Oppo N1 hands-on: First look

Oppo N1 camera

The camera on the Oppo N1 is its most impressive feature and Oppo has put a lot of work implementing their own additions so that the N1 can compete with other Android camera phones.

The camera has a 1/3.06" CMOS sensor with 13MP resolution. The lens has a bright F/2.0 aperture and 6 lenses - Oppo says this is the first Android camera with a 6-lens design. More importantly it matches the Nokia Lumia 1020, which also has a 6-element lens - it has the recognizable ZEISS brand name, but its aperture is F/2.2.

The camera interface

Another point where Oppo claims superiority is the long exposure - up to 8 seconds (the 1020 does only 4 seconds) - and fast camera startup, which only takes 0.6 seconds to launch. Turning the camera assembly around automatically launches the camera app too.

Yes, turning the camera - you can point it back, forward or just about anywhere in a 206° arc. The camera is really easy to rotate but still with just enough resistance. Turning it half the way (120 degrees) automatically starts the camera.

Turning the camera all the way

This is a highly complex component with some 50 cables going in and out, which would sound fragile to anyone old enough to remember the numerous faulty ribbon cables in slider and clamshell phones, but the company claims it has put it through tough tests and says it should withstand some 100,000 rotations.

The Oppo N1 uses a custom image processor co-developed by Oppo and Fujitsu. Oppo is promising it has solved common camera problems like pink spots and purple fringing.

There are two flashes - one is a bright LED for regular shots (when the camera is pointed back), but when you turn the camera beyond a certain angle, the phone uses automatically the diffused one so your selfies turn out with a more pleasing skin tone. Self-portraits seem to be a big thing in Asia, according to their research.

The camera app itself has been updated and does the skin and eye whitening and Beauty Plus effects we saw on the Oppo Find 5, only this time in real time.

We snapped several camera samples with the Oppo N1, but unfortunately the long tradition of poor lighting at such venues continues and we can't say much about the image quality.

Considering how dark it is in the room (and it's quite dark), the Oppo N1 did pretty well.

Oppo N1 camera samples

We also took a long exposure photo, but that one lasted only 0.9 seconds. That's nowhere near the 8 second maximum that the Oppo N1 can do, but this shot was too bright for a longer exposure (the street lights were quite bright). Still, we got that cool light streak effect from a car's lights so we think it turned out pretty well. You would need almost complete darkness for an eight second exposure.

Oppo N1 long exposure camera sample

O-Click remote

The O-Click remote is a sleek-looking keychain, a smart one at that. It connects to the Oppo N1 and will vibrate or ring to alert you of notifications even when you have the phone on silent, it also acts as a remote shutter letting you snap a photo from a distance.

There is a case that allows the phone to prop It up and take pictures - long exposure ones (Slow Shutter they call it) and group self-shots when you use the O-Click remote.

The remote has a 50 meter range thanks to Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (in practice, it's more like 10-15m). If the remote goes out of range of the phone, it will alert you to go back and pick up your lost phone.

O-Remote

The remote does more than prevent you losing your phone - you can make the phone ring the remote and you can make the remote ring the phone. This way you can have your keys on the remote and the phone will help you find them. Or you could go the other way around and use the remote to help you find your phone.

Best of all, the O-Click remote will come in the Oppo N1 box, so you don't have to purchase it separately.