Oppo didn’t announce any phones for MWC – instead, they were hyped about their camera with 5x optical zoom.
The Chinese manufacturer revealed the 5x Dual Camera Zoom system, which uses a periscope-style setup to divert light through a prism and into a telephoto lens nested inside the smartphone, set at a 90-degree angle to the rear-facing wide-angle lens. By shifting the light’s path, this lets users zoom in further without worrying about smudging in digital zooms.
With videos, significant zooming could lead to noticeable vibrations. The Dual Camera Zoom has an optical image stabilisation that activates as you zoom to keep your shot steady. The prism mechanism dynamically adjusts its angle with precision to the thousandth of a degree or 0.0025 degrees to be more accurate.
The Dual Camera Zoom consists of over 50 individual parts, stacked in a module with a total height of 5.7mm.
The new camera technology is a collaboration with Israeli startup Corephotonics. Corephotonics has a similar camera module called Hawkeye Camera which debuted in MWC last year. CNET found out that Oppo licensed the original patent from Corephotonics, “which worked on the same principles as its new tech.” It’s been a year in the making for Oppo’s engineers and the company has since applied for 50 new patents.
There’s no news on any new phones or indeed which phone this tech will debut in, but a good guess might be a flagship coming out this year.
