OPPO: 10x hybrid optical zoom tech and more coming in 2019
OPPO has announced a 10x zoom technology for smartphones that can achieve image magnification without loss of quality thanks to the use of a periscope system. Also presented was a new fingerprint reader integrated into the display with a larger surface area plus the ability to record two fingerprints simultaneously. Both technologies are ready for the market.
OPPO's new technology for smartphone cameras promises to revolutionize the way photos are taken. OPPO calls this technology a '10x optical hybrid zoom' and it is obtained by combining a technology already seen many years ago with a new wide angle lens.
The focal length of this photographic system starts from 15.9mm equivalent up to 159mm at the longest focal length. However, there is no moving part: the company uses three different sensors, two of which are optically stabilized (OIS) and uses three different focal lengths.
In addition to the "classic" lens for normal shots, OPPO has added its already famous (but never on the market) 5x optical zoom technology with periscope system and a third wide angle lens. The reference to the 10x zoom, in fact, is true only from this ultra wide angle lens and not from the lens with average focal length.
OPPO defines its hybrid optical zoom as lossless - meaning there is no loss of quality when you zoom, like you would get with digital zoom. This is only partially true, since during the change of magnification factor between the three lenses the device is forced to use digital zoom. The minimum and maximum zoom, in addition to the traditional lens, obviously does not suffer from loss of quality, as it is the lens switch that causes the zoom, not the software.
The system has been tested by the company to withstand over 28,000 falls and is made using more than 100 patents held by the manufacturer. Some prototypes will be shown in Barcelona during MWC 2019, although we doubt we'll see a finished product with this technology next month.
The second novelty announced by the Chinese company is perhaps more interesting. OPPO has shown a new fingerprint reader integrated into the display and with a surface area 15 times larger than those used on the RX17 Pro, for example .The system would then be more practical and the company has shown how it can be used as a biometric authentication system by reading two fingers at the same time as already seen last year on the prototype of Vivo APEX (later to become Vivo NEX).
What do you think about the new technologies of OPPO?
Via: GSM Arena
I am curious how they have resolved the lens movement inside, given the very limited space, and obviously I want to see photos taken with the camera, especially at maximum zoom.
With a 10X telephoto lens, as described, would be around 150-160mm equivalent. The field of view will be so limited, it will make it hard to track for taking photos. On my d-SLR, when I'm taking photos of birds, aircraft, I use a red dot sight mounted on my camera, which centers the sight, on the middle of the zoom. Maybe they could so something like having one of the non zoom lenses, show up on the display when zoomed, to make it easier to track, when zoomed in.
I'm not hopeful for the quality of 10x zoom in the space a phone provides, hybrid or no. Will be exciting to be wrong.