Tecno Camon 30 Premier review: Camera comes first, everything else next

I have been using the Tecno Camon 30 Premier as my primary camera phone for the past three weeks. Here is my full review.

Designed like a camera-centric smartphone

The phone even with the case looks premium. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Tecno Camon 30 Premier clearly reminded me of two phones—the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and the OnePlus 12. I have to say, it offers the best of both worlds. This device is crafted to feel premium in hand, and among all the phones with a vegan leather back that I have tested recently, this one has the most authentic leather-like feel. It’s soft to the touch, offers plenty of grip, and pairs beautifully with the grey-coloured metal frame.

The case that comes with this phone is also one of the most premium-feeling cases I have encountered recently. In fact, when I handed this device to my friend, he couldn’t even tell that the phone had a case on it. It’s that good and probably one of the few cases that doesn’t hide the beauty of the device.

As expected, the camera bump is massive, and with the case on, it becomes even more evident. Overall, this phone has been designed to showcase its camera prowess, and it does its job brilliantly.

A decent display that gets the job done

The display is sharp and vibrant. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Tecno Camon 30 Premier packs a large 6.77-inch OLED LTPO screen with a 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Unlike most Android phones in this price range, it boasts a flat panel with an integrated in-display fingerprint sensor. The phone also comes with a pre-installed screen protector, and the box includes complimentary tempered glass—more than I could ask for.

The display is bright and vivid and did serve me well while gaming, and also during content consumption; however, if you tend to use it under direct sunlight a lot, you might find the peak brightness lacking, especially compared to other smartphones at this price range.

As a flat-panel display, it’s great for gaming. The minimal and uniform bezels give it a premium look, comparable to high-end smartphones.

A versatile camera smartphone

The phone has four 50 MP cameras. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Tecno Camon 30 Premier is a camera-centric smartphone, and one of the few devices that packs four 50 MP sensors, which includes a 50 MP wide angle, ultra-wide angle, 3x periscope telephoto lens, and a 50 MP selfie camera. It’s clearly one of the few smartphones under Rs 40,000 that has a versatile camera unit, and the high-resolution ultra-wide and telephoto lens ensures that photos from all focal lengths come out sharp and vivid.

This phone can shoot up to 4K 60fps videos on all four cameras and uses AI to create personal avatars directly from the camera app. With 512 GB of internal storage, it provides ample space to store all photos and videos locally without needing cloud backup.

The 3x telephoto lens offers up to 60x digital zoom with a 5x macro mode. It captures good pictures up to 10x zoom, but beyond that, images tend to suffer from softness, noise, and lack of detail. At 3x zoom, it takes excellent portraits of both human and non-human subjects.

During my testing, the Tecno Camon 30 Premier captured stunning pictures in daylight, although photos could get a bit noisy in low light. It has a fast shutter speed and takes good selfies, though it smooths the skin by default, which can be turned off. The colour consistency across various focal lengths is very reliable. Here are some camera samples of the Tecno Camon 30 Premier.

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 1. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 2. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 3. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 4. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 5. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 6. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 7. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 8. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 9. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Tecno Camon 30 Premier camera sample 10. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Good performer, but not the best

The device offers plenty of RAM and ROM to store everything locally. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate with up to 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. In terms of raw performance, it’s definitely not as capable as some of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered devices like the OnePlus 12R (review) or the iQOO 9 Pro (review). However, it can easily handle multitasking and even gaming without any issues.

It scored over 9.8 lakh points on Antutu, outperforming phones like the Galaxy S23 FE (review).

AnTuTu score almost touches the 1 million mark. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Even with the heavy usage, I didn’t notice any heating during both gaming and extensive camera usage. However, it gets fairly hot while charging.

Running on Android 14 with a custom HiOS 14 skin, the UI appears somewhat cluttered and includes noticeable bloatware. While most can be uninstalled, it detracts from the initial user experience. Tecno promises three major OS upgrades, ensuring the Camon 30 Premier will be updated until Android 16.

Almost all-day battery life

The device offers good network coverage. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The smartphone packs a decent 5,000 mAh battery with support for 70W fast charging, which fully charges in just over 45 minutes. With moderate use, including occasional gaming and camera use, the phone comfortably lasts over a day. In my experience, it provided over six hours of screen-on-time on a 5G network, and it can charge up to 50 per cent in under 20 minutes.

Verdict: A camera-first smartphone

A camera first-smartphone. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

In the Rs 40,000 price range, most devices prioritize performance, but the Tecno Camon 30 Premier stands out by focusing on its camera capabilities. While other phones may offer a superior overall experience, none match the versatility of its camera hardware, capable of capturing stunning pictures and videos in almost any situation.

This is for those users, who need a unique-looking smartphone with a great set of cameras that offers a flagship phone-like experience.