Taking Photography And Video To The Next Level With The OPPO Reno5

We have discussed the OPPO Reno 5 in detail in previous articles. First the whopping 50W Super VOOC charger, and then our thoughts on the phone as a whole. Today we talk about the phone’s cameras.

OPPO is not new to making camera centric smart phones and the Reno5 is no exception with its wide array of camera features. The phone has 4 lenses on the rear, that is a 64MP with a Sony sensor for the main camera, supported by an 8MP wide-angle lens, 2MP macro module, and 2MP mono lens. The selfie camera is a 44MP hole punch. In simple terms, hole punch means that the camera is a small circle inside the screen, so that there is no pop up or protruding notch.  

I like hole-punch. I’m coming from using a pop-up selfie camera from another brand. This was at first fun and exciting, but after a few weeks I started finding it too dramatic with all the popping up and animation while all I want is a quick selfie. Plus, I always have anxiety about phones with moving parts.

The OPPO Reno5 cameras comes heavy with AI algorithms for both photography and video. It is well engineered to detect light conditions and adjust accordingly for the best-balanced pictures.

Even before any kind of editing, the photos are already clear, bright, sharp, and rich in detail.  This is for both day and night photos. Exposure, HDR and white balanced are already tuned and combined to near perfection. Then add a rich editing panel which is also available in the settings and you can take nearly professional photos. Yes, if you take the time to play around with edits, you will take your photography to the next level. And your social media photos will always stand out. Among the settings, you also get scene and landscape enhancement.

Video

First off, among other features, videos get shot in 4K. Then there other cool AI supported features like beautification mode for those who wish to correct facial flaws when shooting. I particularly love the AI Colour Portrait feature background scenery is black and white, while the subject is in full colour. This feature produces unique videos and is perfect for when you want to highlight a subject. AI Colour portrait also has some very exciting options which I’m still taking time to explore.

Then there is dual view which means that both the front and rear cameras shoot video at the same time. This makes it possible for users to use the front camera to record their reactions to something they are recording with the back camera.

Video shooting in the OPPO Reno5 is already stable, but for shooting moving objects, there the ultra-steady mode.

There is a tonne of video editing options where you can tweak videos with different formats, filters, soundtracks, and special effects way after shooting. Some of these are pre-installed and other additional ones are downloadable. You can also crop and rotate the video, speed it up or go on slow-mo.

For both novices and more experienced photographers, this is just the phone in its range. I feel that Kshs40,000/- is a fair enough price for a phone that packs so much not just in the cameras, but also the phone as a whole. A worthy purchase.

We took some photos with the OPPO Reno5. Welcome to Central Kenya.