Oppo Zoom 10x: The new outlines of its photo block

Posted By Alice Hale on Mar 4, 2019


At the MWC 2019, Oppo has just presented its new photo block for its next high-end smartphone, which includes an impressive 10x Zoom.

While we were expecting a product announcement from the Chinese manufacturer, Oppo preferred to play the innovation card by presenting at its MWC 2019 conference the new technologies that will equip the brand’s future smartphones.

5G and Zoom 10x lossless, these are the keywords that accompanied the Oppo conference during this 2019 edition. If the 5G is not the novelty in itself, since we know that all the manufacturers have put themselves into it this year to prepare for the launch on certain markets this year, it is mainly around the photo that Oppo shines at the beginning of the show.

A 10x zoom

Indeed, if the Oppo conference was called “Get Closer,” it is not for nothing because Oppo announced its new technology in the world of mobile photography with an impressive 10x zoom. In reality, it’s a little different since the 10x zoom is based on the presence of an ultra-wide-angle sensor. The future Oppo photo smartphone that we were able to discover at the show was a modified R11 with the new photo block composed of three cameras, an ultra wide-angle (16mm), a standard (24mm) and a telephoto (160). Both standard and telephoto cameras carry an optical stabilizer each with an accuracy of 0.001445°.

So if we assume that the ultra-wide-angle lens has a focal length of 16mm (or 120°), with a 10x zoom, we get a 160mm telephoto, which is still impressive given the thickness of a smartphone. Now, compared to the standard lens, it becomes “only” a 6.6x zoom, which is still very impressive, but far from what the competition of a compact camera offers.

On the reference smartphone that we were able to get used to, the user interface was not specially optimized, and we regret that Oppo did not consider it useful to offer a step-by-step zoom up. Also, we were entitled to zoom via a virtual wheel on the side, not very practical or we “pinched,” which was not more precise. From a photo point of view, it’s quite impressive, but we’re waiting to be able to test it in real life because, for the demos, we were in optimal lighting conditions.

Inside the phone

On the technological side, the main camera features a 48 Megapixel Sony sensor, while the ultra-wide-angle and telephoto cameras feature an 8 Megapixel Sony sensor. All the three combined allows you to obtain a certain level of detail with a 10x zoom. With such a photo block, Oppo managed to make it all fit in less than 6.76mm thick. From our first tests, it was quite convincing if we put aside a perfectible user interface.

While we haven’t had a precise model, Oppo has confirmed that its first smartphone equipped with their new zoom will arrive on the market this spring 2019. All we have to do is wait.