Tecno Phantom V Flip2 review

A new dual-camera setup

One thing that has been upgraded from the original Phantom V Flip is the camera setup in the V Flip2. You still get two cameras on the back of the phone and a pretty fancy, high-resolution autofocusing selfie. However, now, the rear cameras have also been upped in resolution and are both 50MP.

The main camera is based on the fairly old but pretty well-reviewed Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN5 sensor, commonly known as the GN5. The ultrawide camera is based on a Hynix HI5022 sensor. The selfie camera is still the same 32MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGD2 as the original Phantom V Flip.

• Wide (main): 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN5 f/1.9, 1/1.57", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; 2160p@30fps
• Ultra wide angle: 50 MP Hynix HI5022, 114-degree, 1/2.8", 0.64µm, PDAF; 2160p@30fps
• Front camera: 32 MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGD2, f/2.5, 24mm, 1/2.8", 0.8µm; AF; 1440p@30fps

There is nothing particularly special about the camera UI. You can use the cover display on its own when the phone is closed with a fairly rich set of options available or as a secondary viewfinder while the phone is open.

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

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The Phantom V Flip2's photos are decent but largely unimpressive. The detail is there, and there is very little noise. Colors look good.

However, contrast and dynamic range are far from perfect. Skies often get clipped. There is some softness on surfaces as well.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera samples

You can force the main camera to capture in its full 50MP resolution. Surprisingly enough, the resulting photos often look better than their binned 12.5MP equivalents. There is more fine detail with less softness on surfaces, and even dynamic range is a bit better.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 50MP main camera samples

The Phantom V Flip2 lacks a dedicated telephoto, but it can still shoot 2x zoom photos with its main camera. These photos look surprisingly clean and sharp, with good detail and colors. Dynamic range is also quite good, though there is some clipping of highlights.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom samples

Ultrawide camera

The Phantom V Flip2 has a 50MP ultrawide camera. It features autofocus, a nifty addition that is useful for taking close-ups.

The quality of the ultrawide photos is alright, though not particularly special in any way. The amount of detail is good, though most surfaces have a general softness. Colors look pretty great.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP ultrawide camera samples

The ultrawide does well when it comes to macro photography.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP ultrawide camera macro samples

Selfie camera

The Phantom V Flip2 has a pretty potent 32MP selfie shooter at its disposal. Its high resolution helps it capture a lot of fine detail. Skin texture comes though looking quite natural and detailed. Skin tones are quite accurate, too. The presence of autofocus offers a boost to quality and versatility.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 32MP selfie camera samples

The only real issue we have with the selfie is the less-than-perfect dynamic range. Other than that, the selfies look awesome.

Low-light camera quality

The main camera captures decent, even if mostly unimpressive, low-light photos. The detail is there, even in darker areas, which are surprisingly well-developed. Light sources are quite well-contained as well. There is some noise here and there, but nothing too severe. Colors and contrast are good.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples

The V Flip2 has an automatic night mode, which triggers quite consistently and definitely does some HDR stacking. However, there is also a Super Night mode, which offers longer capture times and even more stacking.

We can't necessarily say that we like Super Night mode better on the main camera. In fact, it seems to have quite aggressive processing and leaves behind some oversharpening artifacts. At least the photos look generally brighter.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera night mode samples

Zooming with the main camera at 2x doesn't deteriorate the overall quality of the images too much. These are still perfectly usable.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom low-light samples

Again, using the Super Night mode results in some aggressive sharpening.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom night mode samples

The ultrawide camera does pretty well in low light. There is enough detail and darker areas are well exposed. We can't ask for much more out of this camera.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 12.5MP ultrawide camera night mode samples

Finally, we have the selfie camera, which continues to offer great-quality shots even in low light.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 32MP selfie camera low-light samples

Enabling Super Night mode on the selfie lowers the capture resolution to 8MP and applies some aggressive sharpening and processing, just like on the other two cameras. We wouldn't recommend using the mode.

Tecno Phantom V Flip2: 8MP selfie camera night mode samples

Video capture quality

The Phantom V Flip2 can capture video at up to 4K@30fps with both of its rear cameras. The selfie tops out at 1440p for some reason. Video gets captured in a standard 50 Mbps AVC/h.264 video stream and a 48 kHz stereo AAC audio stream inside an MP4 container. HEVC/h.265 recording is an option to save some space.

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

The main camera captures pretty great 4K videos. The detail is excellent. Contrast and dynamic range are good, and so are colors. At 2x zoom, videos come out looking noticeably softer and blurrier. The ultrawide does a surprisingly solid job. You get plenty of detail and very little noise.

The V Flip2 has two levels of EIS for video. The first one retains the full 4K resolution and does a decent enough job, though some annoying shaking is left behind.

The second level of EIS lowers capture resolution to 1080p but doesn't offer any improvements in stability.

While the footage has some noise, the main camera does a great job at night. Even at 2x zoom, the footage isn't too bad, although it is noticeably softer. The ultrawide struggles quite a bit in low-light conditions.