OnePlus 7 PRO. The new smartphone model of the Chinese company was officially launched on the market a few days ago, and it has already been closely tested by some of those who decided to buy it. More precisely, the problem lies in the OnePlus 7 PRO camera, and in the fact that the optical zoom of up to 3X promised by the Chinese company would not be as real as it would present it, or at least that was discovered after a short phone camera test.
OnePlus 7 PRO. According to some who have analyzed the camera of the new smartphone model, the pictures taken by the device seem to have an optical zoom of up to 2.2X, not up to 3X, as the company promises. Everything is based on the resolution at which the pictures were recorded using the telephoto camera of the OnePlus 7 PRO, the analysis of the EXIF data revealing the fact that the reality behind the OnePlus marketing would be quite different.
OnePlus 7 PRO. THE LIE with which Customers are DECEIVED
OnePlus 7 PRO. Basically, instead of taking photos with a 3X optical zoom at 13 megapixels, the phone takes photos at 8 megapixels, and this by cutting the resolution, and this way it would reach a real optical zoom of 2.2X, not 3X. Those from OnePlus defend themselves by saying that their phones do an optical zoom of up to 3X for recording pictures, and that indeed the resolution for pictures of this kind taken with the OnePlus 7 PRO is 8 megapixels, but without cutting the normal resolution.
Both modes use the same lens and sensor, but somehow the image produced in Portrait mode is of a wider angle and at a higher resolution — 13MP in Portrait mode compared to 8MP in 3x "zoom" mode. So, in fact, the telephoto lens has a higher 13MP resolution, and it's actually cropping down to hit that 3x zoom target. Based on the math which describes the geometry of the situation, that crop places the actual optics of the telephoto lens around 2.2x rather than 3x (or 57mm instead of 78mm, in focal length and 35mm-equivalent terms).
OnePlus 7 PRO. The situation is reminiscent of the OnePlus 5, when the company promised optical zoom up to 2X for the phone, only that in reality the optical zoom was only 1.4X, the remaining 0.6X being obtained digitally. Practically, the situation in which the OnePlus 7 PRO finds itself is not really that new, it is just a re-editing of some lies told in the past in order for the phones to be sold by the Chinese.
The OnePlus 7 Pro has 3x zoom with no digital zoom or loss of detail. The telephoto camera serves two main purposes: 3x zoom and portrait mode photography. It will switch the field of view depending on the camera mode. With 3x zoom, the telephoto camera delivers the advertised lossless 8 megapixels images. Portrait mode uses the 13 megapixels from the sensor in the telephoto camera.
OnePlus 7 PRO. Having said that, if you decide to buy a phone of this kind, you should be used to the idea that that optical zoom of up to 3X is not quite what you imagine.
