Oppo released a teaser in mid-January that confirmed a 10x zoom camera. Following up on that announcement, Oppo held an event on Saturday, just before MWC 2019, revealing lossless zoom technology now ready for mass production. The camera will be inserted into Oppo’s new smartphone by Q2 2019.
Our solution is a triple-lens camera structure, which includes:
48MP Hi-res main camera
120 degree ultra-wide lens
Telephoto lensWith all 3 lenses we can cover broad focal lengths of 16mm-160mm which make up our 10x Lossless Zoom.#GetCloserWithOPPO 🔍
— OPPO (@oppo) February 23, 2019
Lossless Zoom Technology
At the event, Oppo explained how their latest lossless zoom technology works. There will be three rear cameras on the phone – a 48MP high-resolution primary camera lens, a 120-degree ultra wide-angle lens with 16mm focal length, and a telephoto camera with a lens setup resembling a periscope.
To save space in the camera setup, Oppo used two autofocus (AF) motors for the first two lenses. The focal length for the third lens is 160mm and there are two optical lenses joined by a prism and a D-cut in a horizontal lineup to reduce thickness. The module is only 6.76mm thick.
These cameras cover a focal range of 16mm to 160mm, giving it a 10x zoom rating.
This lossless zoom technology uses optical image stabilization. The OIS is present in the main lens as well as in the telephoto lens. This works to reduce blur and shake when the user takes a photo while zooming in. Oppo claims that the precision for this stabilization is 0.001445 degrees. This is 73% more than the 5x zoom technology they released two years ago.
Oppo Tweeted photo comparisons for users to see what their new camera tech can do:
ICYMI: Here's another photo comparison.👇
10x Lossless Zoom vs Ultra-wide Angle. 🤩#GetCloserWithOPPO🔍 pic.twitter.com/tRSvylxuOy— OPPO (@oppo) February 23, 2019
The Phone
Oppo also announced that the lossless zoom technology would be present in the next phone they release. However, Oppo has announced the launch of their Oppo F11 Pro on March 5, so it remains to be seen what they will announce in Q2.
Oppo also showed their new 5G phone at the event with a Snapdragon 855 processor. Oppo said that they would collaborate with SingTel, Telstra, Optus, and Swisscom to release a 5G device in the near future, although there’s no solid release date yet.
