Although the word “cameraphone” had gradually faded into the past, it’s starting to come back, and every manufacturer wants their smartphone to be called exactly that — a cameraphone. Not just “with a good camera,” but specifically a cameraphone — so that photo capabilities become an argument for purchase. realme went even further in this regard and called their 16 Pro+ a “Portrait Master.” It sounds bold, but behind this marketing slogan lies quite serious hardware — a 200-megapixel main sensor, a dedicated 50 MP telephoto lens, and even an ultrawide with autofocus. Plus a whole set of portrait modes, filters, and presets clearly aimed at a younger audience. Let’s figure out whether the camera truly justifies such confident positioning.
This smartphone claims it shoots better than others. Let’s check!
What Camera Does the realme 16 Pro+ Have
The main camera is built on a 200-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL HP5 sensor in a 1/1.56-inch format. The lens is a 23mm equivalent with an f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization. The sensor size remains the same as in previous generations with 50 MP, so don’t expect miracles in night photography, but we’ll get back to that. However, in daylight and especially at 2x zoom, the high resolution should provide a boost in detail. The minimum focusing distance is about 10 cm, which makes the main module a decent option for macro as well.
The telephoto lens — 50 MP on a Samsung ISOCELL JN5 sensor in a 1/2.76-inch format with an 80mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture. Honestly, in terms of sensor size, this is a step back compared to previous Pro+ models — the 14 Pro+ and 13 Pro+ had a 1/1.95-inch sensor. However, for its class, the telephoto is quite decent, and it has a nice bonus — a minimum focusing distance of just 35 cm versus 60 cm on the 14 Pro+.
Photos always look best on the smartphone’s own screen, but we viewed them on a large display.
The ultrawide is the most modest module: 8 MP on an OmniVision sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. Such modest ultrawides are a long-standing tradition of the Pro+ lineup. However, this generation gained autofocus — previously the module had fixed focus, and this is already a small step forward.
The front camera received 50 MP resolution on an OmniVision sensor. The lens is quite wide-angle with a 22mm focal length and f/2.4 aperture. There’s no autofocus, but that’s normal for a front camera. And why would it need one — you’ll always be shooting roughly the same thing, so it’s much easier to set up.
You can download the originals of the photos presented below for your own study at this link
Daylight Shooting — Everything Is Excellent Here
In practice, the main camera at 1x shoots simply superbly. Detail is high and natural — without the aggressive sharpening that many manufacturers love so much. The dynamic range turned out to be quite wide even at the sensor level, although the final shots are adjusted by algorithms, and it shows. You’ve probably noticed how a smartphone changes the photo after a couple of seconds. During that time, processing occurs before the final save.
A good example of wide dynamic range. It was even painful to look toward the scene because of the bright sun.
I particularly liked the exposure and white balance. I’ve long stopped paying attention to some smartphones making the image slightly warmer or cooler. It still looks good, but there’s always a slight constant shift. Here the colors are such that I even tried to figure out which way they shift — I found nothing.
I’d say the colors come out pleasant and saturated just enough so that the image is pleasing but doesn’t look cartoonish. After all, the real world is always more muted than we’re used to seeing in photos. And some manufacturers often go overboard with this. There are separate processing modes, but we’ll talk about that below. For now, let me just give a small interim summary: in good light, there are no complaints about the main module.
