Oppo Find X2 Pro review

Daylight image quality

The Oppo Find X2 Pro takes quite pleasing daylight photos with its main cam. The resolved detail is great and the processing has a relatively laid back natural look to it. There's virtually no noise to speak of.

Color reproduction is conservative as well - or, rather, it's true to life in a world of measured (or rampant) oversaturation. We have gotten used to a bit more color in our smartphone photos, but we don't mind the Find X2 Pro's approach one bit.

This cautious approach continues into contrast and the overall lack of it is probably our least favorite aspect of the Find's images. Not a dealbreaker, but not ideal either.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

The 48MP mode comes with a noise penalty and doesn't offer too much along the lines of improved detail. We did get more definition in specific patterns in our studio charts but hardly any improvement in real-world shots. The option is there for you to explore but it's not the avenue we'd go in our day-to-day shooting on the Find X2 Pro.

Daylight samples, main camera, 48MP

The ultra wide-angle camera had us expecting a lot and it mostly delivers. For not being all that 'ultra' wide, we figured it would excel in all other conceivable areas, and it's just plain good across the board. It's super well corrected for distortion which is likely a combination of lens and software (there's no setting for it in the app) and it has largely the same properties as the main cam in terms colors, dynamic range, and contrast. It's superior to, say, the Galaxy S20s ultra wides when it comes to detail but there's no beating the Samsungs' wider coverage.

Daylight samples, ultra wide angle camera

Or is there? The Oppo Find X2 Pro's ultra wide-angle cam can focus far and near, as opposed to the Galaxies' fixed-focus units, and lets you do both extreme close-ups and exaggerated perspective shots with the subject in focus, which you can't do on most of the competition.

Daylight samples, ultra wide angle camera, close-ups

The Find X2 Pro's telephoto camera offers a 5x zoom ratio compared to its regular module. It delivers very detailed images, albeit with visible noise. Colors are a bit livelier and a touch warmer when compared to the primary shooter.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x)

Moving on to 10x, a magnification that the Find X2 Pro has a toggle for in the viewfinder. You get usable images, with a drop in pixel-level detail, but still reasonably good looking at fit-to-screen level.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (10x)

Speaking of zoom levels available in the viewfinder that the phone doesn't really have a lens to cover, here are a few samples taken at 2x. These are taken entirely on the main camera, unlike some competitors which use the tele cams for the center portion of the frame and fill the rest with data from the main cam. As such, detail levels are the same across the frame and it's average detail. Patterns like the balcony blinds don't hold up well to pixel-level examination, but more natural textures are rendered better. Overall it's a decent performance.

Daylight samples, main-telephoto camera (2x)

Comparison

We went for a quick comparison between the Find X2 Pro, the Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Huawei P30 Pro to get a sense of how the currently available periscopes stack up. Here are the scenes we started with, first at 1x.

Comparison, 1x: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, 1x: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, 1x: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

And here are the telephoto cameras at their native zoom level - that would be 5x for the Oppo and the Huawei, and 4x for the Galaxy. Detail levels are comparable, but there are subtle differences. For example, the Find X2 Pro's images are noticeably noisier than the other two, while the P30 Pro shots have an edge in sharpness and contrast.

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Moving on to made-up zoom at 10x. Once again, you'd be able to see the same fine detail on all three phones, but the Find X2 Pro will give you noticeably more noise to go with it.

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Comparison, tele: Oppo Find X2 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra • Huawei P30 Pro

Portraits

Portraits on the Find X2 Pro can be shot in two magnifications - 1x and 2x. Either one comes out of the main camera, with the ultra-wide apparently serving up depth data, as evidenced by a 'Don't block the camera' pop-up if you do block the ultra-wide.

Two things quickly become apparent - simpler subjects and abundance of light help immensely. If your subject is indoors, even if what you'd consider good light, the Find X2 Pro will struggle to produce a sharp image. Place them carefully near a window, and you'd have a winner. Messy hairstyles against contrasting backgrounds will create some issues, but for less demanding outlines the Find X2 Pro will work well. The background has a very natural quality to it, and the default 60% setting is a bit on the conservative side but we find it adequate.

Portrait samples, 1x

The zoomed-in mode, being a crop and upscale job from the main cam won't please the pixel peepers. For what you're losing in terms of absolute detail, you're gaining a more workable subject distance (well, not if you try to take your own portrait, use the '1x' mode for that).

Portrait samples, 2x

A key feature of the Find X2 Pro's main cam is its ability to naturally blur backgrounds thanks to its combination of a big sensor and a bright lens. Here are a few samples to illustrate that.

Main camera natural bokeh

Selfies

32MP selfies out of the Oppo Find X2 Pro come out brimming with detail if you provide it with plenty of light, though even in these conditions noise is easy to spot if you look up close. In less than ideal lighting, the phone is quick to crank up the ISO and the effects of noise reduction and sharpening take a toll on absolute detail, though images remain very good. Dynamic range is on the narrow side but in regular Photo mode the HDR algorithms handle difficult light reasonably well.

Selfie samples

It's not quite so in Portrait mode where HDR is unavailable. You can count on blown highlights if you're posing in high-contrast scenes, but at least the phone does prioritize exposing your face correctly. Subject detection is mostly great and the resulting bokeh has a natural quality to it.

Selfie samples, Portrait mode