Smartphone cameras continue to improve due to the revamped sensors, enhanced low light capability and optimized software, but even the best of them are limited.
Huawei equipped its P9 flagship with a state-of-the-art dual-camera system that is able to take your photographs and significantly improve them. Regardless of the phone's capacity to capture sharp colors and strong contrasts, the marketing department of the company stretched the truth by a big margin while advertising the camera.
Specifically, the OEM uploaded the picture from above to its Google+ page, with a description that led users to believe it was taken with the Huawei P9.
"The #HuaweiP9's dual Leica cameras make taking photos in low light conditions like this a pleasure."
The company further urged users to take sunrise images with their phones and share them with the community of Huawei phone owners.
What the company did not take into account was that Google+ keeps EXIF metadata transparent and accessible for every picture that gets uploaded to it. Android Police did some digging and found out that the image was actually shot using a $4,500 DSLR setup. The full details show that a $2,600 Canon EOS 5D Mark III was paired with a $1,900 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens to take the shot.
As the photographic misdirection started to make waves in the media, Huawei released a statement clarifying things.
The OEM acknowledges that the Huawei P9 was not the device used to capture the inspiring image.
According to Huawei, the photograph was taken on the set where an advertisement for the P9 flagship was being filmed. The company says that the image was released online to "inspire [their] community."
"We should have been clearer with the captions for this image. It was never our intention to mislead," Huawei notes.
The company apologized and took down the photograph in the meantime.
Huawei touted that the camera system on the P9 is a game changer and established that German photography company Leica even offered it a stamp of approval.
Keep in mind that Huawei is far from being the first company to glitter the performance of its cameras. Back in 2012, Nokia presented a video explaining the advantages of image stabilization in its Lumia 920. The public opinion was dismayed to find out that the company actually used a regular video camera shooting the footage that was presented as belonging to the Lumia 920.
