OPPO Find 5 Review
by Vivek Gowri on May 29, 2013 6:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Qualcomm
- Mobile
- APQ8064
- OPPO Find 5
The Find 5 was noted to be using Sony’s Exmor RS branded 13MP camera sensor pretty early on, with OPPO releasing preview images taken on a preproduction device way back in December of last year. This sensor, the Sony IMX135, is the next generation version of the IMX091PQ sensor found in devices like the Optimus G and the Galaxy S4, and can also be seen in Sony’s own Xperia Z. The two sensors basically cover the who’s who of current flagship smartphones between them, other than the HTC One. IMX135 is a 1/3.06” stacked CMOS with 13.13 effective megapixels and on-sensor HDR. The stacked structure part means that the pixel and circuit sections of the sensor are layered, as seen in the Sony-provided diagram below.
This layering replaces the supporting substrates used in conventional backside-illuminated CMOS sensors, allowing for a much more compact overall image sensor size. It’s definitely an interesting piece of tech, though the use of this sensor definitely points to an emphasis on megapixel count. As Brian has covered many times in the past, sensors with more densely packed pixels have less light sensitivity and dynamic range than sensors with larger pixels, so the presence of on-sensor HDR capability for both stills and video is definitely an important one given the 1.12um pixels in IMX135. The front facing camera uses the Samsung S5K6A3 sensor, which can also be found in the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.
Optically, the Find 5 also has an F/2.2 lens and a focal length of 3.85mm. It shares a lot of the imaging characteristics of the Galaxy S4, which makes sense given the hardware-level similarities. The image processing is different, but it’s still a sensor with a very high spatial resolution that does a great job in well lit situations and seems to suffer when light sensitivity or dynamic range is important.
I took the Find 5 with me on a spring break trip to Hawaii and used it as my primary camera. It was pretty solid, but low light is a problem, particularly when objects are far enough away to not be impacted by flash. It’s impressive, when you look casually at the pictures coming out of modern smartphones in the right situations, to consider how far we’ve come in the last few years.
Compared to the HTC One, the OPPO is pretty competitive in bright outdoor shots, and definitely better when looked at 1:1. The low light story is a bit different - the One is just a lot better, and the lack of a night mode on the OPPO hamstrings it even further. Even shooting with HDR, the OPPO isn’t close. The dual LED flash is okay indoors and particularly with nearby subjects (within 5 feet) it does quite well, but relying on it outdoors in the dark will result in a near-useless picture.
Taken at night with the OPPO Find 5, Normal shooting mode with flash.
The lack of advanced camera settings really doesn’t help here. The camera interface is pretty simple, with a brushed metal feel and clearly laid out controls, but you don’t get access to critical functions like shutter speed, white balance, ISO, etc. The exposed settings are resolution, self-timer, face detection, geotagging, and a grid overlay for the UI. Other than that, you get the three shooting modes (normal, HDR, and panorama), as well as a flash control and toggles for front/rear camera and photo/video recording. It’s pretty light on settings, though for the purposes of most smartphone camera users it’s adequate. From a camera control perspective, this is not much better than Apple in terms of how little of it you actually get. The other disappointing thing about the camera interface is that the preview image runs at roughly 20 fps, which is a noticeable but mild annoyance while taking stills.
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nathanddrews - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
As far as "finger friendly" designs go, I don't really care where the buttons are as long as they are set into the phone (concave). My only complaint with my S3 is that the buttons all protrude from the body, making unwanted power, home, and volume presses extremely common. Thankfully, I have a simple, somewhat thick $7 plastic slipcase that has button cutouts so I can freely handle the phone without ever accidentally hitting the buttons.Before today, I didn't know Oppo made anything but the best Blu-ray players on the market. It's a shame that the phone doesn't live up to the precedent.
cknobman - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
"I think 4.7” is the sweet spot for display size, something that was reached with the last generation of handsets. There’s not really any benefit to going with a 5” panel over a 4.7” panel beyond just having a bigger number - it’s not like jumping to a Galaxy Note-sized 5.5” or larger display, where the device ends up being more of a phablet than a handset, but it does add just enough bulk to be on the cumbersome side."I just dont understand this statement. The GS4 has a 5' screen and is physically smaller than the OPPO and HTC One. I compared the HTC One side by side with the GS4 in store and it was shorter and thinner than the HTC one and actually fit in my pocket better. I also found that the .3 extra screen did benefit me quite a bit as it provides a better viewing experience for movies and games.
MantasPakenas - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
"This is obviously less of a factor in Europe and Asia, where the prices are more equivalent (the Nexus 4 is a phenomenal value in the US through the Google Play Store, but less so in the rest of the world)"Correction - I'm not sure about the whole world, but at least in Europe you can: a) buy the device via Google Play Store in major markets, and even ship it outside those major markets if you are resourceful enough; b) buy it locally, where available, at an extremely close price point (at least that's the situation in Lithuania). In these cases, Nexus 4 is competitively positioned very close to US market, ending up ca 40% cheaper than flagship devices like HTC One or SGS4...
Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
a) You need a local shipping address AND credit card (VCCs don't work AFAIK) to buy from Google Play Store, hence it's basically impossible to buy one if your local Play Store doesn't carry it yet. Of course, if you a friend in one of the countries where the Nexus 4 is sold through Play Store, then it's easy (I did this to get my Nexus 4).b) Here in Finland the Nexus 4 (16GB) currently costs ~490€. I got mine for 400€ when including all the shipping costs (the device itself was ~350€ but Google charged £10 for shipping plus another £15 to ship it from UK to Finland). However, the Nexus 4 was 600€ when launched here, so I saved ~200€ back in January.
fabarati - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Holy Crap! Something is cheaper in Sweden! A 16 GB Nexus 4 can be had for ~380€ (3300 SEK). But yeah, the price of the Nexus 4 was around 4500 SEK when launched here, about 520€ at today's exchange rate.tipoo - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Is the battery situated further from the SoC than the Nexus 4 or Optimus G? As far as I know, it was actually the batterys threshold temperature that actually triggered throttling, since the two were so close. The battery could only get up to 60 degrees before complete shutdown and made the phone throttle at just 36 C.flyingpants1 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
So spec-wise, it's an Xperia Z series clone. YawnPatriciaBau42 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
If you think Phyllis`s story is astonishing,, two weeks ago mother in law basically got paid $4919 putting in ninteen hours a week an their house and their best friend's ex-wife`s neighbour did this for eight months and actually earnt more than $4919 part-time from there labtop. applie the instructions from this address, Exit35.comTAKE A LOOKflamencoguy - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
A version with a Snapdragon 600 has already been announced.editorsorgtfo - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
LOL @ Polyurethane. Editors or GTFO.