Mobile Technology

Oppo to launch world-first 10x lossless zoom smartphone tech

Oppo to launch world-first 10x lossless zoom smartphone tech
10x optical zoom and whole-screen fingerprint recognition will debut on Oppo phones in 2019
10x optical zoom and whole-screen fingerprint recognition will debut on Oppo phones in 2019
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10x optical zoom and whole-screen fingerprint recognition will debut on Oppo phones in 2019
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10x optical zoom and whole-screen fingerprint recognition will debut on Oppo phones in 2019
Wide zone fingerprint recognition enables two-finger authentication if you want to make your phone 50,000 times more secure
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Wide zone fingerprint recognition enables two-finger authentication if you want to make your phone 50,000 times more secure
Three cameras enable lossless zoom at a range of focal lengths
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Three cameras enable lossless zoom at a range of focal lengths
The periscope structure necessary to fit a 159mm equivalent zoom range into a smartphone chassis
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The periscope structure necessary to fit a 159mm equivalent zoom range into a smartphone chassis
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Chinese smartphone company Oppo has confirmed that it's working on "10x lossless zoom" technology that would give you a 15.9-159mm equivalent zoom capability on a handset to be released sometime this year. There's also wide-zone biometrics allowing the whole screen to act as a fingerprint sensor.

Calling the telephoto capability a zoom lens might be stretching things; what's really happening is that there's three cameras on board: a wide-angle 15.9mm, a primary "ultra clear master" camera of indeterminate focal length, and a third camera with a 159mm telephoto lens for long-distance shooting, which uses a "peep up" periscope structure to fit in the smartphone body.

The periscope structure necessary to fit a 159mm equivalent zoom range into a smartphone chassis
The periscope structure necessary to fit a 159mm equivalent zoom range into a smartphone chassis

So yes, you'll get lossless shots at three different focal lengths, fulfilling Oppo's press release promise of "lossless zoom in a variety of zoom ranges," but anything in between will be produced via electrickery and probably lossy.

There will be dual image stabilization on the medium and telephoto cameras, helping control camera shake, but there's no information yet on what the apertures for these cameras will be, so the stabilization may have to combat long shutter speeds.

The technology was introduced at Oppo's own 2019 Future Technology Communication Conference, but won't be "showcased in full" until Mobile World Congress in February.

Wide zone fingerprint recognition enables two-finger authentication if you want to make your phone 50,000 times more secure
Wide zone fingerprint recognition enables two-finger authentication if you want to make your phone 50,000 times more secure

At the same time, Oppo revealed that it's got some wide zone optical fingerprint recognition tech in the works that will turn the entire screen into a fingerprint sensor. This allows things like two-finger security, which the company says is 50,000 times more secure than a one-finger system.

Both of these technologies, says Oppo, will make it into consumer handsets to be released sometime in 2019.

Source: Oppo

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1 comment
JeffK
The lens tech sounds very similar to the Light Camera, albeit on a more limited scale.