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Motorola Edge 30 Pro Camera test

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Motorola Edge 30 Pro through our rigorous DXOMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in photo, video, and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. This article breaks down how the device fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases and is intended to highlight the most important results of our testing with an extract of the captured data.

Overview

Key camera specifications:

  • Primary: 50MP 1/1.55″ sensor, 1.0µm pixels, f/1.8-aperture lens, multi-directional PDAF, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 50MP 1/2.76″ sensor, 0.64µm pixels, 114˚ field of view, f/2.2-aperture lens
  • Depth: 2MP sensor, f/2.4-aperture lens
  • Video: 8K at 24/30fps, 4K at 30fps, 3.2K at 60fps, 1080p at 30/60/120/240/960fps, 10-bit HDR10+ (4K at 30fps tested)

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Motorola Edge 30 Pro
101
camera
107
Photo
100

123

102

125

91

123

76

124

84

116

67

82

60
Bokeh
60

85

60
Preview
60

91

64
Zoom
39

118

96

121

102
Video
79

116

89

119

93

119

102

118

92

119

78

86

104

118

Use cases & Conditions

Use case scores indicate the product performance in specific situations. They are not included in the overall score calculations.

BEST 175

Outdoor

Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux)

BEST 165

Indoor

Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux)

BEST 135

Lowlight

Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux)

BEST 149

Friends & Family

Portrait and group photo & videos

Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.

Pros

  • Good photo and video exposure in most lighting conditions
  • Stable and pleasant white balance
  • Wide depth of field that keeps all subjects in group shots in focus
  • Well-controlled noise in outdoors videos
  • Effective video stabilization on static scenes

Cons

  • Exposure and autofocus instabilities across consecutive shots
  • Ghosting and color quantization artifacts
  • Fairly high noise levels in most conditions
  • Poor zoom quality, low level of detail at most zoom settings
  • Video exposure instabilities
  • Strong noise in low-light video
  • Desaturated colors in low-light videos

Competing in the Premium price segment, the Edge 30 Pro is Motorola’s latest flagship phone. It is powered by Qualcomm’s fastest chipset — the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 — and comes with a 6.7-inch OLED display that supports a 144 Hz refresh rate. A stylish camera bump with a rounded finish on the back of the device houses three lenses. A 50MP primary camera with f/1.8-aperture lens is assisted by a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide and a 2MP depth sensor. The ultrawide also doubles as a macro lens. As a consequence, the Edge 30 Pro’s macro capabilities should be a step up from the 2MP macro lenses that are common on current budget and mid-range phones, including many of Motorola’s own G series phones.

In our DXOMARK Camera ranking, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro does not make it among the top devices, but in the right light conditions, it captures photos and videos with good exposure and pleasant white balance. A wide depth of field makes sure that all subjects in group shots are rendered acceptably sharp. On the downside, image noise is often noticeable in both photos and videos, and video clips can suffer from exposure instabilities.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro Camera Scores vs Premium
This graph compares DXOMARK photo, zoom and video scores between the tested device and references. Average and maximum scores of the price segment are also indicated. Average and maximum scores for each price segment are computed based on the DXOMARK database of devices tested.

Test summary

About DXOMARK Camera tests: DXOMARK’s Camera evaluations take place in laboratories and in real-world situations using a wide variety of subjects. The scores rely on objective tests for which the results are calculated directly by measurement software on our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests in which a sophisticated set of metrics allow a panel of image experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo, Zoom, and Video quality are scored separately and then combined into an Overall score for comparison among the cameras in different devices. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores are available here. The following section gathers key elements of DXOMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us  on how to receive a full report.

Photo

107

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

160

Honor Magic6 Pro
About DXOMARK Camera Photo tests

For scoring and analysis, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2,600 test images both in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The photo protocol is designed to take into account the main use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portraits, family, and landscape photography. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements on images of charts captured in the lab under different lighting conditions from 1 to 1,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.

In photo mode, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro can produce decent images with accurate target exposure. Dynamic range is limited, though, and on occasion, the camera slightly underexposes in order to avoid clipping in the highlights. White balance is quite stable and accurate, with a cool touch to outdoor images. Overall color rendering looks a little desaturated and skin tones can be slightly off.

The autofocus is sometimes unstable across consecutive shots, but a wide depth of field helps maintain good sharpness on all subjects in group shots. Images have a slightly low level of texture and detail and there is some noise noticeable in all light conditions. Our testers also observed some image artifacts, including ghosting in high contrast conditions and color quantization.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro Photo scores vs Premium
The photo tests analyze image quality attributes such as exposure, color, texture, and noise in various light conditions. Autofocus performances and the presence of artifacts on all images captured in controlled lab conditions and in real-life images are also evaluated. All these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of the images captured with the tested device and can help to understand the camera's main strengths and weaknesses.

Exposure

100

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

123

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

Color

102

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

125

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Exposure and color are the key attributes for technically good pictures. For exposure, the main attribute evaluated is the brightness of the main subject through various use cases such as landscape, portrait, or still life. Other factors evaluated are the contrast and the dynamic range, eg. the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image. Repeatability is also important, because it demonstrates the camera's ability to provide the same rendering when shooting several images of the same scene.
For color, the image quality attributes analyzed are skin-tone rendering, white balance, color shading, and repeatability. For color and skin tone rendering, we penalize unnatural colors but we respect a manufacturer's choice of color signature.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro — good target exposure,  dynamic range and color rendering, lack of fine detail
Motorola Edge 20 Pro — good target exposure and dynamic range, warmer color rendering, slightly desaturation, good level of detail
Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) — good target exposure and dynamic range, warm color rendering, lack of fine detail

Autofocus

91

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

123

Huawei Mate 60 Pro+

Autofocus tests concentrate on focus accuracy, focus repeatability, shooting time delay, and depth of field. Shooting delay is the difference between the time the user presses the capture button and the time the image is actually taken. It includes focusing speed and the capability of the device to capture images at the right time, what is called 'zero shutter lag' capability. Even if a shallow depth of field can be pleasant for a single subject portrait or close-up shot, it can also be a problem in some specific conditions such as group portraits; Both situations are tested. Focus accuracy is also evaluated in all the real-life images taken, from infinity to close-up objects and in low light to outdoor conditions.

Autofocus irregularity and speed: 1000Lux Δ0EV Daylight Handheld
This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed and also zero shutter lag capability by showing the edge acutance versus the shooting time measured on the AFHDR setup on a series of pictures. All pictures were taken at 1000Lux with Daylight illuminant, 500ms after the defocus. The edge acutance is measured on the four edges of the Dead Leaves chart, and the shooting time is measured on the LED Universal Timer.

Texture

76

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

124

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

Texture tests analyze the level of details and the texture of subjects in the images taken in the lab as well as in real-life scenarios. For natural shots, particular attention is paid to the level of details in the bright and dark areas of the image. Objective measurements are performed on chart images taken in various lighting conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different kinds of dynamic range conditions. The charts used are the proprietary DXOMARK chart (DMC) and the Dead Leaves chart.

DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score vs lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.

Noise

84

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

116

Honor Magic5 Pro

Noise tests analyze various attributes of noise such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, structure on real-life images as well as images of charts taken in the lab. For natural images, particular attention is paid to the noise on faces, landscapes, but also on dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Noise on moving objects is also evaluated on natural images. Objective measurements are performed on images of charts taken in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and different kinds of dynamic range conditions. The chart used is the Dead Leaves chart and the standardized measurement such as Visual Noise derived from ISO 15739.

Visual noise evolution with illuminance levels in handheld condition
This graph shows the evolution of visual noise metric with the level of lux in handheld condition. The visual noise metric is the mean of visual noise measurement on all patches of the Dead Leaves chart in the AFHDR setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.

Artifacts

67

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

82

Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G

The artifacts evaluation looks at lens shading, chromatic aberrations, geometrical distortion, edges ringing, halos, ghosting, quantization, unexpected color hue shifts, among others type of possible un-natural effects on photos. The more severe and the more frequent the artifact, the higher the point deduction on the score. The main artifacts observed and corresponding point loss are listed below.

Main photo artifacts penalties

Preview

107

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

160

Honor Magic6 Pro

Preview tests analyze the image quality of the camera app's preview of the image, with particular attention paid to the difference between the capture and the preview, especially regarding dynamic range and the application of the bokeh effect. Also evaluated is the smoothness of the exposure, color and focus adaptation when zooming from the minimal to the maximal zoom factor available. The preview frame rate is measured using the LED Universal Timer.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro, preview
Motorola Edge 30 Pro, capture— same target exposure as final capture but highlights clipping

Zoom

64

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

160

Honor Magic6 Pro
About DXOMARK Camera Zoom tests

DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 400 test images in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor, and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings and pinch zoom at various zoom factors from ultra wide to very long-range zoom. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting the images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements of chart mages captured in the lab under different conditions from 20 to 1000 lux and color temperatures from 2300K to 6500K.

Zooming isn’t a strong point of the Motorola Edge 30 Pro. Because there is no dedicated tele camera, all tele zooming is done digitally, resulting in a strong loss of detail. Target exposure tends to be better than on the Edge 20 Pro, but dynamic range is more limited, which leads to both highlight and shadow clipping.

Wide

96

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

121

Honor Magic6 Pro

These tests analyze the performance of the ultra-wide camera at several focal lengths from 12 mm to 20 mm. All image quality attributes are evaluated, with particular attention paid to such artifacts as chromatic aberrations, lens softness, and distortion. Pictures below are an extract of tested scenes.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro — acceptable level of detail in the center but loss of acutance towards the edges
Motorola Edge 20 Pro — acceptable level of detail in the center but strong loss of acutance towards the edges
Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos )— acceptable level of detail across the frame

Tele

39

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

118

Oppo Find X7 Ultra

All image quality attributes are evaluated at focal lengths from approximately 40 mm to 300 mm, with particular attention paid to texture and detail. The score is derived from a number of objective measurements in the lab and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation zoom score vs lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation zoom score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.
DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation zoom score vs lux lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation zoom score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.
DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation zoom score vs lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation zoom score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.

Video

102

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

158

Apple iPhone 15 Pro
About DXOMARK Camera Video tests

DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2.5 hours of video in controlled lab environments and in natural low-light, indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The evaluation consists of visually inspecting natural videos taken in various conditions and running objective measurements on videos of charts recorded in the lab under different conditions from 1 to 1000 lux and color temperatures from 2300 to 6500K.

When recording video, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro manages to expose subjects nicely, even in low light. However, we noticed quite a lot of exposure instabilities in our sample clips. Noise is generally well-controlled, except in low light. White balance is stable in bright light and when shooting indoors, but instabilities become noticeable in low light. Video stabilization is pretty effective, but sharpness differences between frames are often visible when walking while recording.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro Video scores vs Premium
Video tests analyze the same image quality attributes as for still images, such as exposure, color, texture, or noise, in addition to temporal aspects such as speed, and smoothness and stability of exposure, white balance, and autofocus transitions.

Exposure

79

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

116

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

Color

89

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

119

Honor Magic6 Pro

Exposure tests evaluate the brightness of the main subject and the dynamic range, eg. the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image. Stability and temporal adaption of the exposure are also analyzed.
Image-quality color analysis looks at color rendering, skin-tone rendering, white balance, color shading, stability of the white balance and its adaption when light is changing.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro — accurate face exposure, chroma noise, strong pink white balance cast

Motorola Edge 20 Pro — slight underexposure on face, strong noise, fairly neutral white balance

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) — slight underexposure on face, low noise, fairly accurate white balance given the lighting

Texture

102

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

118

Oppo Find X6 Pro

Texture tests analyze the level of details and texture of the real-life videos as well as the videos of charts recorded in the lab. Natural videos recordings are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the level of details in the bright and areas as well as in the dark. Objective measurements are performed of images of charts taken in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux. The charts used are the DXOMARK chart (DMC) and Dead Leaves chart.

DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation video score vs lux levels
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation video score with the level of lux in video. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.

Noise

92

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

119

Oppo Find X7 Ultra

Noise tests analyze various attributes of noise such as intensity, chromaticity, grain, structure, temporal aspects on real-life video recording as well as videos of charts taken in the lab. Natural videos are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the noise in the dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Objective measurements are performed on the videos of charts recorded in various conditions from 1 to 1000 lux. The chart used is the DXOMARK visual noise chart.

Spatial visual noise evolution with the illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Temporal visual noise evolution with the illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of temporal visual noise with the level of lux. Temporal visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup.

Stabilization

104

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

118

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

Stabilization evaluation tests the ability of the device to stabilize footage thanks to software or hardware technologies such as OIS, EIS, or any others means. The evaluation looks at residual motion, smoothness, jellow artifacts and residual motion blur on walk and run use cases in various lighting conditions. The video below is an extract from one of the tested scenes.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro – effective stabilization

Motorola Edge 20 Pro – some camera shake

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) – effective stabilization

Artifacts

78

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

86

Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Artifacts are evaluated with MTF and ringing measurements on the SFR chart in the lab as well as frame-rate measurements using the LED Universal Timer. Natural videos are visually evaluated by paying particular attention to artifacts such as aliasing, quantization, blocking, and hue shift, among others. The more severe and the more frequent the artifact, the higher the point deduction from the score. The main artifacts and corresponding point loss are listed below.

Main video artifacts penalties

Videos

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