Is the Huawei P9's monochrome mode as awesome as Huawei says it is?

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Is the Huawei P9's monochrome mode just a gimick like critics say it is?

The Huawei P9 recently launched here in Malaysia with a dual-camera setup from just RM2099. Featuring a unique monochrome mode with a dedicated ISP (Image Signal Processing) chip for each rear camera, quite a lot of critics are asking if the Huawei P9's monochrome mode is really that awesome? Isn't it just a native greyscale? Well, the short answer to that is Yes and No respectively. But if you want to know more read on and find out.

Recently, we were able to get some time with the Huawei P9 and took the monochrome mode for a spin. While we took some pics by itself, we also compared it against a fairly good 13MP cameraphone (which won't be named) so you can see for yourself just how awesome the monochrome mode on the P9 really is.

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The Huawei P9 clearly shows more details with better gradation of blacks

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This 13MP greyscale filter from another smartphone camera looks like it was slapped on to the usual picture

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Colours and details are spot on in colour but see what happens when you put it into monochrome mode below...

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... details are sharper and clearer as the blacks stand out more, so much so that you can even ...

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... see the dust particles which were missing in the colour picture.

Clearly, the Huawei P9's monochrome mode captures more details than the usual greyscale filter. There is a better gradation of blacks and if used well, it captures more details than just the big clump of black mass most greyscale or black and white effect filters do. Stay tuned for our full review and following Huawei P9 articles to see what other surprises the P9 has in store for us.

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Huawei P9 Specs & Price >