A taste of the Honor Magic 8 Pro’s low-light camera performance

Honor has officially launched the Honor Magic 8 Pro in China, and we had an early opportunity to test its updated camera system. The setup has been adjusted slightly, though not completely redesigned. The main camera continues to use a 50MP 1/1.3-inch sensor, but its lens now features a fixed f/1.6 aperture instead of last year’s variable f/1.4 to 2.0 configuration. The lens is also slightly wider, moving from 24mm to 23mm.

As for the telephoto camera, it retains its headline specifications but incorporates several notable changes.

The Magic 8 Pro uses the 200MP 1/1.4-inch Samsung ISOCELL HP9 sensor, (also found in the Xiaomi 15 Ultra) which claims improved autofocus and better light-gathering capabilities. The lens has also been updated to a true 85mm focal length, replacing the Magic 7 Pro’s stated 72mm lens, which was effectively a 60mm unit using sensor crop zoom.

The 200MP telephoto system has a lens with a f/2.6 aperture and has CIPA 5.5-level Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). What this means for photography amateurs like you and me is that the lens has built-in stabilisation to help reduce shhake and motion blur, which typically become more obvious at higher zoom levels – particularly at 8x and beyond.

Finally, the Magic 8 Pro also introduces improvements to night portrait performance. Its 50MP Ultra Night Main Camera, equipped with an f/1.6 aperture and OIS, uses “AI segmentation and intelligent lighting” to process skin tones, highlights, and background separation. These updates aim to maintain subject clarity and colour accuracy in challenging low-light environments.

To see how the updated cameras perform in real-world conditions, we had the chance to take some photos at the Singapore Oceanarium. You can check out the sample photos to get a clearer view of how the Magic 8 Pro handles low-light conditions.

The first gallery shows a tree frog taken at different focal lengths, while the second gallery is of jellyfishes.

Sample photos

Given the short amount of time we had with the phone, it’s far too early to give a full verdict on the camera. That said, the shot’s we’ve managed to capture look good, and even when shooting at 230mm zoom, you can easily make out the various spots of green on the black-legged poison tree frog.

As for low-light performance, the camera handled it well despite the aquarium having less-than-ideal lighting. Even from a distance, the jellyfishes look sharp enough, and not over-processed or grainy.

If you’re curious regarding the full specifications of the phone, Honor has officially announced the Honor Magic 8 Pro launch event on 28 November. In the meantime, we’ll be putting the phone through its paces and can’t wait to put together a full review of the Honor Magic 8 Pro soon.