In the office we have the brand new Huawei P9 (which Leica clarified they did indeed have a hand in designing), and also the Leica Q.
If you haven’t heard of the Huawei P9, it’s the first dual-lens smartphone, and it’s also the result of a widely marketed collaboration with Leica.
The Huawei P9 has been pretty impressive in our initial tests (we’ll post a full review later on the camera capabilities), and most interestingly has a ‘bokeh’ mode which allows it to not only readjust focus in post-processing, but also readjust the depth-of-field.
It can simulate the famed f/0.95 of the Noctilux, and also go up to f/16. The 12-megapixel P9 comes equipped with what Leica calls the 27mm f/2.2 Summarit-H ASPH, while the Leica Q has a 28mm f/1.7 Summilux ASPH.
The question is, can you tell the difference between the two images when we put them side by side?
On the left is the Huawei P9, while on the right is the image from the Leica Q.
We brought the images from the Huawei P9 and the Leica Q straight out of the phone and camera, and while the P9 obviously isn’t as good as the Leica Q, we do have to say that the images are startlingly good for a smartphone, and the bokeh isn’t bad at all. In fact, the Leica Q was a little too contrasty, causing darker shadows and blown out highlights.
On the other hand, our main criticisms with the P9 are the overly saturated skin tones, and the evident processing along the edges of the depth-of-field areas.
Still, one might even say that images from the P9 are…leica Leica’s.
Anyway, the answer to the question you came here to see: Lok was photographed on the left with a Leica Q, and on the right with a Huawei P9.
Surprised?
