Oppo has announced its new '5x dual-camera zoom' technology at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The technology utilises a persicope-style lens setup to achieve lossless 5x optical zoom. The Chinese smartphone maker has only showcased the technology, and it is yet to debut on a smartphone.
Oppo's newly introduced dual camera zoom system consists of a persicope-style setup, which directs the light through a prism onto a telephoto lens placed inside the smartphone. The telephoto lens is placed at 90-degree angle to the primary wide-angle camera on the back. Oppo says it is able to achieve 5x lossless zoom by shifting the light's path with this periscope-style architecture. Interestingly, Oppo has managed to pack this entire mechanism into a module that is just 5.7mm in thickness.
Oppo's new technology arrives at a time when Apple's iPhone 7 Plus offers 2x optimal zoom via a fixed telephoto lens, and Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom somewhat mimics the setup to offer 2.3x zoom. One of the key features with Oppo's 5x dual-camera zoom technology is the addition of OIS to telephoto lens. The prism mechanism adjusts to shake or vibrations, and Oppo claims accuracy of minute adjustments of up to 0.0025 degrees. This technology is somewhat in similar fashion of Nokia's floating lens mechanism introduced with Lumia 920's Pureview camera.
Oppo has become one of the fastest growing smartphone brands in China and India. The year 2016 has seen Oppo registering double-digit growth, and camera has been one of its key strengths. With the introduction of 5x optical zoom, Oppo is showing real intent towards mobile photography. Read more here, on how Oppo's 5x dual-camera zoom achieves lossless zoom.