While we’re prepping for the multiple battery tests, charging tests, call tests, benchmarks, and speaker test that make up the GSMArena review, we shot a few camera samples with the new Oppo Find X8 Ultra side-by-side with its predecessor.
An imaging beast in its own right, the Find X7 Ultra doesn’t look like a year-old phone. In fact, it’s as fresh as ever. Some might say it looks more sophisticated than its new sibling.
But we’re not here to talk about looks, important as they are. We’re here to talk cameras, and we have a total of eight on the back of these phones (technically nine, counting the new 2MP True Chroma spectral camera on the Find X8 Ultra).
Here’s the quick rundown – both feature the same main camera, a 23mm f/1.8 optic with the premier smartphone imager – the 1-inch Sony LYT900. The Find X7 Ultra has the better ultrawide on paper – a 14mm f/2.0 lens with a 1/1.95-inch sensor compared to a 15mm f/2.0 with a 1/2.75-inch sensor.
The Oppo Find X8 Ultra brings big improvements to the zooms! The midrange zoom is still a 50MP 1/1.56-inch imager but has a new lens – a 70mm f/2.1 compared to the 65mm f/2.6 of the older phone – that’s a big jump in light-gathering.
The zoomier option is better still this year. The Find X8 Ultra bumps its 135mm telephoto to a larger 1/1.95-inch sensor (vs 1/2.51-inch) and upgrades the lens to an f/3.1 (vs f/4.3). Both should result in better low-light and a blurrier background, if all else is equal.
We have a modest pair of samples with the ultrawide and wide angle cameras. But it’s enough to set the stage – the Oppo Find X8 Ultra shoots superior wide images.
Looking at the ultrawide sample, despite the reduction in sensor size, the new phone is notably cleaner. There’s hardly any noise in the shot, even though the camera needed to compensate for the light-gathering difference with a higher ISO. The detail levels appear similar.
The 1x images are much closer – expected, given that we’re looking at the exact same hardware. The new phone has a slight edge in micro-contrast and texture quality. Everything looks a bit cleaner – notice the texture in the wooden floor.
Oppo Find X8 Ultra 0.6x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 0.6x • Oppo Find X8 Ultra 1x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 1x
Moving on to the zoom samples. We shot these in the camera’s Master mode to ensure that each phone used the 3x and 6x camera in each shot. Both the Find X7 Ultra and Find X8 Ultra may choose to use a different camera in Auto mode – using the 1x instead of the 3x in certain closer-focusing, lower-lit scenes, or using the 3x at 6x for its superior light capturing abilities.
The first noticeable difference is the depth of field. The move from an f/2.6 to an f/2.1 on the 3x camera results in drastically more bokeh in the foreground and background of an image. The bokeh is also creamier and smoother.
While on the 6x camera, the combination of a larger sensor and a brighter lens produces actual subject-to-background separation for the first time – the Find X7 Ultra’s 135mm camera couldn’t really produce an image with a blurry background because it can’t focus from very close and had a wide depth of field. The new 135mm can.
Oppo Find X8 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X8 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 3x
Oppo Find X8 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X8 Ultra 3x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 3x
Oppo Find X8 Ultra 6x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 6x • Oppo Find X8 Ultra 6x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 6x
We expect the new set of zooms to outperform the old pair in low light as well, but that’s something we’ll put to the test in our full review.
Oppo Find X8 Ultra 6x • Oppo Find X7 Ultra 6x
Oppo made significant improvements to the camera system of its premier cameraphone. The Find X7 Ultra remains one of the most competent shooters you could have with you, but the Find X8 Ultra is even better!
If, for some reason, you’re unfamiliar with our camera compare tool – just look for the red banner at the top of the page – click it and you can compare two images side-by-side. You can adjust the zoom level as you like too!
