Oppo R17 Pro: Camera Review


Oppo’s R Series represents the brand’s top-level flagship lineup and this year’s R17 Pro iteration packs some amazing hardware such as the triple lens camera system on the back. In 2018, it has become pretty much essential for a flagship device to carry high-end optics as the industry is highly competitive and there are multiple good phones with amazing cameras at various price points. In this detailed review our focus will be on Oppo R17 Pro’s camera and the features it offers.

For actual hardware, there are three separate camera modules on the back of the R17 Pro. Uniquely, one of the three is a Time Of Flight camera which is a fancy module dedicated towards better Augmented Reality performance such as 3D stickers and more. The main lens, however, is a 12MP sensor that has a variable aperture lens that can shift from f/1.5 to f/2.4. This module also has OIS for better stability and also dual-pixel PDAF. Lastly, the third lens is a 20MP sensor with f/2.6 aperture which is mostly used for depth sensing. Ahead, lets discuss how these three sensors on the back make up the whole Oppo R17 Pro photography experience.

Oppo R17 Pro: Camera Review 2

Oppo R17 Pro: Camera Review

Tying all the hardware together is Oppo’s camera app which is both diverse and complete. The User Interface is simple yet carries all the core functionality a good camera app should offer. However, there are a few key features which sets it apart and they are as follows.

Dazzle Color

Photos with punchy colors and high saturation don’t best represent the actual scene that is being captured but as an end-product they look quite pleasing. That’s exactly what Dazzle Color is. As a toggle available in the main photo mode, once switched on, it post processes each photo to boost the saturation levels as well as boost each individual color making up for a photo that is more pronounced. View the sample shots with Dazzle Color turned on as well as switched off to notice the difference.

We think this mode will definitely appeal to loads of users as the final photo, despite being exaggerated, comes out to look better. Fortunately, if you don’t want this added color, you can easily switch it off as well.

HDR

High Dynamic Range — HDR for short — is something that has grown substantially with smartphone photography. Basically, when you capture a photo, there is a certain amount of bright spots and dull spots. With HDR, you can have equal exposure on the dull areas or at least make the dull spots visible enough to see all the detail. Since the dynamic range is a hardware dependent, Oppo utilizes software to implement HDR. Once the photo is taken, the phone processes it, applying HDR and then saves it. For HDR, there are two levels, either set it on Auto or completely On.

From the sample shots you can clearly see how HDR makes a big difference in the overall photo quality.

Night Mode

Lowlight photography has been the Achilles heel of smartphone photography. Only recently have software techniques caught up which offer great post-processing to make for some amazing shots in bad lighting. Similarly, Oppo R17 Pro also carries a dedicated Night mode that basically utilizes software to stitch up photos taken at different exposures and settings. The few things that acts as a downside are, you need to have a stable hand to shoot good photos as the camera takes multiple photos over a certain period of time. Plus, you can’t take fast paced shots as the photo taking time is couple of seconds long for each. Nonetheless, despite this, the pictures that come out are quite worth it.

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Expert Mode

One last trick within Oppo R17 Pro’s camera app arsenal is the Expert mode. This specific option grants users granular control over all the settings such as white balance, exposure and shutter speed. Unfortunately, despite having variable aperture, the aperture setting can’t be controlled manually even when the phone is in Expert Mode. Nonetheless, control over other options is quite helpful. For example, you can take long exposure shots of the sky or even create a light painting with low shutter speeds.

Overall, we have been quite impressed with the Oppo R17 Pro camera. It takes good photos in all lighting conditions and can easily compare to competing smartphones in the same price bracket. Further, the camera app offers a number of modes to choose from which allows to setup the perfect shot.

Camera App Screenshots

Oppo R17 Pro: Camera Pictures

Taimur Akmal
Taimur Akmal

Devoted writer, enjoys developing code. Appreciates excellent food, exceptional coffee and great company. He is also into sublime design and nicely built cars.

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