Oppo Find X7 Ultra review

Two telephotos is now the Ultra standard

The Find X7 Ultra comes with a few camera upgrades, the most notable of which being the second telephoto camera - the Galaxy and Xiaomi Ultras also have two telephotos, so is this some sort of an industry-wide naming convention now?

This new telephoto extends the Find X7 Ultra's reach to 6x optical zoom, and it's also a close-focusing design, making it great for nearby tiny subjects - even better than the 3x unit which can also shoot from up close.

Oppo has also updated the sensor on the main camera, now using the LYT-900 - a tweaked version of the IMX989 on the previous model. Sony itself sometimes calls its optical format 1/0.98", other times going for 1-inch (both on the same page), though the new imager has the same 1.6µm pixel pitch and total number of effective pixels as the old one.

A somewhat odd change that we see more as a side-step than an improvement, is the new ultrawide camera - Oppo has gone with a smaller sensor (1/1.95" vs. the 1/1.56" on the X6 Pro) though the new lens does have wider coverage and a brighter aperture.

A sensor update may or may not have made it to the selfie camera - there's somewhat conflicting information on this, but the specs have remained the same as on the X6 Pro.

• Wide (main): 50MP Sony IMX06A (LYT-900, 1", 1.6µm - 3.2µm), f/1.8, 23mm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 2160p@60fps
• Ultrawide: 50MP Sony IMX882 (LYT-600, 1/1.95", 0.8µm - 1.6µm), f/2.0, 14mm, multi-directional PDAF; 2160p@60fps
• Telephoto 1, 3x: 50MP Sony IMX890 (1/1.56", 1.0µm - 2.0µm), periscope lens, f/2.6, 65mm, Dual-Pixel PDAF (25cm - ∞), OIS; 2160p@60fps
• Telephoto 2, 6x: 50MP Sony IMX858 (1/2.51", 0.7µm - 1.4µm), periscope lens, f/4.3, 135mm, PDAF (35cm - ∞), OIS; 2160p@60fps
• Front camera: 32MP Sony IMX709 (LYT-506?, 1/2.74", 0.8µm), f/2.4, 21mm, PDAF; 2160p@60fps

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The main camera's photos are excellent, as usual. There's a very good level of detail and the mature, restrained processing leaves pleasingly natural looking textures. Noise isn't a thing in these shots either.

Global properties are also praiseworthy. The Find exposes reliably and has wide dynamic range, resulting in well-developed images across all shooting scenarios. The auto white balance didn't fail us either and the color presentation was generally likeable, if a tiny bit less enthusiastic than we'd prefer. That said, we could blame it on the weather and wait for Spring to bring more color outside, so we can verify.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

You can also check out a few shots of our resident people shots model, in both Photo mode and Portrait mode.

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

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

The Find also does an okay job at 2x, without having dedicated hardware for it. It's not the crispest rendition of detail, we'll admit, and we'll reiterate that no one does 2x quite like the vivo X100 Pro. But if for some reason 1x is too wide and 3x is too narrow, the inbetween results are still acceptable.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

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

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

3x telephoto camera

Things get more exciting at 3x, where the Find delivers another set of top-class photos. We're seeing excellent noise-free detail, rendered once again without excessive sharpening. These have a more contrasty vibe than the 1x images, as well as a notch higher saturation - we like that a little better.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

It's great for people too, whether in Photo mode or Portrait mode.

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

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

We like close-focusing telephotos that let us capture small things in great detail and the Oppo has fitted two of those. We may have gotten carried away.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), closeups

6x telephoto camera

And we might as well get started on the second telephoto with the close-ups.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x), closeups

As you've probably seen already, there's a ton of detail - even at the minimum focusing distance, but also when shooting from afar. Noise remains expertly wiped away too. Great results in terms of white balance and dynamic range as well.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x), Photo mode

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x), Portrait mode

Ultrawide camera

The Find's ultrawide doesn't excite quite as much. Its sharpness is more in the good category - as close to a minor letdown as we can find about the Find's picture quality. If you refrain from pixel-peeping, things are quite great though - both in terms of dynamic range and color reproduction.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

Selfies are also nice on the X7 Ultra, even though Oppo's continued insistence to save the files in the full nominal 32MP resolution is beyond us - there's clearly not 32MP of detail in them and resizing them to a sensible 12MP wouldn't really hurt. The skin tones are on point and colors in general are nice and lively. Dynamic range is also respectable.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Low-light photos on the Find benefit from automatic low-light processing, as evidenced by the crescent icon that pops up in the corner when the phone decides the situation calls for it. It doesn't hesitate to apply its magic and we found no need to switch to the dedicated Night mode.

Main camera

The main camera captures well-exposed images, with excellent dynamic range giving you detail in both the highlights and the darker areas. It does so without going into extremes and making things look artificial. Detail maintains a natural fine quality to it, without hints of the broader strokes and heavy sharpening in some Night modes of old. The auto white balance handles even complex scenes with ease too, and color saturation is spot on.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The results at the 2x zoom level deserve more of an okay mark for sharpness - you can't miss their upscaled nature and lack of pixel-level detail. They're not bad, just don't expect miracles at 1:1.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

3x Telephoto camera

We return to superlatives at the 3x zoom level, where the shorter of the two telephotos captures excellent shots. We're talking great detail with well controlled noise, wide dynamic range, and vibrant colors without white balance errors.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

6x Telephoto camera

The 6x results will also be leaving a pleased smile on your face - most of the time. Every now and then, the Find will choose to shoot at the 6x level using its 3x camera and detail will suffer - photos 8 through 12. We're not entirely certain why it would do that since they're neither the darkest, not the most contrasty scenes, yet it felt more comfortable with the other camera. Once again, these aren't properly bad, they're just as good as the other ones.

In the other scenes, there's notably finer detail, especially in the better-lit areas. Dynamic range is very good and the white balance remains on point. Overall, an above average performance, though the Oppo isn't infallible at this zoom level.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Utlrawide camera

The ultrawide camera deals nicely with darkness, from the standpoint of its own daylight results. What we mean is that detail is on the soft side, but then again it wasn't exactly pin-sharp in good light either. With that out of the way, the Find's ultrawide is once again great in terms of exposure, dynamic range, and color reproduction - it's just that the pixel peepers among us are a little let down.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Video recording

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra can record video up to 4K60 with all of its cameras - the four on the back and the front-facing one. Oppo has moved to h.265 as the default codec, though you could flip the switch and shoot in the less efficient h.264. There is always-on electronic stabilization available across all cameras.

Main camera footage in daylight is some of the finest we've seen. Whether at 4K30 (40Mbps with the h.265 codec) or 4K60 (56Mbps), we're getting excellent detail, correct exposure and wide dynamic range, plus likeable color rendition without odd casts. The ultrawide does well at 4K30 too, but quality drops visibly if you go for the higher frame rate - still usable, just not as good. The 3x zoom also delivers high-quality results both at 4K30 and 4K60, and the 6x telephoto's clips are also solid, if a little bit less contrasty.

Stabilization is generally very good on the Find X7 Ultra, with some caveats. Walking shake turns into a gentle float when shooting on the main camera and the ultrawide, which is nice. There's a subtle side to side motion that's a bit unusual, but not too annoying - perhaps the robot was walking funny that day. With all four cameras you'll get very stable footage if you just have the phone pointed in one direction. Panning is mostly smooth from all four cameras, except for the occasional abrupt transition from stillness to motion at the start of a pan - again, not a huge deal, but still a noticeable imperfection.

In low light, the main camera is captures very good footage - well-exposed, with wide dynamic range, pleasing colors and good detail. The 3x telephoto is also surprisingly good in these conditions, but at 6x and 0.6x the clips are hard to like.

Video sample playlist