OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera able to see through clothes, solid objects

Ro, 14 May 2020

First spotted by XDA-Developers' Max Weinbach, the OnePlus 8 Pro can see through certain surfaces thanks to its custom 5MP sensor that lacks the usual color and IR filters to produce artistic images. And it seems that it can do so with certain types of clothes too.

In a short investigation done by AndroidPIT, the fourth camera on the back of the OnePlus 8 Pro can see through some surfaces if the right conditions are met. How? Well, standard cameras that we use have color filters, because sensors would naturally only detect the amount of light that hits them rather than colors and also have an IR filter to block light that's outside the visible spectrum. OnePlus, on the other hand, decided to remove both of them making a camera sensitive to IR light.

OnePlus' Color Filter mode OnePlus' Color Filter mode
OnePlus' Color Filter mode

And since materials absorb light depending on the wavelength, some objects may appear transparent when you point the OnePlus 8 Pro's camera at them. Even if they are not transparent to the naked eye. Pretty much the same way the human body is transparent to X-rays. So if you have enough sunlight (infrared light) shining onto the object and, of course, the material is right, it would appear transparent.

In any case, it's highly unlikely that you can see through clothes of people walking on the street. Otherwise this cool effect might have turned into a proper privacy nightmare.

Via 1, 2


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Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 22 Oct 2022
  • Ibx

Cheap prices

  • Anonymous
  • 16 May 2020
  • sxs

It's old tech and not very effective. Don't buy Oneplus 8 Pro if you really want xray vision. My Xbox's Kinect sensor costs so much less but does better: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2503474/XBox-One-Kinect-camera-clothes-detect-...

IR and UV imaging is used daily by photographers, testers and for wild life. Nobody got problem with that, imagine you got IR sensitive fullframe camera and 600mm lens, no mobile phone can reproduce that, its awesome though.

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