>> One month, 150 shots – my verdict on the OnePlus 13 camerasSkip to advise
Image: Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Having correct reviewed the OnePlus 13, it not totally makes for a compelling expose to 2025, but it’s arguably the corporate’s most ambitious flagship smartphone to this level; pushing in all areas, in conjunction with the camera machine.
OnePlus has all yet again grew to become to famed camera imprint Hasselblad to lend a hand with the OnePlus 13‘s image tuning, whereas the underlying hardware is a natural evolution of the sensor setup we contain been launched to on last yr’s OnePlus 12.
Pair all that with sleek algorithms for addressing maladies equivalent to motion blur, elevated versatility all over components love portrait mode and video capture, plus an upgraded AI image enhancing toolset and, on paper, the OnePlus 13’s camera machine looks love a power to be reckoned with.
You presumably can pre-expose it now but after a month of shooting with it and over 150 shots carefully examined, how has it fared within the particular world?
Camera hardware
At a factor level, the OnePlus 13’s well-known camera machine is fronted by the identical 1/1.4-jog ƒ/1.6 Sony LYT-808 sensor (with OIS or optical image stabilisation), that OnePlus launched on the OnePlus 12.
Despite being a 50Mp sensor (with 1.12μm pixels), the OnePlus 13 makes utilize of pixel binning to leverage better 2.24μm pixels, ensuing in 12.6Mp photos at a name of 4096 x 3072 in a 4:3 aspect ratio. To this level, so familiar.
The build the 13’s camera machine deviates from its predecessor’s is with the ultrawide and telephoto at play, which now match the lead sensor for megapixels, at 50Mp a chunk. Samsung’s 1/2.75-jog ƒ/2.05 ISOCELL JN5 sensor accounts for the 120-stage ultrawide, whereas a 1/1.95-jog ƒ/2.65 Sony LYT-600 sensor sits within the lend a hand of the telephoto lens.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
It’s this 3x optical zoom lens (additionally supported by OIS) which is arguably essentially the most modern aspect of the OnePlus 13’s photographic hardware.
In residing of making the mobile phone’s camera bump better, by relying on used smartphone periscope telephoto sensors that mumble light thru 90-levels, the OnePlus 13 as a replacement makes utilize of a triprism invent. This permits for an even bigger physical sensor, whereas permitting your entire telephoto module to clock in 24% smaller and 30% lighter, when put next with the 3x camera on the OnePlus 12.
The 13 relies on the identical 32Mp 1/2.74-jog ƒ/2.Forty five Sony IMX615 entrance camera, leaving the ISP (image signal processor) inside the mobile phone’s high-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and that Hasselblad image tuning to lend a hand lift superior selfies.
Camera gains
Speaking of Hasselblad, OnePlus producers the setup on its most up-to-date flagship because the ‘5th-Gen Hasselblad Camera for Cell’, with essentially the most tangible design of their collaboration found inside Grasp Mode, which sits atop Skilled mode (i.e. manual management), offering further at-capture effects; in conjunction with sliders for saturation, distinction and even a vignette.
XPan mode has become a staple of the emblem’s Hasselblad-branded telephones, letting you capture photos within the format’s signature jog 2.7:1 aspect ratio, whereas the OnePlus 13’s portrait mode now functions all over 1x, 2x and 3x magnification, with the bokeh at every focal length modeled after a trio of Hasselblad-made lenses; namely 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
Action Mode doubles the jog of the sensor output to 60fps, to raised capture posthaste-exciting issues, but this time it’s bolstered by OnePlus’ most up-to-date Twin Publicity Algorithm, which merges rapid and prolonged-publicity photos at capture simultaneously, to maintain sure final shots are each crisp and colorful.
Incompatibility and drama lend a hand shield photos from having a locate flat or fraudulent, and luckily those within the lend a hand of the tuning on the OnePlus 13’s camera perceive this
The upgraded Hasten Burst characteristic locations this into apply, by taking into consideration the total algorithm and HDR processing to be utilized on every shot taken inside a burst, ensuing in colorful, crisp issues, in spite of posthaste scuttle.
One miniature but prolonged-standing user-requested camera characteristic at last arrives as piece of the mobile phone’s OxygenOS 15 user expertise too: Livephoto. That technique those that love slightly motion on the level of capture for context, when having a locate lend a hand on their snaps, now contain such an option.
Odd shooting samples
Pretty about a prominent entries amongst the supreme camera telephones contain skewed away from darkness.
By that I imply HDR processing from the likes of Apple, Samsung and in particular Google, has gotten so gorgeous at facing shadows and elevated-distinction scenarios that replacement smartphone images is clearer and brighter than ever, but inauthentic in its outcomes.
Incompatibility and drama lend a hand shield photos from having a locate flat or fraudulent, and luckily those within the lend a hand of the tuning on the OnePlus 13’s camera perceive this. While the HDR pipeline remains to be clearly in enact – issues in shadow are restful represented in shadow – correct with better detail and less noise than previously. I agree with it makes for more compelling imagery total and is nearer in perform to more used photographic processing.
For essentially the most piece, color accuracy and pores and skin tones turn out smartly on the 13, with impressively constant white stability, even in opposition to harsh lighting fixtures prerequisites, equivalent to warmth restaurant mood lighting fixtures.
The caveat is that greens, in allege, tend to lose saturation, in particular in excessive-distinction scenes, the build the camera favours dropping publicity on the brightest design of the frame, ensuing in inexperienced hues shedding vibrancy and showing below-exposed.
Portrait mode samples
It’s mighty so as to leverage portrait mode all over all three of the mobile phone’s rear sensors, with generally gratifying and constant outcomes that again lift gorgeous pores and skin tones and color reproduction.
Below scrutiny, edge detection spherical hairs and the love does appear to dawdle within the lend a hand of what choose competitors are in a location to muster, then again, if social media is your well-known destination, a majority of these concerns aren’t likely to push you to throw out the photos you’ve captured.
Whilst I haven’t old skool any of Hasselblad’s excessive-priced agree with-imprint cameras or the lenses the OnePlus 13’s machine supposedly emulates, I agree with more work will be done to beef up bokeh quality. The fall-off of the depth enact within the lend a hand of a discipline, in allege, generally looks a chunk too harsh; showing misaligned with the particular distance of design from the lens.
Macro samples
On the topic of consistency, OnePlus telephones contain previously struggled to retain color accuracy with their macro cameras or shooting modes, and even despite the indisputable truth that this persists on the OnePlus 13, the enact is less prominent than I’ve ever considered it; in particular with out-of-box design (OnePlus has a behavior of improving camera efficiency and fixing acknowledged inconsistencies after delivery, thru design updates).
This doesn’t end the photos that you just would possibly be in a location to capture from being perfectly gorgeous, regardless.
The mobile phone defaults to the ultrawide, in expose to let you come up conclude and deepest with in particular miniature issues. Results tag a transparent distinction between
Low light & night time mode samples
In low light, the OnePlus 13 works laborious to withhold colours and properly present an explanation for issues whereas managing white stability.
For unknown reasons, it would possibly per chance most likely presumably infrequently below-present an explanation for a scene (at which level I’d resort to night time mode), but proved in another case pleased taking gorgeous photos in unlit prerequisites.
Up conclude, there’s a transparent plunge intimately definition when shooting in low light, then again, outcomes contain been in another case gorgeous gorgeous.
The mobile phone can lengthen capture time automatically in low light, but for most attention-grabbing outcomes, it’ll pay to substitute the mobile phone’s dedicated night time mode, which can pull more details out of the darkest areas of the frame, whereas managing noise quite successfully.
Selfie samples
In phrases of selfies, there’s a transparent distinction in image processing between the OnePlus 13’s entrance and lend a hand cameras. Per chance as a outcomes of getting to atone for the smaller, weaker, decrease decision sensor above the mobile phone’s (wonderful) tag.
Predominant camera
Front-facing camera
There’s evidently more heavy-handed processing at work when taking entrance-facing selfies, with face brightening that’s nearer standard to that aforementioned ‘HDR peek’ and not in conserving with the comfort of the 13’s camera machine.
As per the above comparison, the eyes in truth ‘pop’ when utilizing the entrance camera, but color and distinction lose accuracy as a consequence. Whenever you’re after this more pronounced peek, the 13 offers you the option, with out forcing it on you, simply by slipping the mobile phone spherical.
OxygenOS 15 added a trio of most up-to-date AI image enhancing tools to the existing AI Eraser that become as soon as accessible on the OnePlus 12.
In testing, AI Eraser’s capability to cloak undesirable design has improved since delivery, with a trio of intuitive controls to let you faucet or lasso spherical issues fast and with out philosophize.
It become as soon as the AI reflection elimination tool that I become as soon as most intrigued to examine out and proper to its title, it does a respectable job of in conjunction with clarity to photos with shiny surfaces in and is convincing adequate that you just’re not going to take dangle of need to you contain been having a locate at an affected image.
The characteristic works most attention-grabbing with smartly outlined mirrored sources, love fashioned light shades or window panes, seemingly relying on distinction and edge detection to discern what’s a mirrored image and what’s within the lend a hand of the glass you’re shooting at.
It’ll’t act love a polariser, then again, proving unable to get rid of the reflection of a colorful cloud sky, in expose to take into fable past, correct into a building.
Are the OnePlus 13 cameras any gorgeous?
While there’s no denying that the OnePlus 13 possesses the corporate’s most finished camera mobile phone to this level, it restful comes with one too many caveats to be regarded as as one in all the supreme camera telephones accessible on the market correct now – need to you in truth care about the finer details.
Dinky inconsistencies in color and detail retention – in particular when the lights jog down – retain it lend a hand from photographic supremacy.
On the identical time, per chance as a outcomes of the Hasselblad partnership, the OnePlus 13’s camera isn’t as heavy handed as its competitors by HDR processing, which offers up a more legit shooting expertise; in particular by the effects.
Original processes love its Twin Publicity Algorithm and Natty Burst are to be commended too, whereas fans of the emblem will for jog bask in upgrades as piece of Oxygen OS 15, love Livephotos, reflection elimination and the comfort of its sleek photographic AI programs.
Creator: Alex Walker-Todd, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Having lined every smartphone, pill and wearable price shouting about over the last ten years, Alex lives and breathes tech.