TECNO closes 2024 with the arrival of the Camon 30S as an interesting offering in the budget segment. Beyond the usual premium features like a 120hz curved AMOLED display, what makes the Camon 30S shine in the budget segment is its main camera, which uses an IMX896 sensor.
This particular Sony sensor is a variation of the popular IMX890 that’s often seen on more expensive models like the Find X6 Pro, ROG Phone 8 Pro, OnePlus 11, and realme 12 Pro+. It’s a proven 1/1.56-inch sensor that presents excellent performance even in low light. The fact that you get access to a flagship-grade sensor at under Php 10k is enough to make the Camon 30S an interesting budget phone.
We’ve been using the Camon 30S for a few weeks, and its main camera shines above all the budget phones we’ve tested in 2024. Even if you “only” have an entry-level chip with the Helio G100–which is a decent choice for under Php 10k–the photos we took using the Camon 30S can rival most midrange phones in the Philippines.
The photos we took have excellent dynamic range with plenty of detail, along with vibrant and accurate colors that are close to what our eyes see. The IMX890 series also excels with its 2x digital zoom performance and the Camon 30S delivers in this regard. In times when we needed that extra reach, the Camon 30S’ 2x digital zoom is arguably the best we’ve seen on any budget phone.
Should you need to clean up your photos, the Camon 30S is among the few budget phones that have an AI Eraser feature that can intelligently remove unwanted people and objects on your photo to make them look more polished with fewer distractions in the background.
The Camon 30S’ excellent camera performance also extends to video as well, where its built-in OIS helps you take stable footage even at 2K30 resolution. Compared to other phones that use a Helio G99 or Helio G100, the Camon 30S is one of the better performers when it comes to video performance.
Aside from being able to shoot at up to 2K resolution, the Camon 30S’ main camera is vlogging-friendly with its support for 60FPS shooting at 1080p and Ultra-Steady (OIS+EIS) shooting at 1080p30 resolution.
Outside of its standout main camera, the Camon 30S is also great for binge-watching with its 6.78-inch 120hz curved AMOLED display that has 1300nits of peak brightness–which is higher compared to what the competition has to offer, and a 5000mAh battery that can last you the whole day and can be topped up quickly via 33w wired charging.
The Camon 30S is also a capable budget phone with its Helio G100 processor that’s paired with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage, which is good enough for general use and light gaming as well. Rounding up this feature-packed budget phone is Android 14 out of the box and stereo speakers.
The Camon 30S is priced at Php 9,499 and is available at all authorized TECNO stores at your nearest Cyberzone nationwide.