Inside the OnePlus camera lab: How OnePlus improves its phones’ cameras year after year

OnePlus has come a good distance in the final 5 years. The firm had humble beginnings — promoting its telephones in restricted portions by way of an invite-only system — however over the years it has remodeled into the model to beat in the worth flagship class. This year the Chinese producer goes after the likes of Google and Samsung with the OnePlus 7 Pro, its most formidable gadget but.

One of the marquee options in the OnePlus 7 Pro is the 48MP major camera at the again that is joined by a wide-angle lens and 3x zoom shooter. There was plenty of pleasure round the telephone’s camera prowess forward of launch, however the gadget did not stay as much as expectations in our testing. The difficulty was additional exacerbated by the proven fact that the OnePlus 7 Pro’s DxOMark rating of 111 edged the telephone forward of the Galaxy S10+ and different gadgets with higher cameras.

OnePlus has needed to roll out a number of updates to the gadget in the intervening weeks, with OxygenOS 9.5.7 delivering noticeable enhancements to the general picture high quality. The staff that rolled out the fixes relies in Taiwan, and are a part of a brand new devoted camera lab that is arrange in OnePlus’s workplaces in Taipei.

OnePlus flew me out to Taiwan to take a look at the lab and discuss to the staff right here to get a way of what it’s making an attempt to realize. With {hardware} more and more commoditized, manufacturers wish to the camera to set their telephones aside. For Huawei, it is the zoom lens on the P30 Pro. For Google, it is a camera that works unerringly in any scenario. OnePlus is now trying to channel a few of that very same ethos with its camera lab in the hope that it’s going to enable the firm to compete higher with extra established gamers.

The tour of the lab begins off with a poster that charts OnePlus’s journey, together with all the milestones over the final 5 years.

There’s additionally a poster inside the workplace that lists all of OnePlus’s collaborations so far, comparable to the OnePlus 5T Star Wars version, the OnePlus 6 Avengers version, and the newer OnePlus 6T McLaren version.

The OnePlus workplace in Taiwan homes underneath 100 workers, and the house is affected by motivational posters, images taken with OnePlus telephones, and the standard accouterments: a break room with foosball tables, a snack room, and the like.

Coming to the camera lab itself, there’s plenty of tools that OnePlus depends on for testing white steadiness, publicity, distinction, and readability. One automated check runs by way of totally different publicity settings and in numerous lighting eventualities to calibrate the sensor.

There’s additionally a check for object detection and focus, with OnePlus utilizing a shifting object to see if the camera can keep locked in.

OnePlus makes use of a number of gentle cubicles — like the SpectraLite QC mannequin from X-Rite — for accessing shade accuracy in numerous lighting circumstances. That explicit mannequin above makes use of seven totally different gentle sources to precisely simulate a complete gamut of lighting eventualities.

The lab additionally features a robotic arm mixed with a lighting system…