Oppo Reno 10x zoom hands-on review

Oppo Reno 10x zoom camera

As is the norm in the high-end segment this year, the Oppo Reno 10x zoom has three cameras on its back - a 'regular' one, an ultra-wide, and a telephoto. It's this last one that sets this Oppo apart from all others.

The telephoto is of the periscope variety - similar to the one on the Huawei P30 Pro. The lens on the Reno is slightly longer (130 vs. 125mm equivalent) and brighter (f/3.0 vs. f/3.4), and the sensor has more pixels (13MP vs. 8MP). There are no details on its size, however, and we'd speculate it's a smaller one for Oppo to be able to pull off these lens specs.

There's another aspect to the whole telephoto camera experience, and it relates to the fact that the app interface cycles between 1x-2x-6x-10x-wide modes and neither corresponds to the focal length of the telephotos lens (5x). Both the 6x and 10x settings are 'hybrid' zooms.

The ultra-wide cam has an 8MP sensor behind a 16mm-equivalent lens with an f/2.2 aperture. Now, the press materials state a 120-degree field of view, which you can get with a 12-ish millimeter lens while the 16mm one gives you more like 107 degrees. Side by side with the 16mm Huawei P30 Pro, the Reno has the same coverage, so we're deeming the 120-degree claim incorrect. Not that 16mm/107 degrees isn't ultra-wide, of course.

The main camera relies on the now popular 48MP Sony IMX586 Quad Bayer sensor that outputs 12MP images by default. It's a big imager - type 1/2.0" with 0.8µm individual pixels. The lens in front of it is pretty bright too, sporting an f/1.7 aperture. This camera's lens is stabilized, as is the one of the telephoto module.

We took the Reno 10x zoom out on the streets of Zurich for a few early samples. Knowing that you'd ask how they compare, we brought along a P30 Pro for a quick shootout.

Do keep in mind that this is a pre-production Reno unit running non-final software and things could get better come launch day.

Starting with some shots from the Reno's primary camera, we see some nice colors and good detail. Dynamic range is decent, though the Reno can't quite match the Huawei in this respect in the most challenging scenes. It does have a bit more subdued colors though.

Reno 10x zoom camera samples, main camera

Here are the same scenes captured on the P30 Pro.

P30 Pro camera samples, main camera

Moving on to the periscope, we can immediately see the difference in the field of view - owing to the Reno's insistence of using 6x hybrid zoom rather than 5x optical. Still, the sharpness of its images is good, but the Huawei does manage to output sharper shots when you view them on a pixel level.

Reno 10x zoom camera samples, 6x mode with the telephoto camera

And again, the Huawei for comparison.

P30 Pro camera samples, 5x mode with the telephoto camera

Here's a quick comparison between the full resolution output by the main cameras of the two phones - 48MP for the Oppo Reno 10x zoom and 40MP for the Huawei P30 Pro. We are not happy with the quality of the output of Oppo's sensor - a close inspection reveals a rather soft image when in this full resolution.

Oppo Reno 10x zoom 48MP • Huawei P30 Pro 40MP • Oppo Reno 10x zoom 48MP • Huawei P30 Pro 40MP

The Reno's ultra-wide camera is just 8MP, compared to the P30 Pro's. The level of captured detail is about on par as the Reno's ultra-wide takes excellent photos.

Reno 10x zoom camera samples, ultra wide camera

P30 Pro camera samples, ultra-wide camera

As you will see below, the Oppo Reno 10x zoom can put up a rather good fight in low-light even when compared to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Normal mode: Oppo Reno 10x zoom • Huawei P30 Pro • Oppo Reno 10x zoom • Huawei P30 Pro

The camera on the Oppo Reno has a dedicated Night mode. Meant for handheld shooting, it brightens up shadows while restoring the highlights and colors and textures of the scene. Best of all, capturing the scene is 2-3 faster than the Huawei P30.

Night mode: Oppo Reno 10x zoom • Huawei P30 Pro • Oppo Reno 10x zoom • Huawei P30 Pro

We also captured a short video sample with the main camera. We couldn't take one with the periscope, however, as the software isn't finalized yet.

Snapping a selfie is quite the experience - you just don't get the same feeling looking at a punch hole that Reno's shark fin contraption delivers.

Naturally, the dimly and colorfully lit venue floor isn't the best setting for judging picture quality, but the Reno appears to have handled it nicely.

Selfie sample

Wrap up

It's a unique phone, the Oppo Reno 10x zoom even if it doesn't quite offer 10x optical zoom. It packs some of the latest camera tech available and spices things up with a motorized selfie module, while also having all the other markings of a top-tier phone. We're looking forward to getting our hands on a finalized unit for some real testing, but at this point, you can call us properly hyped.