The Oppo Find X5 smartphone is one of the three latest releases from Oppo that is available now for purchase in the UK. Produced in collaboration with highly renowned camera brand, Hasselblad, the Find X5 packs a punch with its triple rear camera system that differs only incredibly slightly from that of its elder brother, the Oppo Find X5 Pro.
Very small compromise is made in technological differences when comparing this device with the more expensive Pro model, though, the Oppo Find X5 Lite on the other hand is what could be considered as a highly capable best budget camera phone, fitted with lesser camera specifications but not enough to put anyone off of purchasing it.
This Oppo Find X5 smartphone is a sure contender for being one of the best camera phones available in 2022 and that's in part thanks to its incredible auto night mode photography features and its 4K Ultra Night Video shooting capabilities.
Oppo Find X5: Specifications
Rear cameras: 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 13 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 50 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 110˚ (ultrawide)
Zoom range: 2x optical zoom
Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 25mm (wide)
Display: 6.55-inch AMOLED FHD+, 1080x2400 pixels at 402 ppi density
Operating System: Android 12, ColorOS 12.1
Chip: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G, Octa-core CPU, Adreno 660 GPU
Image stabilization: OIS 2-axis (wide), PDAF (telephoto and ultrawide)
Max video resolution: 4K at 30/60fps
Touch ID: Yes
Face ID: Yes
5G: Yes
Capacity: 128GB / 256GB
RAM: 8GB / 12GB
Dimensions: 160.3 x 72.6 x 8.7 mm
Weight: 196g
Water resistance: IP54
Charger: USB Type-C (included)
3.5mm Headphone port: No
Oppo Find X5: Key features
The Oppo Find X5 series of phones each have great camera specifications, with very minimal differences between the X5 in comparison with its pro model. The Oppo Find X5 Pro has a slightly more sophisticated 5-axis image stabiliser with the same 50-megapixel main camera, although the pro model boasts a f/1.7 aperture with 25mm focal length differentiating from the standard X5's f/1.8 aperture, 24mm lens.
This device however suffers no other compromises, with unique camera features like Hasselblad's Color Calibration (runs only when using the camera's Pro Mode), Automatic Night mode, AI Scene Enhancement 2.0, LED flash, HDR, Auto HDR, Panorama, leaf shutter sound and an Xpan mode.
The camera's pro mode can be used with any of the three rear lenses and allows the shooter to manual adjust settings such as ISO, aperture, focus, white balance, EV and even has customizable on-screen display options such as viewing a live histogram, light meter, grid display and a leveller.
The Sony IMX 766 sensor is used across each of the Oppo Find X5's rear camera units, comprised of a 50MP Wide-Angle f/1.8 main camera, a 50MP Ultra-Wide-Angle f/2.2 camera and a 13MP Telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom.
The primary selling points of the Oppo Find X5 are without a doubt the triple rear camera unit and its powerful night shooting capabilities, but the android unit and operating power within the phone are also pretty impressive.
The Oppo Find X5 relies on the O1 Ultra Vision Engine chip to enhance visual effects like vivid colors and much clearer screen sharpness, the industry’s first hardware-based solution to help users enjoy high-quality video. The device also has 1 Billion Colour Bionic Display and uses a 120Hz Adaptive Dynamic Refresh Rate.
Both the Oppo Find X5 and X5 Pro benefit from Oppo's self-developed MariSilicon X Imaging NPU under the surface, claiming a breakthrough in night videography. The MariSilicon X powers impressive videography features such as 4K Ultra Night Video, Ultra HDR Video and Ultra Dark Video that is automatically triggered when the brightness reaches below 5 lux.
See the Sample Images and video section of this review where we examine the Ultra Night Video mode in action.
The front selfie camera of the Oppo Find X5 boasts 32MP at an f/2.4 aperture. The design of the front camera resembles a subtle pinhole, as opposed to the "notch" design feature that many flagship smartphones have used before, and that many users have declared they hate for being obtrusive.
The camera comes equipped with an extensive range of settings that can blur the background around you, add filters to your face, and adjust almost any facial features from the size of your eyes and chin, to your skin texture and nose shape, with extra color filters to have you looking your best – or completely unlike yourself.
While this is an incredibly cool and impressive technological feature, and a great addition to a phones in-built selfie studio, it was a little disheartening to see just how easy it was for the camera to completely transform my face. If you're all about the filters and catfishing aesthetic, then this might be the ultimate selfie camera for you, but personally it felt a bit too surreal for me.
The color filters worked well at adding and subtracting the saturation in the correct places, without darkening skin too much while enhancing the vibrancy of colored hair. The blur effect also worked well at stopping motion while moving on the train, and overall added a pretty cool look to the background that wasn't too soft.
The HDR Video Enhancement (SDR-to-HDR technology) widens the device's color range and provides clearer, vivid details, perfect for browsing Instagram and TikTok apps. The engine chip also allows for Video Motion Enhancement, for more fluid and extended viewing experiences – this feature can be applied on videos with resolution of 720p and below on YouTube.
Overall, I would say that the Oppo Find X5's main camera does a great job at capturing realistic, detailed shots. Most colors came out looking vibrant when using the phones default point-and-shoot settings without an added filter on top.
Oppo Find X5: Build & handling
Available in both Black and White color variants, the Oppo Find X5 looks pretty sleek and subtle in its design. All of the phones features blend together nicely in a lightweight build that feels comfortable in hand, and no imbalance could be felt with the heavier end of the phone where the triple camera unit is housed.
The device is big enough to enjoy browsing a larger screen, yet not too large that it can barely fit into your back trouser pocket or could weigh your pockets down. The phone has a pretty standard volume rocker situated on the left-hand side, with a generic style power button on the right-hand side.
The buttons feel prominent and heavy when pressed, which i found great as often phone buttons can be too subtle and lead to accidentally turning on your device.
The curved Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen is flawless and feels strong, with a tiny hole-punch designed front camera unit and no distracting notch that would usually intrude with the date and time placement of smartphones when browsing the internet or social apps. The Oppo Find X5 looks almost exactly like the Pro model of the phone, just a tad smaller.
I would maybe go as far as to say that this phone was the perfect size for me personally, though i'm unsure as to how it would have felt when housed in a protective phone case, and if this could've thrown off the balance and weight of the device, as was the case with my now rather heavy Samsung S21 Ultra that doesn't sit flat when placed onto surfaces.
Check out our best phone cases guide to help you find the perfect phone cover to protect and showcase your device.
Oppo Find X5: Performance
The overall performance of the Oppo Find X5 smartphone I would say is excellent. It coped well with just about everything I could throw at it. Using photo editing apps like Picsart and snapseed was a breeze and the colors appeared accurate on the screen. Apps and games like Pokemon Go seemed to function well on the phone with no lagging, freezing or overheating when watching Disney Plus.
However, the phone comes pre-installed with too many useless apps, PUBG and booking.com for example, and although these can easily be disabled and force stopped, it's an unnecessary step of having to remove 15 apps in the process of initially setting up your new smartphone.
This Oppo smartphone delivers exceptional battery life, boasting 100% charge in just 34 minutes. Admittedly, I did not test the battery too extensively while using this device by running a six hour Youtube clip of a burning fireplace, but I did notice barely any drop in percentage when watching a short Netflix show on the device and recording video footage when out shooting in the city.
The phone boasts a 4,800mAh battery with super-fast charging, and as mentioned above I encountered zero issues with battery life during my time with this phone. The Oppo FInd X5 would make an excellent companion for large journeys, festivals, and an entire day of pokemon hunting without needing a charge.
An 80W SUPERVOOC USB type-C charger is included in the box with the Oppo Find X5, so you won't need to purchase one separately – some sneaky manufacturers are known for deliberately selling the latest handsets without them.
I tested the image quality of the Find X5 with that of my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone, and as can be seen from the unedited images below, the Oppo image appears much more vibrant and clearer. It might be worth mentioning that these images were shot on different ratios, with my Samsung shooting 21:9 and the oppo at 4:3.
The digital zoom of the telephoto lens can reach up to 20x but not without some obvious graininess to the images. The telephoto lens performs much better when shooting outdoor landscapes and buildings from a distance as opposed to shooting smaller objects, therefore I would not recommend this telephoto lens for macro photography but it's adequate at capturing images at a lesser optical zoom.
Click the arrow to see the Oppo's optical zoom in action.
The camera on the Oppo Find X5 is a superb all-rounder and performs brilliantly when used with the default point and shoot settings as well as pro mode, making it excellent for both everyday use and shooting stories for Instagram, as well as for professional photographers to shoot with on the go and obtain great quality images.
The Oppo Find X5's triple rear camera truly comes to life when used at night and in low-light areas. I took a trip to the Vincent Van Gogh Experience in Bristol, UK, to really put the Oppo's night mode features to the test; and it didn't disappoint.
While the Oppo Find X5's impressive night mode takes a couple of seconds to capture the photo, it's worth the wait as the stacked HDR image produced in low-light conditions is superb quality. The phone's auto night mode comes in handy, allowing the camera to automatically optimise settings in darker scenarios.
Oppo Find X5: Sample video
Video Samples from the Oppo Find X5
Oppo Find X5: Verdict
Overall The Oppo Find X5 is an excellent smartphone, with an exceedingly impressive camera setup and powerful operating system. The night video shooting and Ultra 4K video features were next level – but unless you're an astrophotographer it can be a little difficult to find a regular use for shooting in the dark. The device performs great, with a fantastic camera and impressive battery life, what more do you need from an Android?
While there may be other flagship models out there with better cameras, such as the latest iPhone 13 Pro Max or the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, you won't find better value for money in comparison to quality than the Oppo Find X5, priced at a competitive £749 ($933 / AU$1,334 approximately) when purchased sim free.
When compared to other models in the Find X5 trio, there are very few reasons to upgrade to the Find X5 Pro model for the £300 ($373 / AU$534) price difference or downgrade to the Find X5 Lite costing only £419 ($522 / AU$746).
The pro model has a better 5-axis image stabiliser, with better protective housing and a very slightly better main camera by the difference of a 0.1 f-stop.
The Oppo Find X5 Lite however has a headphone jack (rare) with a lower resolution camera setup, BUT boasts a 64-megapixel main camera! The downsides to the lite model include no hasselblad camera features, it operates on last year's Android 11, and it has the same selfie camera specifications as the standard Oppo Find X5.
One negative point is that the Oppo Find X5 isn't officially waterproof or dustproof, a little bit disappointing for an otherwise sturdy device, but if you're not planning to submerge it in a bathtub or throw it in a pool after buying it then you should be fine.
As far as we know, this phone likely won’t be available in the US and we are yet to hear anything about availability in Australia, though, we will update this review accordingly when we know more.
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