OnePlus 13 camera test: 150 photos, closely examined

Having just reviewed the OnePlus 13, it not only makes for a compelling start to 2025, but is perhaps the company’s most ambitious flagship smartphone yet; pushing in all areas including the camera system.

OnePlus has once again turned to famed camera brand Hasselblad to help with the OnePlus 13’s image tuning, while the underlying hardware is a natural evolution of the sensor setup we were introduced to last year on the OnePlus 12.

Combine all that with new algorithms to tackle ailments like motion blur, greater versatility in aspects like portrait mode and video recording, plus an improved AI toolset for image editing and, on paper, the OnePlus 13’s camera system looks like a force which must be taken into account. .

That’s possible Pre-order it now But after a month of shooting with it and scrutinizing over 150 photos, how did it fare in the real world?

Camera hardware

At the component level, the OnePlus 13’s main camera system is powered by the same 1/1.4-inch ƒ/1.6 Sony LYT-808 sensor (with OIS or optical image stabilization) that OnePlus introduced on the OnePlus 12.

Despite being a 50Mp sensor (with 1.12μm pixels), the OnePlus 13 uses pixel binning to utilize larger 2.24μm pixels, resulting in 12.6Mp shots at a 4096 x 3072 resolution in an aspect ratio of 4:3. So familiar so far.

Where the 13’s camera system differs from that of its predecessor is that the ultra-wide angle and telephoto come into play, which now match the main sensor for megapixels, at 50 MP each. Samsung’s 1/2.75-inch ƒ/2.05 ISOCELL JN5 sensor is responsible for the 120-degree ultra-wide angle, while a 1/1.95-inch ƒ/2.65 Sony LYT-600 sensor is behind the telephoto lens sit.

It’s this 3x optical zoom lens (also supported by OIS) that is perhaps the most innovative aspect of the OnePlus 13’s photographic hardware.

Rather than making the phone’s camera bump bigger, by relying on conventional smartphone periscope telephoto sensors that send light through 90 degrees, the OnePlus 13 uses a triprism design instead. This allows for a larger physical sensor, while allowing the entire telephoto module to clock in at 24% smaller and 30% lighter, compared to the 3x camera on the OnePlus 12.

The 13 relies on the same 32Mp 1/2.74-inch ƒ/2.45 Sony IMX615 front camera, keeping the ISP (image signal processor) within the phone’s high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and that Hasselblad image tuning to help superior selfies deliver.

Camera features

Speaking of Hasselblad, OnePlus is labeling its latest flagship setup as the ‘5th generation Hasselblad Camera for Mobile’, with the most tangible elements of their collaboration found in Master Mode, which sits on top of Pro Mode (i.e. manual control), and additional effects when catching; including sliders for saturation, contrast, and even a vignette.

XPan mode has become a staple of the brand’s Hasselblad phones, allowing you to take photos in its signature 2.7:1 aspect ratio, while the OnePlus 13’s portrait mode now functions at 1x, 2x and 3x, with the bokeh on each side. focal length modeled after a trio of lenses made by Hasselblad; specifically the XCD 3.5.30, XCD 2.8/65 and the XCD 2.5/90V, in the case of the 3x telephoto.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Action Mode doubles the speed of sensor output to 60 fps, to better capture fast-moving subjects, but this time it’s supported by OnePlus’ latest Dual Exposure Algorithm, which merges short and long exposure shots simultaneously to ensure that the final images are sharp. both bright and clear.

The enhanced Clear Burst function puts this into practice by running the full algorithm and HDR processing on every shot taken within a burst, resulting in clear, sharp subjects despite fast movements.

A small but long-standing user-requested camera feature is finally coming as part of the phone’s OxygenOS 15 user experience: Livephoto. This means that those who like a bit of movement at the moment of capture for context when looking back at their photos, now have such an option.

General shooting examples

Many prominent entries among the best camera phones have turned away from obscurity.

By that I mean that HDR processing from the likes of Apple, Samsung and especially Google has become so good at handling shadows and higher contrast scenarios that a lot of smartphone photography is brighter and clearer than ever, but not authentic in the results.

Contrast and drama keep shots from looking flat or out of tune, and thankfully those behind the OnePlus 13’s camera tuning understand this. Although the HDR pipeline is still clearly in effect – subjects in the shadows still appear in shadow – just with better detail and less noise than before. I think it produces more compelling footage overall and is closer in finish to more conventional photographic processing.

For the most part, color accuracy and skin tones come out well on the 13, with impressively consistent white balance even under harsh lighting conditions, such as warm mood lighting in restaurants.

The caveat is that green tones in particular tend to lose saturation, especially in high-contrast scenes, with the camera preferring to lower the exposure on the brightest parts of the image, making green tones more vibrant and appearing underexposed .

Portrait mode examples

It’s great to be able to use portrait mode for all three of the phone’s rear sensors, with generally pleasing and consistent results that once again bring good skin tones and color reproduction.

On closer examination, the detection of edges around hairs and the like seems to lag behind what select rivals can muster, but if social media is your main destination, these kinds of issues probably won’t push you to throw out the shots you want to take . have caught.

While I haven’t used any of Hasselblad’s expensive own-brand cameras or the lenses that the OnePlus 13 system supposedly emulates, I think more work can be done to improve bokeh quality. In particular, the decrease in the depth effect behind a subject sometimes looks a bit too harsh; appears misaligned with the actual distance of the elements from the lens.

Macro samples

As for consistency, OnePlus phones have previously struggled to maintain color accuracy with their macro cameras or shooting modes, and while this persists on the OnePlus 13, the effect is less prominent than I’ve ever seen it; especially with off-the-shelf software (OnePlus has a habit of improving camera performance and fixing known inconsistencies post-launch, via software updates).

This does not alter the fact that the images you can take will be perfect in any case.

The phone is set to ultra-wide by default, so you can view particularly small subjects up close. The results show a clear distinction between

Examples of low light and night mode

In low light, the OnePlus 13 works hard to preserve colors and expose subjects correctly, while managing white balance.

For unknown reasons, a scene would occasionally become underexposed (at which point I resorted to night mode), but it otherwise proved comfortable taking pleasant photos in low light.

Up close, there’s a noticeable reduction in detail definition when shooting in low light, but the results were otherwise quite satisfactory.

The phone can automatically extend recording time in low light, but for best results it pays to switch to the phone’s dedicated night mode, which can extract more detail from the darkest parts of the image, while managing noise quite effectively.

Selfie examples

When it comes to selfies, there’s a clear difference in image processing between the OnePlus 13’s front and rear cameras. Perhaps as a result of having to compensate for the smaller, weaker, lower-resolution sensor above the (excellent) screen of the telephone.

There’s clearly some heavier processing involved when taking selfies on the front, with the face brightening being closer in style to the aforementioned HDR look and not in keeping with the rest of the 13’s camera system.

According to the above comparison, the eyes really “pop” when using the front camera, but colors and contrast lose their accuracy. If you’re looking for this more distinct look, the 13 allows you to simply slide the phone around without forcing it on you.

OxygenOS 15 added a trio of new AI image editing tools to the existing AI Eraser that was available on the OnePlus 12.

In testing, AI Eraser’s ability to camouflage unwanted elements has improved since launch, with a trio of intuitive controls that let you tap or lasso around subjects quickly and easily.

It was the AI ​​reflection removal tool I was most intrigued to try out and true to its name, it does a respectable job of adding brightness to shots with shiny surfaces in them and is convincing enough that you’ll probably do not know whether you were looking at a damaged image.

The feature works best with well-defined reflected sources, such as shaped light curtains or panes of glass, seemingly relying on contrast and edge detection to distinguish what’s a reflection and what’s behind the glass you’re shooting.

However, it cannot act as a polarizer and proves unable to remove the reflection of a clear cloudy sky to see past inside a building.

Are the OnePlus 13 cameras good?

While there’s no denying that the OnePlus 13 features the company’s most accomplished camera phone yet, it still has too many caveats to be considered one of the best camera phones on the market right now – if you really cares about the finer details. .

Small inconsistencies in color and detail retention – especially when the lights go out – hold him back from photographic supremacy.

At the same time, perhaps due to its partnership with Hasselblad, the OnePlus 13’s camera isn’t as heavy-handed as its competitors when it comes to HDR processing, offering a more authentic shooting experience; especially when it comes to results.

New processes such as the Dual Exposure Algorithm and Smart Burst are also to be commended, while fans of the brand will no doubt enjoy upgrades as part of Oxygen OS 15, such as Livephotos, reflection removal and the rest of its new photographic AI tricks.