There is a physical limit to what a cell phone camera can do. OPPO is pushing that limit further than anyone else

Standing out in the mobile showcase is a war that is fought on many fronts at the same time and mobile photography is the most decisive, especially when we enter the super high range with mobile phones that easily exceed 1,000 euros. Until recently, the fight was between the iPhone, the Pixel and the current Galaxy, but things have changed a lot and Chinese companies have advanced to the right. One of those companies is OPPO with its OPPO Find X9 Ultraone of those who is undoubtedly a candidate for the throne of mobile photography.

We were in China for the launch of its new flagship, where we were able to visit its new campus in Shenzhen and speak with Jie Liu, Senior Imaging Product Manager at OPPO, who told us more details about the camera.

Taking good photos is no longer enough, we want versatility

We are at a point where any mobile phone in this price range takes excellent photos. Quality is presupposed, that’s why the battle has shifted to versatility: offer from an ultra wide angle to a superzoom, maintaining uniform quality throughout the range.

The OPPO Find X9 Ultra has a 200 megapixel main sensor that allows us, through cropping, to simulate a 2x zoom. It is accompanied by a telephoto lens of another 200 megapixels that is equivalent to a 3x zoom and, again, by cropping it allows us to simulate a 6x. And the big news: a third 50 megapixel sensor equivalent to a 10x optical zoom or 230 millimeters. Of course you can’t miss the ultra wide angle (0.6x), which also in this generation increases the size of the sensor to improve quality.

One of the things that caught our attention is how they have integrated a telephoto with that focal length into the body of a mobile phone since, although the camera module protrudes quite a bit from the chassis, it is still not enough for such a long zoom. Jie told us that “to make the module small enough we used a telescope structure, with a new technology called quintuple reflection. This configuration reduces the physical length of the system while maintaining the focal length.”

It is a structure of different prisms that reflects light five times until it reaches the sensor. The problem with this is that the light must travel a longer distance, which results in images with more noise and lower luminosity (the aperture is equivalent to f/3.5). “We have used technologies to reduce the noise caused by these multiple reflections, such as a layer of air between the prisms that reduces noise and loss.”

The Teleconverter Claim

OPPO has already started the path of teleconverters with the OPPO Find X9 Pro and raise the bar with the Ultra model. This is a photography kit that is sold separately and includes a 300 millimeter objective which attaches to the mobile phone thanks to a special case that also has a handle. It is a strategy copied from the one that Vivo has followed, first with the Vivo X300 Pro and then with him Vivo X300 Ultra (both companies belong to the same parent company, BBK Electronics).

When we attach the teleconverter, we can take spectacular photos from very far away, with stunning bokeh that we can only achieve with a lens of these characteristics. This lens is attached to the 200 megapixel telephoto lens, so we can do the cropping “trick” again to achieve a 30x zoom, equivalent to 690 millimeters. The results speak for themselves:

At the moment, OPPO has launched two teleconverters, 200 millimeters in the Pro model and 300 millimeters in the Ultra, two fixed focals. The problem is that they only work with the model with which they were launched, meaning that we cannot use the 200 millimeter teleconverter of the Pro in the Ultra.

During the meeting, we asked Jie Liu if the brand has considered launching more lenses in order to expand the range of available focal lengths, and even if there is the possibility of launching a lens with a variable focal length, for example a 200-400 millimeters: “It is a good suggestion and it is our direction of evolution, but this entails many technical obstacles. The solution we have now is temporary to ensure image quality, adding new focal lengths is a consideration for the future.”

OPPO wants to replicate in a mobile phone the focal versatility that any camera user takes for granted. The problem is that, although they have managed to integrate a 10x telephoto, the chassis of a phone has physical limits and there comes a point where no more optics can fit inside; andThe natural step is to complement with accessories. While its competition continues to depend exclusively on the integrated sensor, OPPO is already building that ecosystem, although still quite timidly.

The OPPO Find look what we know how to doand not so much as an accessory for the general public.

The soul of photography

Until recently, many Chinese phones suffered from overly aggressive and artificial image processing, but that is changing. One of the things I liked most about the OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera is the image processing, quite natural and realistic in general.

Of course, there is AI processing, but Jie told us that it is applied in a controlled manner “always seeking coherent aesthetic results. It is applied to correct unfavorable lighting conditions, reducing artifacts and noise, improving exposure and dynamic range in complex situations.” AI is also used to improve the results of the 10x zoom “to optimize detail and stability.”

If you prefer even more naturalness, the collaboration with Hasselblad goes beyond the logo printed on the back and also reaches the software with the ‘Master Mode’. Here AI is disabled and we have photos with an even more natural look, many manual controls and even filters that simulate analog films; It is the mode that is most similar to using a traditional camera.

We’re seeing an interesting duality: on the one hand, AI does the work for you if you just want to aim and shoot without thinking; On the other hand, whoever knows what they are doing has access to real creative control. Master Mode is the most obvious example, but not the only one: the Find X9 Ultra also allows you to record video in Log, a format aimed at more professional users and essential for post-production work. In other words, OPPO does not choose one audience or another but rather offers functions for please both.

There is another element of the camera system aimed at providing greater color fidelity: the spectral sensor or, as OPPO calls it, “true color camera.” It is a lens that “does not directly take photos, but rather exercises control over colors and also color temperature. This is the second generation and has a better dynamic range.”

Objective: lead the premium market

We recently spoke with Kevin Cho, CEO of OPPO Spain, and he made it clear to us that his objective is that OPPO becomes the number one brand in Spainbut the central axis of this strategy is not to attack the low ranges, which continue to occupy a large part of sales, but rather a premium range that also It has been increasing its sales for a long time.

This explains why OPPO has decided to launch its first ‘ultra’ model in Europe (until now, they were reserved for China): it is their bid to conquer the most exclusive area of ​​​​the showcase and, in such a competitive segment, photography is the decisive point to achieve it. According to the CEO of OPPO Spain “What we want to do with the Ultra is not simply another incremental improvement, we want it to be an alternative to your professional camera.” This is reflected in the claim that they used at the launch: #YourNextCamera.

OPPO It is not the only Chinese company that is pushing in this direction. We also have Vivo, which as we said belongs to the same conglomerate and is following a practically identical strategy, and of course Xiaomi with its new Xiaomi 17 Ultra. In the latter case there are differences since we do not have a teleconverter, but we do have other virtues such as a one-inch sensor and a telephoto with variable zoom. As we said at the beginning, things have changed a lot in the fight for the best camera. Today, the throne is disputed in China.

Images | Xataka

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