Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G: Radiating Success

Nilofer Khan puts the latest addition in the Reno lineup, the Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G, on BP’s test bench.

First introduced in 2019, the Oppo Reno series has grown exponentially in popularity as a result of its performance and design. This year, the company has launched its latest flagship with a stylish look and upgraded camera sensors, the Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G.

A Lot to Offer
The phone features a triple rear camera setup—a 50MP f/1.8 main camera with a 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX766 sensor, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. It also features a 32MP f/2.4 lens on the front, with the new Sony IMX709 sensor. There is no option for RAW. It has a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 5, a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio, a 20:9 aspect ratio, and a 90Hz refresh rate. Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200-MAX and Android 11, the phone offers 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. On the design front, there is a light strip on the camera module that glows when you get notifications or when charging the phone.

A Reliable Device
The main 50MP camera produces crisp images with a good dynamic range, even in low light. With the AI on, the camera slightly increases the saturation.

The ultra-wide lens performs well in daylight with slightly soft corners, but there is a visible loss in details in dimly lit environments. However, if you switch to the Night Mode, when using the ultra-wide lens, you’ll get brighter images. The only drawback is that the centre is sharper than the rest of the frame. Sometimes, the scene in the Night Mode appears brighter than it actually is, which can be fixed easily.

Although there is no RAW, the processed JPEGs did a pretty good job. The main camera captures the textures well. Moreover, I was able to retrieve details from the reflection, which was slightly overexposed. Photograph/Nilofer Khan

“The main camera offers 20x zoom. In the Night mode, it is 10x and in the Extra HD mode, it is 5x. Up to 10x, the images are useable. But pushing past it results in a painterly effect with loss in details.”

The Macro mode is satisfactory in daylight, but it renders oversharpened images. The Portrait mode has a slider to adjust the aperture (f/0.95 to f/16). There is also a separate filter for bokeh, but if you are shooting at f/0.95, you achieve similar results. The images have a soft background at the widest aperture, and the colour rendition is great. Moreover, the portraits are sharp and punchy even in low-lit environments. The bokeh filter is available in the Video mode too. But when you pan the camera, the area around your hair shows unnatural blurring. The Portrait mode of the front camera achieves great results both indoors and in low lit environments. The DOL-HDR feature available for the front camera worked well against an overexposed backdrop while retaining most of the details.

The Extra HD mode produces 108MP images. However, there isn’t much difference when you compare the 50MP and 108MP. The details in highlights and shadows are retained well, and the sharpness is consistent across the frame.

I shot this self-portrait using the Bokeh Flare Portrait filter. In such a low-lit environment, the phone was able to recognise my face instantly. It was able to capture the texture of my skin and hair well too. Photograph/Nilofer Khan

How Does it Fare?
Priced at Rs. 39,999, the Reno7 Pro competes with the Mi 11X Pro 5G, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, the OnePlus 9R, and the iQOO7 Legend. However, it offers a great camera for low light photography. Moreover, the images are crisp and punchy, the video quality is good and stable, and the phone has a stylish design, making it a great option for those who desire both design and performance.

This article originally appeared in the March2022 issue of Better Photography.