Having simply reviewed the OnePlus 13, it not solely makes for a compelling begin to 2025, it’s arguably the corporate’s most formidable flagship smartphone to this point; pushing in all areas, together with the digicam system.
OnePlus has as soon as once more turned to famed digicam model Hasselblad to assist with the OnePlus 13‘s picture tuning, whereas the underlying {hardware} is a pure evolution of the sensor setup we have been launched to on final yr’s OnePlus 12.
Pair all that with new algorithms for addressing maladies comparable to movement blur, higher versatility throughout features like portrait mode and video seize, plus an upgraded AI picture enhancing toolset and, on paper, the OnePlus 13’s digicam system appears to be like like a drive to be reckoned with.
You’ll be able to pre-order it now however after a month of taking pictures with it and over 150 photographs carefully examined, how has it fared in the actual world?
Digital camera {hardware}
At a element stage, the OnePlus 13’s essential digicam system is fronted by the identical 1/1.4-inch ƒ/1.6 Sony LYT-808 sensor (with OIS or optical picture stabilisation), that OnePlus launched on the OnePlus 12.
Regardless of being a 50Mp sensor (with 1.12μm pixels), the OnePlus 13 makes use of pixel binning to leverage bigger 2.24μm pixels, leading to 12.6Mp photographs at a decision of 4096 x 3072 in a 4:3 side ratio. Up to now, so acquainted.
The place the 13’s digicam system deviates from its predecessor’s is with the ultrawide and telephoto at play, which now match the lead sensor for megapixels, at 50Mp a bit. Samsung’s 1/2.75-inch ƒ/2.05 ISOCELL JN5 sensor accounts for the 120-degree ultrawide, whereas a 1/1.95-inch ƒ/2.65 Sony LYT-600 sensor sits behind the telephoto lens.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
It’s this 3x optical zoom lens (additionally supported by OIS) which is arguably essentially the most progressive side of the OnePlus 13’s photographic {hardware}.
Reasonably than making the telephone’s digicam bump bigger, by counting on typical smartphone periscope telephoto sensors that direct gentle by way of 90-degrees, the OnePlus 13 as a substitute makes use of a triprism design. This permits for a bigger bodily sensor, while permitting the entire telephoto module to clock in 24% smaller and 30% lighter, in comparison with the 3x digicam on the OnePlus 12.
The 13 depends on the identical 32Mp 1/2.74-inch ƒ/2.45 Sony IMX615 entrance digicam, leaving the ISP (picture sign processor) inside the telephone’s top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and that Hasselblad picture tuning to assist ship superior selfies.
Digital camera options
Talking of Hasselblad, OnePlus manufacturers the setup on its newest flagship because the ‘Fifth-Gen Hasselblad Digital camera for Cellular’, with essentially the most tangible parts of their collaboration discovered inside Grasp Mode, which sits atop Professional mode (i.e. handbook management), providing extra at-capture results; together with sliders for saturation, distinction and even a vignette.
XPan mode has turn into a staple of the model’s Hasselblad-branded telephones, letting you seize photographs within the format’s signature distinct 2.7:1 side ratio, whereas the OnePlus 13’s portrait mode now capabilities throughout 1x, 2x and 3x magnification, with the bokeh at every focal size modeled after a trio of Hasselblad-made lenses; particularly the XCD 3,5.30, XCD 2,8/65 and the XCD 2,5/90V, within the case of the 3x telephoto.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Motion Mode doubles the pace of the sensor output to 60fps, to raised seize fast-moving topics, however this time it’s bolstered by OnePlus’ newest Twin Publicity Algorithm, which merges brief and long-exposure photographs at seize concurrently, to make sure last photographs are each crisp and shiny.
Distinction and drama assist preserve photographs from trying flat or false, and fortuitously these behind the tuning on the OnePlus 13’s digicam perceive this
The upgraded Clear Burst function places this into observe, by permitting for the complete algorithm and HDR processing to be carried out on each shot taken inside a burst, leading to shiny, crisp topics, despite quick motion.
One small however long-standing user-requested digicam function lastly arrives as a part of the telephone’s OxygenOS 15 consumer expertise too: Livephoto. That means those that like a little bit of movement on the level of seize for context, when trying again on their snaps, now have such an possibility.
Basic taking pictures samples
A number of outstanding entries among the many greatest digicam telephones have skewed away from darkness.
By that I imply HDR processing from the likes of Apple, Samsung and particularly Google, has gotten so good at coping with shadows and higher-contrast situations that plenty of smartphone images is clearer and brighter than ever, however inauthentic in its outcomes.
Distinction and drama assist preserve photographs from trying flat or false, and fortuitously these behind the tuning on the OnePlus 13’s digicam perceive this. Whereas the HDR pipeline remains to be clearly in impact – topics in shadow are nonetheless represented in shadow – simply with higher element and fewer noise than beforehand. I believe it makes for extra compelling imagery total and is nearer in end to extra typical photographic processing.
For essentially the most half, color accuracy and pores and skin tones end up properly on the 13, with impressively constant white steadiness, even towards harsh lighting situations, comparable to heat restaurant temper lighting.
The caveat is that greens, particularly, tend to lose saturation, particularly in high-contrast scenes, the place the digicam favours dropping publicity on the brightest elements of the body, leading to inexperienced hues shedding vibrancy and showing under-exposed.
Portrait mode samples
It’s nice to have the ability to leverage portrait mode throughout all three of the telephone’s rear sensors, with typically nice and constant outcomes that once more carry good pores and skin tones and color replica.
Below scrutiny, edge detection round hairs and the like does seem to lag behind what choose rivals are capable of muster, nonetheless, if social media is your essential vacation spot, these sorts of points aren’t more likely to push you to throw out the photographs you’ve captured.
While I haven’t used any of Hasselblad’s high-priced own-brand cameras or the lenses the OnePlus 13’s system supposedly emulates, I believe extra work could possibly be finished to enhance bokeh high quality. The autumn-off of the depth impact behind a topic, particularly, generally appears to be like slightly too harsh; showing misaligned with the precise distance of parts from the lens.
Macro samples
On the subject of consistency, OnePlus telephones have beforehand struggled to take care of color accuracy with their macro cameras or taking pictures modes, and though this persists on the OnePlus 13, the impact is much less outstanding than I’ve ever seen it; significantly with out-of-box software program (OnePlus has a behavior of enhancing digicam efficiency and fixing identified inconsistencies after launch, by way of software program updates).
This doesn’t cease the photographs you possibly can seize from being completely pleasing, regardless.
The telephone defaults to the ultrawide, with a purpose to allow you to stand up shut and private with significantly small topics. Outcomes present a transparent distinction between
Low gentle & night time mode samples
In low gentle, the OnePlus 13 works arduous to protect colors and appropriately expose topics while managing white steadiness.
For unknown causes, it will often under-expose a scene (at which level I’d resort to nighttime mode), however proved in any other case snug taking pleasing photographs in dim situations.
Up shut, there’s a transparent drop intimately definition when taking pictures in low gentle, nonetheless, outcomes have been in any other case fairly pleasing.
The telephone can lengthen seize time routinely in low gentle, however for greatest outcomes, it pays to modify the telephone’s devoted night time mode, which may pull extra particulars out of the darkest areas of the body, whereas managing noise pretty successfully.
Selfie samples
In terms of selfies, there’s a transparent distinction in picture processing between the OnePlus 13’s back and front cameras. Maybe because of having to compensate for the smaller, weaker, decrease decision sensor above the telephone’s (wonderful) show.
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Important digicam
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Entrance-facing digicam
There’s evidently extra heavy-handed processing at work when taking front-facing selfies, with face brightening that’s nearer in fashion to that aforementioned ‘HDR look’ and never consistent with the remainder of the 13’s digicam system.
As per the above comparability, the eyes actually ‘pop’ when utilizing the entrance digicam, however color and distinction lose accuracy in consequence. Should you’re after this extra pronounced look, the 13 provides you the choice, with out forcing it on you, just by slipping the telephone round.
OxygenOS 15 added a trio of recent AI picture enhancing instruments to the present AI Eraser that was accessible on the OnePlus 12.
In testing, AI Eraser’s skill to camouflage undesirable parts has improved since launch, with a trio of intuitive controls to allow you to faucet or lasso round topics shortly and simply.
It was the AI reflection elimination software that I used to be most intrigued to check out and true to its title, it does a good job of including readability to photographs with shiny surfaces in and is convincing sufficient that you simply’re unlikely to know in case you have been taking a look at an affected picture.
The function works greatest with properly outlined mirrored sources, like formed gentle shades or window panes, seemingly counting on distinction and edge detection to discern what’s a mirrored image and what’s behind the glass you’re taking pictures at.
It will probably’t act like a polariser, nonetheless, proving unable to take away the reflection of a shiny cloud sky, with a purpose to see previous, right into a constructing.
Are the OnePlus 13 cameras any good?
Whereas there’s no denying that the OnePlus 13 possesses the corporate’s most achieved digicam telephone to this point, it nonetheless comes with one too many caveats to be thought-about as among the finest digicam telephones available on the market proper now – in case you actually care concerning the finer particulars.
Small inconsistencies in color and element retention – particularly when the lights go down – maintain it again from photographic supremacy.
On the similar time, maybe because of the Hasselblad partnership, the OnePlus 13’s digicam isn’t as heavy handed as its opponents relating to HDR processing, which provides up a extra genuine taking pictures expertise; particularly relating to the outcomes.
New processes like its Twin Publicity Algorithm and Sensible Burst are to be counseled too, whereas followers of the model will undoubtedly take pleasure in upgrades as a part of Oxygen OS 15, like Livephotos, reflection elimination and the remainder of its new photographic AI tips.