Oppo Reno 10x Zoom: 48 megapixel camera with shark's fin selfie cam

Video: The shark's fin selfie cam in operation on the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom. 

With a 16-160mm hybrid zoom, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom makes yet another watershed in the evolution of the camera phone. Details of this new handset from Chinese manufacturer Oppo have been leaking out over the last couple of months - but now the handset has been officially launched. From its specs alone, this sounds line a contender for being one of the best camera phones around.

The Oppo Reno will be available in three different versions, with and without the monster zoom. There is a basic Oppo Reno, and a 5G version unimaginatively called the Oppo Reno 5... but it is the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom that is the most interest to photographers and for mobile phone historians. On the rear, this handset has three separate cameras...

Hands on: Oppo Reno 10x Zoom hands-on review

First up is a 48 megapixel camera with a 1/2 inch sensor and f/1.7 maximum aperture, with built-in image stabilization. This is the highest resolution currently available on a handset - but this is an honor it shares with other recent launches such as the Honor View 20 and Xiaomi Mi 9.

Video: How the periscope zoom lens on the Oppo Reno is constructed

But the second camera is the one that breaks the records... This is a 13 megapixel camera with an f/3 maximum aperture, that offers a phenomenal a 5x periscope zoom - which gives the lens a maximum focal length of 160mm, which is more telephoto than any other built-in lens on a camera phone to date. Oppo describes this as a hybrid 10x zoom, meaning that it works with the built-in wide-angle lens, to give the 16-160mm overall coverage.

This third camera on the rear of the Reno 10x is an 8 megapixel f/2.2 lens with a super-wide-angle lens - offering a 120° vision which is said to be equivalent to a 16mm lens on a full-frame DSLR.

At the front of the camera phone there appears to be no selfie camera.... but this is because this uses a hinged pop-up design - which when engaged looks like a shark's fin. This camera features a 16 megapixel sensor with a maximum aperture of f/2 and an angle of view of 79.3° (equivalent to around 26mm, in traditional photo speak). This 'pivot rising camera' is said to have been tested as being able to pop up and retract 200,000 times – and has a sensor that automatically retracts the unit if the handset is dropped.

This pop-out lens ensures the 6.6 inch 2340x1080-pixel AMOLED screen can fill the full extent of the handset. The phone measures 162 x 77.2 x 9.3mm, and weighs 210g. It will be available in two colors - teal and black.

Read more:

• The best camera phone in 2019
• What is 5G? And what does it mean to photographers?
• Best selfie sticks for your smartphone
• The best iPhone tripods
• The best gimbals for your iPhone, GoPro and camera
• The best phone cases to protect your camera phone