OPPO 5X Dual Camera Zoom Technology, Announced at MWC 2017

With the formal announcement of its new 5X Dual Camera Zoom mobile imaging technology here at MWC 2017, Chinese handset maker OPPO proved that what older tech titans can do, it can do better.

For whereas Apple iPhone 7 Plus can zoom into a subject two times without losing clarity, this innovation from OPPO can allow its future smartphones to zoom into subjects up to 5 times without washing out colors or blurring the image.

And what's even more amazing is the unique mechanism or design of OPPO's Dual Camera module that enables this functionality.

It took more than 12 months for OPPO to develop this 5.7mm-thin periscope-style structure (consisting of more than 50 separate parts) that diverts light through a prism and into a telephoto lens nested inside the smartphone, set at a 90° angle to a rear-facing wide-angle lens. According to the company, "By shifting the light’s path, OPPO is able to achieve a lossless 5x zoom even within the confines of a thin smartphone."

On top of that, both the prism and the telephoto lens group in this periscope set-up intelligently sense vibrations and make corresponding compensations in real time or as the photo is being snapped, which greatly minimizes the adverse effects of vibrations or shaking. This all-new optical image stabilization (OIS) solution can supposedly improve the performance of upcoming OPPO cameraphones with this technology by up to 40% versus older models with OIS.

"What's more, the new prism mechanism dynamically adjusts its angle in astonishingly precise increments of only 0.0025°, ensuring that images will remain clear and stable even at a full 5x zoom," the company shared.

OPPO will make use of all these innovations to craft future cameraphones that have maximum zooming capability, slim profle, and best image stabilization performance.

Side Note: The reason why I go to tech events in and outside the Philippines is because I want to bring these events to you. Here's a video that I took during OPPO's keynote at MWC 2017 where they explained the technology behind 5X Dual Camera Zoom.

So why is OPPO pushing the boundaries when it comes to the zooming capabilities of cameraphones? Well, it's because this technology serves a practical purpose that can benefit consumers.

Having a cameraphone with 5X lossless zoom capability can allow mobile photography enthusiasts to frame their shots better and to better present emotions in their photographs as shown in this sample presented during the MWC 2017 keynote.

In fact, renowned photographer Robert Capa once said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." And I'm sure many gifted photographers would agree with him on that.

I've just started to get into photography more seriously so developments like this in the mobile scene definitely excite me.

On a related note, in a photography workshop that I attended last year, the facilitator said that the best camera is the one that you have with you. And since smartphones are so handy, they obviously represent the best shooters for almost every consumer.

Great job, OPPO! I'm greatly looking forward to playing with the first smartphone model from the company that will come with this valuable imaging innovation.

OPPO 5X Teaser for MWC 2017 Reflects Brand's Focus on Imaging

I've just received an email from our friends at OPPO Philippines regarding at least one of the products that the Chinese handset maker will be unveiling at Mobile World Congress happening later this month at Barcelona, Spain.

The message includes the teaser image above, which shows what appears to be the alphanumeric character '5X'.

According to the company, this is about their new technology called the ‘5x’ project that will allow OPPO’s smartphone cameras to capture images with unprecedented clarity.

"OPPO’s relentless pursuit of perfection without compromise has given birth to a remarkable technological breakthrough that will change how the world perceives smartphone photography. We chose MWC to unveil the ‘5x’ technology in the belief that we can inspire the industry to aim higher, and continue to create pioneering products that give amazing experiences for consumers," shared OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business, Sky Li.

OPPO made no further mention about the specifics of the 5X project so your guess is as good as mine as to what it's actually all about. Personally, I think it's 5X optical zoom capability, which is really exciting.

At this point, however, what I know for sure is that this entire stance from OPPO reflects the brand's focus on great mobile imaging. The truth is, tn recent years, OPPO has been constantly working on delivering amazing smartphone photography through its innovative and user-oriented technology and products. To quote the company:

• * OPPO’s Ulike 2 model was the first smartphone to offer pre-installed beautication feature, which has become a standard configuration in almost every Android phone today. The beautification feature has since evolved to Beautify 4.0, which instantly evens out the skintone and highlights the good facial features of the user in selfies.
• * In 2016, OPPO introduced the camera-focused F-series. The second phone in the ‘Selfie Expert’ series, the F1 Plus, was the first OPPO device to sport a 16 megapixel front-facing camera.
• * In that same year, OPPO Mobile partnered with Sony to co-develop the 1/2.8-inch IMX398 sensor for the OPPO R9s to allow outstanding focusing speed, noise reduction, and low-light performance.

All of these stellar research and development efforts from the company - matched with great marketing strategies - have indeed born fruit for OPPO Mobile, especially here in the Philippines. Based on GFK's 2016 research, OPPO has managed to become the second most prolific seller of smartphones in this market less than 6 months since starting formal operations.