Google's excommunication of Huawei at the request of the U.S. government has left the Chinese tech giant's blossoming smartphone business in peril. And while opinions are divided as to whether such a drastic ban was justified, what's more objective and inarguable is that the smartphone industry is losing a key innovator and envelope-pusher if Huawei's phone business is indeed wiped out.
The company's , for example, is a breakthrough in mobile photography, featuring new digital camera tech capable of producing images no other phone could replicate. Well, until very recently, at least. One of the P30 Pro's standout camera features the ability to zoom 10X without losing much image quality is now available in Oppo's new phone, the Reno 10X Zoom Edition [which for the sake of simplicity I'll just call it the Reno going forward].
I first a month ago, and thought that its zoom capabilities were almost as impressive as Huawei's. Good news for consumers: Oppo's spent the past month fine-tuning its camera algorithm, and now after testing a retail unit for the past week, I can say the Reno's zoom capabilities slightly edge out the P30 Pro's, which puts it miles ahead of what the latest iPhones or Samsungs can do in terms of digital zoom photography.
For those who had been intrigued by the P30 Pro’s zoom capabilities but have been scared off buying the device, there is now a viable alternative.
What's more impressive is that while the P30 Pro hit store shelves before the Reno, that doesn't necessarily mean Huawei developed this multi-lens zoom tech first. Oppo, in fact, has been for years.
Get up real close
The Reno, just like the P30 Pro, uses what has been dubbed a "Periscope" lens an L-shaped camera sensor in which light is directed sideways inside the phone's body through a series of lenses before reaching the image sensor to pull off its 10X zoom photos. Technically, the 10X zoom shot isn't optical, lossless zoom quality, but it's close enough.
In fact, the retail unit of the Reno has picked up an impressive new trick compared to pre-production device I first tested -- the ability to zoom up to 60X using data from both the telephoto zoom lens and the main camera sensor [Huawei's P30 Pro can only zoom up to 50X]. At this zoom level, images are a little blurry and grainy, but the ability to produce what is effectively a 60X magnification of a subject on a smartphone is impressive. There are some photo samples below. More on the cameras shortly.
Minimalist design shines
The Oppo Reno has, in my opinion, the best-designed back side of a phone I’ve seen in a long while. Between the completely smooth back glass with almost no protrusion to the vertically- and centrally-aligned logo, camera module along a strip, it’s a backplate that’s clean and minimal without feeling bland. The Reno, like Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro, stands out from the crowd, while the OnePlus 7 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, and many other phone’s backs all follow the same mundane design language.
On the front is a 6.6-inch uninterrupted OLED screen, which displays vivid colors and has a max brightness of over 600 nits. Underneath the screen is an optical fingerprint sensor that works near-flawlessly.
Although there is virtually no top bezel, Oppo has crammed an earpiece and a loudspeaker into the tiny slit above the display anyway, giving the device stereo speaker sound.
That odd triangle shape protruding from the phone's top is the elevating selfie-camera module, which Chinese media has dubbed a "shark fin." As I mentioned during the hands-on piece, this design seems superior to other elevating camera modules in, say Oppo's Find X, because this uses a pivot mechanism [the left side of the module], with only the right side elevating. Previous pop-up cameras needed elevating mechanism on left and right side. Less moving parts means less chance of malfunction.
Fast, but not quite OnePlus fast
With Snapdragon 855, 8GB of RAM, and a lighter Android skin, the Oppo Reno is a zippy phone. In my ten days of use I've encountered no stutters, and apps launch on the Reno faster than on the iPhone on a consistent basis. Still, the Reno isn't the fastest or smoothest phone out there -- that title still belongs to the OnePlus 7 Pro. That said, the Reno can lay a decent claim for second-fastest phone around right now.
Oppo's software ColorOS has improved significantly from a year ago. There's now an app drawer, shortcut gestures, a useful side menu that can be swiped open or close with one hand, and notifications all come through uninterrupted. I can say I'm a fan, despite generally being critical of Chinese phone software.
The 4,065 mAh battery inside is enough to power the device for an entire day, of course. Oppo's software does not let me track screen-on time, but I estimate I get above five hours per day. There is no wireless charging, but topping up with the included cable and brick is easy, as the Reno uses Oppo's that can get the phone from 20% to 100% in under 30 minutes.
As someone who still uses the notoriously slow-charging iPhone from time to time, I cannot overstate how useful it is to have charging tech this fast. There are nights when I forget to charge my phone, and I wake up to a device with less than ideal battery [let's say, 25%]. With an Oppo device, I can plug in the phone, do my 15-minute morning routine to get ready, and leave the house with my phone's battery back to near 70%. On an iPhone, a 15-minute charge would merely get it from 25% to maybe 40%.
Cameras: not just about the long game
The Reno has a triple-camera set-up, with a 48-megapixel Sony IMX sensor and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera accompanying that aforementioned epic 13-megapixel zoom lens. The main 48-megapixel lens behaves like the half dozen phones using this sensor already including the Realme X, OnePlus 7 Pro and Honor 20 Pro it's best to use it to shoot 12-megapixel photos that have been pixel-binned.
I was impressed by the main lens' fast-focus and accurate colors, not to mention the night mode, which uses a software algorithm to stitch multiple images together for a more balanced shot. In general, the Reno's daytime shots can hang against the best of the best, and in really low light situations the phone is above average. The first set of samples below exhibit accurate colors, and the ability to capture a convincing macro image.
In this next set, taken in a near pitch-black room [the iPhone's image is closest to how the scene looked to my eyes], the Reno using with night mode made a decent attempt, but still falls short of the uncanny night vision capabilities of the Huawei P30 Pro.
In a better-lit night shot, the Reno is fine shooting in auto, but using night mode produces shots that are Instagram-worthy.
The wide-angle lens is the most disappointing of the three. At just 8-megapixels, details pale in comparison to other wide-angle cameras in other phones, but Oppo's software does a good job of keeping distortion to a minimum. Color accuracy is on point too. Selfies and bokeh portrait shots, meanwhile, are on par with industry best right now.
Ultimately, what sets the Reno apart is that zoom lens. With a wide-angle shooter and 60X digital zoom, there is photographic versatility here that was unfathomable on a mobile device as recently as a year ago. Look at the image below: I did not move at all, the phone's versatility can allow me to capture a shot as wide as 16mm and all the way up to 60X. The 60X zoom is a bit blurry, but you can still make out some of the words.
As mentioned, the Reno's 60X zoom is more impressive even than the P30 Pro's 50X zoom. The below set shows where I'm standing in relation to a billboard at the end of the street, and the 60X and 50X results captured by both devices.
An excellent all-rounder
In terms of camera versatility, there's the Oppo Reno and the Huawei P30 Pro, and then there's everyone else a few steps behind. Given all the uncertainty over Huawei, the Reno may be the only option right now.
And in all other areas, the Reno does well too. I wish this phone had wireless charging, and I wish it had OnePlus' new 90Hz display, but these are shortcomings I can forgive, especially considering that the Reno, priced around $850 in Europe and $600 in Asia yes, there is a markup in Europe, but not as bad as the figures suggest due to Chinese models having less storage is a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the usual four-digit iPhone/Samsung/Huawei flagship pricing.
Is Oppo Reno 10 good for camera?
OPPO Reno 10: VerdictThe triple lens setup offers good picture quality, with the 1x lens producing fine results, and the 2x “telephoto” option also doing very well too.
Is the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom a flagship phone?
Oppo Reno 10x Zoom performanceIt uses the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 855 processor, and pairs it with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. These are genuine flagship specs, and as a result, the Reno 10x Zoom will fly through menial tasks – as well as playing demanding games with ease.
Which is the best camera in Oppo Reno series?
Below are the best Oppo phones for pictures:.
Oppo Reno7 | Rear Camera: 64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP Triple. ... .
Oppo Reno8 | Rear Camera: 50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP Triple. ... .
Oppo Reno8 Pro | Rear Camera: 50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP Triple. ... .
Oppo Find X | Rear Camera: 16 MP + 20 MP Dual. ... .
Oppo R17 Pro | Rear Camera: 12 MP + 20 MP Dual..
What is the difference between Oppo Reno and Oppo Reno 10x Zoom?
The major difference between the Oppo 10x Zoom and the low-end Oppo Reno is that the 10x Zoom model is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor with a triple-lens rear camera and 10X zoom while the low-end Oppo Reno is powered by Snapdragon 710 processor with dual-lens camera setup without 10X zoom.