.

Ultrawide camera, 13MP

The ultrawide camera supports autofocus and hence it can snap photos from as close as 2-3cm away. And those are nice - detailed enough, with good dynamic range and lively color rendering.

Macro with ultrawide, 13MP

The 32MP inner camera saves 32MP photos, which means they are upscaled from the default 8MP output. Had those been 8MP they would have been perfect - with exceptional detail, wide dynamic range, accurate colors, no noise.

But in their 32MP upscaled variant they keep all those good things but sharpness and detail - the upscaled photos are quite soft.

Still, when you upload those to the social networks, they would look magnificent, so we are happy with their overall rendition.

Selfies with the inner camera

The Phantom V Flip offers this super cool mode called Sky Shop, which literally means Sky Photoshop. You choose a sky effect from the presets and the camera app will photoshop it on your (preferably daylight) photos. Like this:

Sky Shop samples

Moving on to some low-light photos. There is no Auto Night Mode, though the camera app and its "AI" will periodically show Night scenes. This means that the app has recognized the scene and will tune the camera settings accordingly.

The main camera should benefit greatly from the RGBW sensor and according to Tecno it should save some excellent nighttime photos. And it does!

The default photos are detailed and sharp, with good dynamic range (wider than we expected it to be), excellent colors and high contrast. The noise is quite low.

Even without Night Mode, these shots are simply great, especially when you consider there is no OIS on this camera.

Main camera, Auto

And speaking about Night Mode, it takes about a second to shoot and another one to save the photo. It widens the dynamic range, slightly brightens the image, and cleans up noise. But it lowers the detail and the sharpness, and its harsh noise reduction is responsible for the oil-painting look.

Main camera, Night Mode

The main camera supports Tripod Night Mode - it uses up to 30s exposure to capture an ideal photo.

Tripod Night Mode

The ultrawide camera does the same thing at night as in broad daylight - it adds the output from the main camera in its center. And the photos are great - very detailed and sharp, with low-noise, good dynamic range, and accurate colors.

Of course, outside the large center portion, you will observe a noticeable drop in the detail, smeared objects and what looks like compression artefacts at times.

Ultrawide camera, Auto

You don't need to use Night Mode for the ultrawide camera as it usually worsens the shot as it doesn't benefit from the combined output from two cameras. The photos are far less detailed even if they have a bit wider dynamic range and restored highlights.

Ultrawide camera, Night Mode

And here's how the main camera stacks up against the competition in our extensive Photo compare database.

Tecno Phantom V Flip against the Galaxy Z Flip4 and the Motorola Razr 40 in our Photo compare tool

Video recording

The Phantom V Flip records video up to 4K30 with its main and ultrawide cameras, while the dedicated selfie one is capped at 1440p30. There is a 1080p60 option for the primary and selfie cameras.

There's no option for using the h.265 codec - the older, less efficient, but more widely compatible h.264 is the only way to encode videos.

There is an optional stabilization mode called Ultra Steady, available for all cameras at 1080p30 mode. If disabled, you can shoot in whatever resolution you want, 1080p30 included, but there won't be any stabilization. Bummer!

The 4K videos are captured with 50Mbps bitrate, while the 1080p30 ones - with about 20Mbp.s. Audio is always stereo, the bitrate is 250Kbps, and the sound is good.

The 4K daylight footage from the main camera is solid - the resolved detail is enough, the sharpness is good, the dynamic range is wide. The white balance is once again a bit off, but still likable.

The 4K low-light clip from the main camera is very good - it is bright and detailed, with tolerable noise, excellent color saturation, and adequate dynamic range.

The ultrawide camera records good 4K clips during the day with enough detail at the center and wide dynamic range. The footage is a bit noisy, but not enough to ruin the quality. The videos could benefit from a contrast and saturation boost, though.

The 4K ultrawide video we took at nighttime is overrun by noise and barely usable.

The 1440p video from the selfie camera is alright - the detail is decent and so is the dynamic range. The colors are accurate here. If only it were stable, though.

The Ultra Stable mode does an outstanding job across all three cameras.

Here's how the Tecno Phantom V Flip compares to other devices in our vast video compare database.

Tecno Phantom V Flip against the Galaxy Z Flip4 and the Motorola Razr 40 in our Video compare tool