Oppo Reno13 review

Familiar triple-camera setup

The Reno13 features familiar camera hardware with virtually no changes compared to its predecessor. The only somewhat subtle change is that Oppo has swapped out the 2MP macro camera for a 2MP depth sensor. Not a big omission especially since the ultrawide gained autofocus this time around and you can now shoot macros using the ultrawide camera.

• Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.95", 0.8µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps
• Ultrawide: 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps
• Depth sensor: 2MP
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 21mm (wide), 1/2.75", PDAF; 4K@60fps

In any case, we have the same 50MP main camera on board flanked by an 8MP ultrawide unit, while the selfie game is once again strong - there is a 50MP camera with autofocus.

Daylight photos

Main camera

The main camera produces very nice stills, leaving little to complain about. Overall quality is good - sharp and well-defined objects and plenty of detail in the shadows. The dynamic range is wide, and indoor conditions don't seem to be very challenging for the camera.

However, color reproduction is a bit too conservative, even for our own taste. Colors are not very saturated, and images lack that oomph.

Main camera photos

We also have a few shots of people with and without Portrait mode and they look pretty decent, but colors are once again a bit muted.

Portraits: Photo mode • Portrait mode

2x crop zoom

The 2x zoom photos aren't bad, but we've seen better implementations and even dedicated zoom cameras in the same price segment. You don't have to look close enough to spot some upscaling artifacts too. But for casual social media posts, the 2x zoom mode would do just fine.

Naturally, our complaint about the color reproduction still stands.

2x crop zoom photos

The 2x portraits aren't bad too, but there's a notable drop in sharpness and detail in the dedicated Portrait mode compared to the standard 2x Photo mode.

2x portraits: Photo mode • Portrait mode

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera's quality is as expected, maybe even above average. It's not as sharp and detailed as the main camera and has a narrower dynamic range, but the stills are generally fine. Interestingly, the colors and contrast are better than those by the main camera and the photos look livelier.

Ultrawide camera photos

Since the ultrawide unit supports autofocus, it now replaces the dedicated macro camera for close-up photography. We definitely prefer this implementation over the dedicated 2MP macro cameras. The stills are not impressive but are good-looking close-ups ideal for casual social media posting. They are somewhat detailed, sharp and with punchy colors. THe only drawback is that you can't see how close the focusing distance is from the viewfinder and you can often end up with blurry, out-of-focus subjects.

Macro photos

Selfies

The selfies are excellent. They leave little to be desired - natural color reproduction, wide dynamic range, great sharpness and plenty of detail. The autofocus ensures that the subject is always in focus.

Selfies

Low-light photos

Main camera

The main camera photos are solid with no visible noise, wide dynamic range and plenty of detail even in the shadows. There's obviously some artificial sharpening going on in the post-processing, but we don't think it's too much in most cases. Colors are once again slightly muted but not as noticeable as during the day.

Main camera photos

2x crop zoom

Naturally, overall quality drops compared to the default 1x mode. Sharpness drops considerably, especially in the shadows. But if the subject is well-lit, you might end up with decent-looking nighttime pictures.

2x crop zoom photos

Ultrawide camera

Compared to other 8MP ultrawide cameras at night, this one produces okay-looking stills. However, the shots lack fine detail even with the aggressive Night mode, which kicks in in almost all scenarios. Sharpness isn't great either, but it's acceptable given the context. The lack of proper color saturation is perhaps the biggest issue here. It's like the ultrawide has swapped places with the main camera compared to the daylight photos.

Ultrawide photos

Video recording

As is usually the case, the Reno13 supports video recording at up to 4K@60fps using its main camera and up to 1080p@30fps using the ultrawide camera. It's annoying not being able to switch to the ultrawide camera directly if you've chosen 4K resolution. You must switch to 1080p and then select the ultrawide camera toggle.

Anyway, the selfie is also capable of 4K@60fps, while EIS seems to be available in all modes. You can even turn an Ultra Steady mode that mimics action cameras, but this mode is capped at 1080p@60fps.

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

We are pleasantly surprised by the videos taken with the main camera. Both daylight and low-light videos look very clean and sharp, with punchy colors, good contrast and a wide dynamic range. There's plenty of detail to go around in both scenarios.

The 2x crop video looked surprisingly decent too, with minimal loss in sharpness and detail.

The ultrawide footage, on the other hand, is soft with low contrast and clipped highlights.

The EIS is excellent, even in 4K mode. No complaints there.