Modern cell phones have a huge load of additional cameras. We’ve seen wide-angle cameras, depth cameras, macro cameras, telephoto cameras, and now… a microscope camera? The new Oppo Find X3 Pro has a “microlens sensor with up to 60x zoom” that can take some fascinating super-close-up shots.
We’ve loved the macro cameras that have popped up on certain phones, basically from Oppo’s sister organization OnePlus. Oppo’s micro camera seems like a next-gen version of a similar thought. We’re not going to believe a producer’s expertly shot sample pictures, however a few third parties like Android Police have gotten their hands on the phone and turned in some genuinely amazing pictures that haven’t been conceivable from a cell phone previously.
Like you’d expect, the sample pictures out there all have a very shallow depth-of-field, and it would appear that focusing is a challenge. That is true of regular macro photography, as well, however. A great many people are doing hand-held shots, and a full tripod-style setup would presumably help a lot. The “Micro” camera sensor is just 3 MP, however dissimilar to some of the useless “decorative” 2 MP cameras we see on less expensive phones, this is by all accounts a close-up.
For specs, we’re getting a lovely standard 2021 flagship: a 6.7-inch, 120 Hz, 3216×1440 OLED display; a Snapdragon 888 SoC; 12GB of RAM; 256GB of storage; and a 4500 mAh battery. There’s 65 W wired charging, 30 W wireless charging, an in-screen fingerprint reader, NFC, and a USB-C port. For software, there’s Android 11 with Oppo’s “Color OS” Android skin.
The other interesting design element of the phone is Oppo’s camera bump. Instead of smacking on a big rectangle with 90-degree sides that make a stage up into the camera module, Oppo has formed the glass to slope up onto the camera bump in one smooth, continuous shape. Indeed, even the top of the camera bump is as yet unchanged piece of glass, with individual cutouts for each lens. Oppo says it requires 40 hours to make the glass panel.
Oppo for the most part doesn’t launch phones in the US, so we’ll need to trust something like this goes to an OnePlus phone someday. The phone launches in Europe on March 30 for €1,149 ($1,377).