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Huawei P30 Pro's bonkers periscope camera shown in YouTube teardown video

JerryRigEverything gives all you phone-camera nerds a real gift in its latest video.

Patrick Holland Managing Editor
Patrick Holland has been a phone reviewer for CNET since 2016. He is a former theater director who occasionally makes short films. Patrick has an eye for photography and a passion for everything mobile. He is a colorful raconteur who will guide you through the ever-changing, fast-paced world of phones, especially the iPhone and iOS. He used to co-host CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast and interviewed guests like Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodard, Stephen Merchant, Sam Jay, Edgar Wright and Roy Wood Jr.
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  • Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
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The square opening on the left side is a mirror for the periscope camera that allows the Huawei P30 Pro a 5x optical zoom.

Angela Lang/CNET

While the Samsung Galaxy Fold is dominating the news for all its wonder and problems, one of the most impressive smartphones recently, the Huawei P30 Pro , is making waves for how amazing its four-rear cameras are. In his review of the P30 Pro for CNET, Andrew Hoyle writes, "This phone captures zoom and low-light photos unlike anything I've ever seen from a phone." 

A new video teardown on the YouTube channel JerryRigEverything shows a teardown of the phone and its one-of-a-kind camera system.

The zoom camera is particularly interesting because it has 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom. As opposed to having the lens stick out of the back of the phone, Huawei built it into the phone sideways -- with a periscope-style mirror to reflect light into the sensor. Fast-forward to 6 minutes in to see the relevant section of the video.

In the video, Zack Nelson not only dissects the periscope camera module to reveal the lens and magnifier, but he shows how the in-screen fingerprint readers works. When the unit it is removed from the phone, there's a small clear circle in the display where your finger would normally go.

Watch this: P30 Pro and Galaxy S10 cameras compared

Huawei P30 Pro's four rear cameras from every angle

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