OnePlus 13 review

Not a lot of changes this time around

The OnePlus 13 doesn't introduce major changes in the camera system, though there are some new bits to be seen. Perhaps most notably, the 64MP sensor of the old model's telephoto camera has been replaced by a 50MP one, with a lens change to go with it. The ultrawide is also new - sort of a downgrade going strictly by sensor size, but we'll judge it by its results.

The main camera remains the same as before, the 1/1.4" Sony LYT-808 imager paired with an f/1.6 23mm equivalent lens - hardly groundbreaking stuff.

The telephoto module is the same as on the Find X8 (Pro) - OnePlus calls it a Triprism lens, but we're seeing two prisms in the Oppo promo materials. A 1/1.95" Sony sensor takes in the photons after all the light bending is done. It's now a 50MP sensor rather than the 64MP one last year, but the optical format is more or less the same.

Count the prisms (Oppo Find X8 promo image)

The ultrawide camera is also new this time around, and by all accounts it's shared with the Find X8s as well. The sensor size is smaller now (1/2.76" vs. 1./2.0") and resolution is also different at 50MP rather than 48MP (which is about as inconsequential as it sounds).

For selfies, we get another iteration of the tried and tested (and, at the same time, not well regarded round these parts) 32MP front-facing camera. No autofocus on this one.

• Wide (main): 50MP Sony LYT-808 (1.4", 1.12µm - 2.24µm), f/1.6, 23mm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 2160p@60fps/4320p@30fps
• Ultrawide: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 (1/2.76", 0.64µm - 1.28µm), f/2.0, 15mm, PDAF; 2160p@60fps
• Telephoto, 3x: 50MP Sony LYT-600 (1/1.95", 0.8µm - 1.6µm), periscope lens, f/2.65, 73mm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 2160p@60fps
• Front camera: 32MP Sony IMX615 (1/2.74", 0.8µm - 1.6µm), f/2.45, 21mm, fixed focus; 2160p@60fps

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

During the day, the OP13's main camera captures great shots. It has excellent dynamic range, dependable white balance and pleasing color output. Detail is rendered naturally in random fine textures and there's no noise to speak of.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

Photos of people have likable skin tones and well rendered facial detail. Portrait mode works quite well too.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Portrait mode

The 50MP shots tend to be brighter and with generally worse highlight dynamic range. We wouldn't say there's more detail in them either.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

At 2x zoom, in most scenes the images don't necessarily look better per pixel than the 50MP 1x ones, meaning they're just merely okay, though there are instances where you might actually end up with slightly more definition. Contrast is better as a whole though, so there's that.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

In turn, people shots at 2x aren't super crisp when viewed at 1:1, but they're still fairly decent and the perspective is better.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Portrait mode

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera's images at 3x are hard to fault. Detail is great and there's no noise. Dynamic range and color reproduction are also on point. The one area where this camera falls short is close-ups - it can't really do those with its minimum focusing distance of around 50cm.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

The 70-ish millimeter focal length lends well to portraiture and we got very good results with the OP13's telephoto camera, whether in Photo mode or in Portrait mode.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), Portrait mode

The full-res shots at 3x aren't really bringing any meaningful improvements in resolved detail.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 50MP

The 6x zoom level will get you better sharpness and detail on a pixel level than the 50MP 3x shots, alongside improved noise performance (the 50MP shots can be a little gritty).

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera's photos are properly excellent, delivering great detail, wide dynamic range and nice color rendition.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

The full-res mode is leaving us unimpressed once again.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), 50MP

Selfies

Selfies on the OnePlus 13 aren't our favorite, as is typically the case with photos coming from 32MP cameras from Oppo, OnePlus and the lot (Xiaomi too, come to think of it). Pixel-level detail is so-so, though that's to be expected from this type of sensor. We'd be happier with a sharper lower-res result if the makers would give us the option, otherwise we get unnecessarily large files with questionable actual resolution. The lack of autofocus is also rubbing us the wrong way. On a positive note, colors and dynamic range are pretty great.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

In the dark, the OnePlus 13's main camera does a great job. It exposes well and has a wide dynamic range so you can count on good development at both tonal extremes. Colors are generally on point, with only occasional missteps (and not very dramatic ones) with certain types of warm lighting. Detail is excellent too, with plenty of resolution and no excessive night mode oversharpening action.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The 2x results aren't nearly as exciting - these do have a heavily processed character to their detail and they're not exactly stellar in resolving power. If you stick to fit-to-screen viewing, they're good enough.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

the 3x zoom level will net you good photos, but not exactly top-notch. Detail can be a touch softer than ideal in the shadows but not bad overall. Dynamic range is nice and wide, with a light lean towards highlight preservation and dimmer lower tones. Colors are on point.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

At 6x zoom level, things do get quite soft - the shots are still usable from a distance, but they don't stand up well to pixel-level examination.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide's photos fall more into the 'excellent' category. There's nicely sharp detail (for an ultrawide) and noise is well controlled. Dynamic range is nice and wide and you can expect well contained highlights and likeable shadow development. Colors are generally great too with, again, only certain types of lighting getting an extra notch of warmth.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Video recording

The OnePlus 13 records video up to 4K60 with all of its cameras - the four on the back and the selfie camera too. The main camera can also do 8K30. There's no 24fps capability directly in sight.

The default codec is h.265 but you can switch to h.264. Dolby Vision capture is available too, operated by the HDR toggle in the viewfinder - on all cameras, up to 4K60. There's also a Movie mode that works in a 21:9 aspect (so 3840x1648px, no other resolution), where you can tweak exposure parameters, focus and white balance.

There are two levels of electronic video stabilization - there's a regular one that is always on, and there's an Ultra steady mode too, which can be enabled for all modes.

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.

Video sample playlist

The OnePlus 13's video quality out of the main camera in daylight is very good. The dynamic range is wide, the white balance is accurate and the color saturation is well judged (or is it a tiny bit conservative?). 2x zoom isn't looking good - it's too soft. The 3x telephoto, on the other hand, is markedly better for zoomed in shooting, though it's somehow not as sharp as what we got out of the Find X8 Pro's supposedly same hardware. The 6x level is also not as good here, as it was on the Find - we'd still call it usable, but that's about it. The ultrawide's footage offers good sharpness and global parameters.

At night, the main camera is doing good in terms of dynamic range and colors, but it's a little softer in the shadows. The telephoto is once again not as good as we experienced on the Find X8 Pro (which was, admittedly, unusually good). The theme continues on the ultrawide, where we get relatively soft results, even if dynamic range and colors are very good.

The OP13's stabilization lets in some minor walking shake, but if you're just standing in one spot pointing the phone towards a subject, you can count on very stable footage. We had no issues with pans either.