Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Review | Photography Blog - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

Introduction

Previously little-known in Europe, Oppo has recently taken to ramping up its efforts to gain worldwide recognition. It’s the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China, but on this side of the world it lags far behind more recognisable brands such as Google, Huawei, Apple and Samsung.

You might have seen the company’s efforts to change that with high-profile sponsorship of major sporting events such as Wimbledon, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Cricket World Cup.

This phone arguably marks the first time that Oppo is attempting to go mainstream in the non-Chinese market, setting its sights firmly on the other big-zoom mobile currently available, the Huawei P30 Pro.

However, with a retail price starting at around £545 at the time of writing, this is a phone which sits more comfortably in the mid-range than the premium end of the scale of P30 Pro, potentially giving users the opportunity to access a high-performing zoom at a bargain price.

Despite what you might think for a name which features “10x” within it, the Reno 10x Zoom actually sports a 6x (130mm equivalent, f/3.0) optical zoom lens – you get a 10x “hybrid” zoom though, which mixes together optical and digital zoom. The 6x zoom lens sits in front of a 13 megapixel sensor.

It is joined by a standard main 48 megapixel 1/2-inch sensor camera, with a 26mm (equivalent) f/1.7 lens, plus a super wide-angle (16mm equivalent), f/2.2 lens sitting in front of an 8 megapixel sensor. The main camera and the telephoto camera feature optical image stabilisation (OIS), but the super wide-angle (plus the selfie camera), do not.

Other interesting specifications include a 4065mAh battery, an inbuilt memory of either 128GB or 256GB, 4K video recording and USB-C charging.

Ease of Use

Front of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

With its 6.6-inch screen, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is one of the larger phones on the market – but it’s very similar in size to the Huawei P30 Pro. One major thing that sets it apart is the interesting way that the problem of the “selfie” camera has been tackled.

Although most smartphones house a front-facing camera in a “notch”, by doing that you inevitably lose some screen space. To get around that, Oppo has included a pop-up camera unit in the shape of a shark fin – a similar idea to what we’ve also seen in the OnePlus 7 Pro (Oppo is the parent company of OnePlus).

You will see the unit pop out any time you activate the selfie camera, or if you want to use the flash as the flash unit is also housed within it. It feels relatively secure and sturdy, and it automatically retracts back into the body once you exit the selfie camera. One downside here is that it seems to collect dust – I can’t help but wonder if over a long-term period of use, that could prove problematic.

Rear of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

Just as we find with many other Android smartphones, you can activate the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom’s camera by swiping up from the bottom left-hand corner of the lock screen. Also similar to other Android phones is a well-featured native camera app, which gives you a range of shooting options and settings to experiment with.

By default, the app launches in the standard “Photo” mode. This is a basic point-and-shoot mode which gives you minimal control over settings, but there’s still some options found at the top of the screen. A flash icon allows you to switch that off, on, set it to automatically judge when it should be fired, or use the flash as a fill light.

Next is an HDR icon – tap this to switch it off, on, or again set it to Auto – I generally left this on Auto, but it’s great to be able to quickly switch it off if you find that it is producing unrealistic images. The next icon allows you to quickly jump to wide-angle camera, while another icon switches on or off “dazzle colour” – this slightly saturates images, but the difference seems to be quite minimal.

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom’s Pop-up Camera

Next, there’s an icon which gives you the choice of a range of different digital filters, which are worth experimenting with if you like to change the look of your images – you’ll find monochrome options here for example.

Finally, you can access the main menu by tapping the final icon in the line-up. Tap this and you’ll find a set of different options including adjusting photo ratio, switching on a self-timer, assigning how the physical volume button works and so on. It’s also in here you can switch AI scene recognition on or off – you’ll notice that this highlights certain scenes, such as sunsets and landscapes.

Back to the shooting window, you’ll also see “1x” in a circle. Tap this and you can scroll through the various zoom options available. The 1x is the main camera, then next is 2x – this is a hybrid zoom option, as there is no 2x telephoto lens available.

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom’s Camera App

Next is 6x – activating the zoom lens, while finally is the 10x from the Reno’s name – again this is a hybrid zoom option, utilising a combination of optical and digital technology. If you tap it again after 10x, you’ll be taken to the super wide-angle camera.

Alternatively, you can pinch to zoom in and out on the screen, which will give you options in between all of the fixed zoom settings – and it will also allow you to go past the 10x zoom up to a purely digital 60x.

Other shooting options can be selected by swiping right or left on the screen – to the right you’ll find Portrait mode. This recreates a shallow depth of field effect, and you can use it on non-human subjects, too.

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom In-hand

To the left is the Video mode – up to 4K 60fps is available. Tap an icon at the top of the screen to choose different resolutions, while you can delve into the main menu to set the frame rate. Only the main camera and the 2x hybrid zoom is available while shooting video – you can’t use the super wide angle camera, or the 6x zoom lens, which is a little disappointing.

If you tap an icon which looks like three lines stacked on top of each other, a set of additional shooting modes will be revealed. There’s Night mode, which is something we’ve seen on plenty of other recent smartphones – it combines together a set of short exposures to give the effect of a long exposure in dark conditions.

Front of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

There’s Pano, which creates ultra-wide-angle panorama shots. Expert mode is useful for those with a little more experience as it allows you to change a range of settings, including shutter speed, ISO, white balance, AF mode and exposure compensation. Disappointingly, there’s no option to shoot in raw format, though.

The last two shooting modes are Time-Lapse and Slo-Mo, which are extra video modes. Slo-Mo can be shot in either Full HD (1080p) or 720p.

To take a photo, you can either use the on-screen virtual shutter release button, or you can assign the physical volume keys to work as shutter releases.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 13 megapixel
JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around
4Mb.

Oppo has gone all out to promote the Reno 10x Zoom, marketing it almost solely on the quality of its onboard camera(s). That means that it has quite a lot to live up to – and although it produces some very nice images, it probably doesn’t match the hype surrounding it.

In good light, the main camera produces the best images, with a good amount of detail (especially if you don’t examine any closer than around A4 size). The 6x optical zoom images are reasonable, and it’s certainly handy to have such a long focal length if you can’t get physically closer to the subject – but they aren’t as sharp or as detailed as those from the Huawei P30 Pro’s 5x optical zoom lens.

The 10x “hybrid zoom” again is reasonable if your only intention is to share or print at very small sizes, and they don’t stand up to strong scrutiny. Again, the Huawei’s 10x hybrid zoom outperforms the Oppo here. The complete digital zoom is best avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Other functions, such as Night mode, produce fairly good results, but we have seen better elsewhere from Honor, Google and Huawei models. Portrait mode produces fairly realistic results, especially if the main subject doesn’t have a particularly complicated outline, and if you’re shooting in good light – it matches up fairly closely to other models such as the Samsung S10+ and the iPhone XS, but again, it’s the Google Pixel 3/3A and Huawei P30 Pro which have the edge here.

Overall, image quality is “good”, but it doesn’t excel in any particular area – but it’s perhaps unfair to compare it to harshly with more expensive flagship models. For those in the same price bracket as the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, such as the OnePlus 7 Pro, it stands up pretty well.

Noise

Focal Range

Flash

Macro

Night

Night Mode

Long Exposure Mode

Portrait Mode

Panorama

Filters

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom camera, which were all taken using the 13 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 3840×2160 pixels at 60 frames per second. Please note that this 17 second movie is 102Mb in size.

Download the sample movie

Product Images

Conclusion

Our final thoughts on the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom are a bit of a mixed bag. There’s plenty to like about the phone, and it’s certainly worthy of your consideration if you’re looking for a new device with a very capable on board camera. But, there’s nothing here which truly elevates it above other phones on the market to grab your attention.

Overall, image quality is very good from the main camera, but the 6x zoom lens feels more like a sales gimmick with images that are really only good for sharing at small sizes. That might be fine for the average user of a phone like this, but for dedicated photographers who might want to print their pictures, it’s something to be mindful of. We’ve seen better zoom results from the slightly shorter lens of the Huawei P30 Pro (which in fairness is a more expensive purchase than the Oppo).

The front-facing camera being contained within a pop-up sharkfin will appeal to some, but be completely baffling to others. It gives you the full screen to work with, but the pop-up unit does seem to very easily attract dust which could cause problems down the line.

As with most Android phones, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom has a well-featured native camera app. It might not have quite as many shooting modes as phones such as the Samsung S10+, Huawei P30 Pro or the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, but it does give you a little more flexibility than the Google Pixel 3, and certainly more than the iPhone XS. It’s disappointing however not to have raw format shooting included – it might be something that most users aren’t particularly bothered by, but again dedicated photographers might feel hard done by.

Possibly the best thing about the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is its price. For all its faults, it does offer a lot for the money, which is likely to be a big consideration for many. You can pick it up for around the same price as other mid-range phones, where it is a much stronger competitor.

All in all – the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is definitely worthy of consideration, just don’t expect miracles from that zoom lens. If your budget can stretch, we’d still recommend the P30 Pro if zoom is your main consideration, but if you want a super-long lens but don’t quite have the cash to splurge, the Reno 10x Zoom is a well-priced alternative.

Ratings (out of 5)

Design
4

Features
4

Ease-of-use
4

Image quality
4

Value for money
4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom.

Google Pixel 3a

Do you want the same excellent camera from the flagship Pixel 3 but at a much lower price? Of course you do! Then look no further than the brand new Pixel 3a, which features exactly the same camera module as its big brother, including the innovative Night Sight and Portrait modes, but at almost half the price. Read our Google Pixel 3a review to find out if this is all the smartphone camera that you actually need…

Honor 20 Pro

The Honor 20 Pro is a mid-range smartphone with flagship pretensions, aiming to take on £$1000 devices at a much lower-price point whilst delivering similar levels of performance, specification and quality. Does it succeed? Find out now by reading our in-depth Honor 20 Pro review, complete with full-size sample images and videos.

Honor 20

Want a great smartphone with a triple-camera setup that doesn’t cost the earth? Then you may be interested in the Honor 20, a new mid-range 48 megapixel device with a 6.26” full HD screen, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage. Read our Honor 20 review to find out what this new smartphone has to offer keen photographers…

Honor View 20

The Honor View 20 is a mid-range smartphone with flagship specs and performance, with a 48 megapixel sensor, a “hole punch” to house the front-facing camera, and dedicated Night, Portrait and Pro shooting modes aimed at photographers. Is this all the smartphone that you really need? Find out now by reading our in-depth Honor View 20 review, complete with full-size sample images and videos.

HTC U12 Plus

The HTC U12 Plus is a flagship smartphone from one of the smaller players in the industry, with a dual-camera setup on both the front and rear. Read our detailed HTC U12 Plus review to find out what it offers photographers, complete with full-size sample images and videos…

Huawei P30 Lite

The Huawei P30 Lite is a new mid-range smartphone that offers a lot of features for keen photographers. It has a triple camera setup with a 48 megapixel wide-angle lens, an 8 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2 megapixel bokeh lens. Find out if this is all the smartphone camera that you need by reading our in-depth Huawei P30 Lite review, complete with full-size sample images and videos…

Huawei P30 Pro

The Huawei P30 Pro is a flagship smartphone that aims to rewrite the rules of photography. The P30 Pro is equipped with a new Leica Quad Camera System, including a 40MP main camera with the HUAWEI SuperSpectrum Sensor, a 20MP ultra-wide angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, the ToF Camera…

OnePlus 6T

The OnePlus 6T is a flagship smartphone with a 16 megapixel camera, 4K/60fps movie recording, 960fps super slow motion video, and a smaller notch design. Read our expert OnePlus 6T review with full-size sample JPEG and Raw images and videos…

OnePlus 7 Pro

The OnePlus 7 Pro is the biggest and most expensive flagship smartphone that OnePlus has ever released. With a 48-megapixel triple-camera setup, 4K/60p video recording, Nightscape and Pro shooting modes and the ability to shoot in Raw, is it also the best ever OnePlus phone? Find out now by reading our in-depth OnePlus 7 Pro review…

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

The Galaxy S10 Plus is the best smartphone that Samsung have ever made, but is it also the best for keen photographers? Find out now by reading our expert Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus review, complete with full-size sample images and videos…

Sony Xperia 1

The Xperia 1 is the first ever Sony smartphone to borrow technology from the company’s successful Alpha range of mirrorless cameras, including the very popular Eye AF feature and the latest Bionz X processor. Could this be the ultimate smartphone for photographers? Find out now by reading our in-depth Sony Xperia 1 review, complete with full-size sample images and videos…

Sony Xperia XZ3

The Sony Xperia XZ3 is a flagship smartphone with a 19 megapixel camera, 4K HDR Movie recording, 960fps Super slow motion in Full HD, and AI predictive capture.Are there enough features and performance to tempt keen photographers? Find out now by reading our in-depth Sony Xperia XZ3 review, complete with full-size sample images and videos…

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom from around the web.

techradar.com »

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom feels stylish in a way few phones do, from its smooth rear design to the asymmetrical and unapologetic pop-up camera. It may feel a little slow to use at times, thanks to the slow-to-respond user interface, but in general it’s a processing powerhouse that’ll do all you ask of it and more.

Read the full review »

pocket-lint.com »

This phone looks good, with intricate design, has one of the most versatile camera systems on the planet, a cool-looking pop-up camera, great battery life and software that is miles better than it was even two years ago. Make no mistake, the 10x Zoom is a real flagship phone, and the one that’ll make you start taking Oppo seriously.

Read the full review »

tomsguide.com »

If you don’t mind the lack of storage options, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom provides great cameras, strong performance, and a simple but distinctive design inside and out.

Read the full review »

Specifications

Dimensions/Weight

Height
: 16.2cm / 162.0mm

Width
: 7.72cm / 77.2mm

Thickness
: 0.93cm / 9.3mm

Weight
: About 215g

Basic Parameters

Color
: Jet Black, Ocean Green

Operating System
: ColorOS 6, based on Android 9

Processor
: SM8150

GPU
: Adreno™ 640

Battery Capacity
: 4065mAh (TYP), 3975mAh (MIN)

RAM
: 6GB / 8GB

Storage
: 128GB / 256GB

Display

Size
: 6.6”

Touchscreen
: Multi-touch, Capacitive Screen

Resolution
: 2340 by 1080 pixels at 387 ppi

Colors
: 16.7 million colors

Screen Ratio
: 93.1%

Type
: On-Cell OLED

Camera

Rear Sensor
: 48MP + 8MP + 13MP

Front Sensor
: 16-megapixel

Aperture
:
Front: 16MP F2.0
Rear: 48MP F1.7 + 8MP F2.2 + 13MP F3.0

Features
:
Rear 6P camera of 48MP, PDAF, dual OIS;
Front 5P camera of 16MP with beauty function

Camera Mode
:
Photo, Video, Expert, Time-lapse, Pano, Night, and Portrait

Other Features
: 10x telephoto

Front camera: 1080P/
Rear camera:

Video :Front camera: 1080P/ [email protected] Rear camera: [email protected] /30fps, [email protected] /30fps, [email protected] /30fps

Reno

Reno 10x Zoom

Connectivity

Frequencies
:
【Other contries】
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
LTE FDD: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/32/66
LTE TDD: Bands 34/38/39/40/41
–TW—
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz
LTE FDD: 700/800/850/900/1500/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600MHz
LTE TDD: 1900/2000/2300/2496-2690/2570-2620MHz
—ID—
GSM: 900/1800MHz
WCDMA: 900/2100MHz
LTE FDD: Bands 1/3/5/8
LTE TDD: Band 40

SIM Card Type
: Nano+Nano/Micro SD, 2 of 3

Bluetooth
: 5.0

WLAN Function
: WLAN 2.4G / WLAN 5G, WLAN Display

OTG
: Support

NFC
: Supported