OnePlus 6 review

Camera

• Dual rear cameras, main camera has OIS for improved low-light shots
• 16MP front camera will get portrait mode post-launch
• Slow-motion video recording at 480fps

At first glance the OnePlus 6 rear cameras don’t look all that different to those found on the back of the OnePlus 5T, with the 16MP and 20MP shooters still Sony sensors with f/1.7 apertures, but it’s not all identical.

OnePlus has increased the size of the sensor on the main 16MP camera by 19%, and it now has a 1.22um pixel size (up from 1.12um), enabling it to pull in more light and thus perform better in low-light conditions. 

That’s not all though, as the OnePlus 6 features OIS (optical image stabilization) and EIS (electronic image stabilization) on the rear 16MP snapper, further improving low-light shots by reducing camera shake and the consequent blurring.

Neither the OnePlus 5 nor the 5T featured OIS on their rear cameras, due to their location in the top corner of the phone not allowing enough space, but on the OnePlus 6 the cameras have been shifted to the middle – the thickest part of the handset – so there is room here.

The front-facing camera also gets a boost, with a 16MP sensor capable of shooting portrait mode pictures (although this will be enabled via a software update at a later date). 

Rather than using depth-sensing technology, as is the case with the rear cameras, the front-facing portrait mode on the OnePlus 6 will work out what to blur with software; this means you’ll still get the best portrait shots from the rear setup, as the two cameras can gather more accurate depth data.

The camera app on the OnePlus 6 is simple to use. There’s quick access to portrait and video modes from the main screen, with a sideways swipe switching you between modes.

Swipe up and you’ll get more options including pro mode, timelapse and panorama, while the 2x zoom toggle is ever-present in the viewfinder, enabling you to get closer to your subject without having to physically move.

Zooming in will result in a picture with less clarity, but the OnePlus 6 is still capable of capturing good photos at this level.

The main advance with the OnePlus 6 is in its low-light capabilities, and there’s a stepped improvement from what we experienced on the 5T, although it is a step rather than a leap.

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We were able to fire off quick shots in dimly lit bars, and playing with the brightness in low light settings results in crisp, clear pictures.

It’s an all-round capable camera that does a good job in a variety of scenarios, delivering everything from nicely blurred backgrounds in Portrait mode to detailed close-up macros and sweeping landscape vistas.

A feature new to OnePlus phones that’s been introduced with the OnePlus 6 is slow-motion video recording, with the phone able to capture footage at up to 480fps. 

That’s not quite the super slow-mo we’ve seen from the Samsung Galaxy S9 or Sony Xperia XZ2, but it’s a welcome addition to a handset that’s comfortably cheaper than either of those rivals. 

Video recorded at 480fps is captured at 720p; you can swap to 240fps at 1080p for a higher-resolution result, although your slow-mo footage won’t be as slow. What’s unique to the OnePlus 6, though, is its ability to capture a full minute of slow-motion footage, which equals around six minutes of video when played back.

Once captured, you can easily select how much of your video is slowed down – it doesn’t need to be the full minute, enabling you to include full-speed video before and after the slowed-down section to really showcase the effect.

In good light, outdoors, the slow-motion capture can produce some eye-catching results, but step inside and under artificial light, or in low-light conditions, the quality drops quite significantly, with footage become rather noisy. In short, limit your slow-mo shooting to the great outdoors.

If you’re more into traditional video recording, the OnePlus 6 can also capture footage in 4K at 60fps.

Camera samples

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