What’s up with the OPPO R9s’ camera

You should have found out about the OPPO R9s’ impressive camera by now from our review of the sexy device. After all, the OPPO R9s’ tagline is Now, It’s Clear. So what makes the camera on the OPPO R9s great? We are here to tell you.

Dual PDAF technology

Phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) is a must-have feature in recent smartphones, as it promises faster autofocusing speeds as compared to standard contrast detection autofocusing. OPPO took it a step further with the OPPO R9s by packing the 16MP 1/2.8″ Sony IMX398 sensor featuring Dual PDAF which was exclusively developed for OPPO into its svelte 6.58mm frame. Dual PDAF is not just a fancy name, as the Sony IMX398 sensor has double the area covered by the photodiodes dedicated for PDAF, allowing for 40% faster autofocusing speeds even in low light conditions. All these jargon may leave you confused, but all you need to know is you will not be getting those dreaded blurry, out of focus shots of the precious moments you want to preserve with the OPPO R9s. The OPPO R9s doesn’t hunt for focus, but instead immediately locks onto the subject and brings it into focus.

f/1.7 Aperture

Most current smartphones feature f/2.0 apertures. The OPPO R9s features a f/1.7 aperture, which is wider than f/2.0. As confusing as it sounds, a smaller number denotes a bigger aperture. In simple terms, aperture is the “hole” which lets light into your camera and onto the camera sensor. A wider aperture allows for more light to hit the sensor. More light is always good, as it allows you to pick a lower ISO or faster shutter speeds in sub-optimal lighting conditions. How does a lower ISO or faster shutter speed translate to real world results? Well, less noisy images, and the ability to freeze motion are some of them. The OPPO R9s’ comprehensive manual mode will allow you to take full advantage of the faster optics available on the OPPO R9s.

A wider aperture’s benefits do not stop there though. Have you seen photos with pin sharp foregrounds and dreamy backgrounds? Well, no smartphone can do that, not even the OPPO R9s. The laws of physics just doesn’t allow that to happen. But what it can do is have better subject separation compared to smartphone cameras with smaller apertures. The wider the aperture, the better the subject separation, so if you enjoy taking close up photos, the OPPO R9s will be perfect for you as you will get the nice smooth blur in the background and pin sharp focus on the object of interest.

User-friendly camera UI

You can have the best camera hardware mounted onto the back of your smartphone, but if the user experience is clunky, you would more often than not decide not to even use it. Trust me, I have been there. Luckily, the simple camera UI on the OPPO R9s is very user-friendly. Less is more, ladies and gentlemen. The first thing you will notice is a big shutter key allowing you to quickly take shot after shot to capture that perfect moment. The other thing you will notice is how everything is just a tap or swipe away, without cumbersome menus within menus. Quickly switch HDR on or off, or just leave it in auto, or you can also turn on Ultra HD mode to capture 64MP images for even more fine detail in your shot. If you are feeling particularly artsy you can also switch over to the Expert Mode and take full control of the camera by fine-tuning the white balance, ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation or even opt for manual focus.

It should be clear by now that the OPPO R9s packs a really solid main camera. We are only talking about the rear camera now, as it is the true highlight in the OPPO R9s, despite the front camera being equally impressive. The front camera is shared with the OPPO F1s, a phone for Selfie Experts, so you should be able to gauge the capabilities of the front camera on the OPPO R9s.

Well, I believe that’s enough talk. Have a look at some of the photos that we took with the OPPO R9s. Do you think you can do better? Feel free to tag us on your best shots with the OPPO R9s by tagging us on Instagram at @PokdeDotNet or our Facebook at Pokde.net! What? You don’t have the OPPO R9s? Go get it now, then!

Disclaimer: This is an exclusive advertorial for OPPO.