Commercial, Film and Digital Video Director Silver Belen in action using the HUAWEI P50 Pocket Premium Edition
As part of the ongoing Earth + Lens 2022 partnership of Manila Bulletin and Huawei, professionals from the field of photography and videography participated in an experiential activity to make use of the HUAWEI P50 Pocket in their different documentation adventures.
Manila Bulletin recently sat down with three renowned professionals– Bolichie Suzara, an all-around creative, bassist, and professional photographer for travel photography, street photography, and portraiture ; well-known fashion photographer and entrepreneur, Bjorn Michael; and Silver Belen, a skilled videographer for film and a digital director for advertising and music videos.
For weeks, the three professional content producers used the HUAWEI P50 Pocket in their everyday lives, whether to take pictures in their time of leisure or for use at work, to experience firsthand the high-quality camera capabilities of this smartphone.
Photo output of professional photographer Bolichie Suzara using the night mode feature of HUAWEI P50 Pocket
To say they were impressed is a complete understatement. Bolichie Suzara expressed his amazement at the P50 Pocket’s low light ability, “linagay ko lang siya sa night mode, and then pag shoot ko, wala na ‘kong kailangan gawin pa.” Bjorn, on the other hand, was deeply impressed with the phone’s ability to zoom in seamlessly by as much as 200x zoom range– he even shared a few shots he took with that setting. “The phone adjusted to what I’m shooting,” he said; In terms of shooting videos, what caught Silver Belen’s attention is the camera’s ability to stay stable during recording. It’s as if there’s a gimbal inside that keeps the video smooth, “di na kailangan dumaan sa post-process para i-stabilize.”
They also agreed that the automatic setting of the camera made capturing beautiful photographs a breeze! “Almost always, I use the auto mode kasi sobrang talino na ng phone eh!,” Bolichie said as he tells a story of when he used the camera on a day trip in Intramuros.
Behind the scenes from fashion photographer Bjorn Michael’s photoshoot at Tingloy Batangas, using the HUAWEI P50 Pocket
When asked of their go-to setting, Bjorn shared how he did an outdoor shoot at Tingloy, Batangas using the pro mode of the HUAWEI P50 Pocket and commended its flexibility– “like having your own DSLR,” he said. On the other hand, Silver mentioned that he uses the highest resolution on the phone when shooting a video. And although it was in the highest setting, transferring the footage didn’t take long. Truly, the HUAWEI P50 Pocket didn’t disappoint, down to the post-production process.
Being professionals in the field for so long, needless to say they’ve used different types of equipment available in the market, Bolichie Suzara said the pro mode in HUAWEI P50 Pocket has all the settings a professional camera offers. It has shown great flexibility in various environments, packs a lot of megapixels, is equipped with state-of-the-art AI, plus it saves a lot of space! However, what sets the HUAWEI P50 Pocket apart from other professional and smartphone cameras is its power to capture exactly what it is you see on the screen. “Kung ano yung nasa monitor, yun rin yung nagta-translate sa actual file,” Silver Belen explained.
Boliche, Bjorn and Silver had so much fun working and learning about the Huawei P50 Pocket. So much so that when they were asked if they’d consider using it for work, they all answered a resounding yes! “I’d bring it to professional shoots,” said Bolichie. He also added, “If sa phone mo lang titignan yung output, minsan mas maganda pa ‘to (HUAWEI P50 Pocket.)” Bjorn sees the potential that this smartphone holds in terms of replacing professional cameras in the future, “It’s a nice partner for your professional shoots. The quality of the photos that we produce using the phone can match the quality (of other professional cameras)” Whereas, Silver especially found its size useful so it might just be perfect for shooting videos that calls for the user to be discreet, “Pwede. Especially kung discreet yung shot, or kailangan hindi ako makikitang nagsu-shoot.”
The HUAWEI P50 Pocket has proven itself worthy of recognition. It’s a handy and lightweight smartphone with the camera capacity that goes up to par with those that professionals use. Again, if you’re a newbie photographer or simply interested in photography, the HUAWEI P50 Pocket might just be the one for you. Take it from the experts– “I highly recommend the phone. Especially with all the features it has that is not present with other smartphones. It’s a nice way to play around and teach yourself the basics of photography,” said Bjorn. “Ang pinaka advantage nito is, it’s always with you. Whenever maka encounter ka ng gusto mong i-shoot, you won’t miss it. You have the camera and the professional settings na,” said Bolichie who, along with Silver, expressed excitement not just for the camera quality, but also its compact design, “Pwede isali sa mga gears (needed for videography). Yung power niya nasa bulsa lang,” Silver explained.
Visit the links below to know more about the new HUAWEI P50 Pocket: https://consumer.huawei.com/ph/phones/p50-pocket/ and the HUAWEI P50 Pro: https://consumer.huawei.com/ph/phones/p50-pro/