OnePlus 3T – Camera

OnePlus hasn’t changed the rear-facing camera from the OnePlus 3. It’s the same Sony IMX 298 16-megapixel sensor with 1.12-micron size pixels. This is paired with an F/2.0 aperture lens that supports Phase Detect Autofocus with optical image stabilisation.

What is new, though, is the introduction of electronic image stabilisation when shooting video, which allows for up to 4K at 30fps. This greatly reduces the jittery shakiness that plagued the OnePlus 3’s video.

Other OnePlus 3 camera features like the dynamic de-noise and Auto HDR return. Even with the latter engaged, which only operates under ideal scenarios, there’s no shutter lag and the Camera app responds well. OnePlus says the 6GB of RAM is actually used for the Camera app to help boost its responsiveness.

Camera performance compared to the OnePlus 3 hasn’t changed a great deal, and the OIS helps to maintain less blurry shots under low-light. Still, OIS isn’t a miracle worker and the ISO still tends to push up to noisier levels faster than some rivals, due to a smaller aperture and sensor pixel size. So while you get workable shutter speeds, low-light photographs can be noisier than I would like.

There’s a robust level of manual controls for those who want to get more creative with their shots, allowing you to pick your shutter speed, white balance and ISO among others. RAW support will also appeal to those who prefer to do their own post-processing, rather than leaving the image processing decisions to the phone.

Performance from the rear camera overall is still great for the money, although not quite as amazing as when the OnePlus 3 launched at £309 (which then subsequently increased post-Brexit).

Colours are vibrant

The OIS helps the camera to produce sharp shots

A bigger change has been made to the front-facing camera, which now uses a 16-megapixel Samsung 3P8SP sensor and an F/2.0 aperture lens. It’s more than adequate for selfies or for video chatting as it’s a far higher resolution than you’ll find on most phones. Photos are sharper than what most front-facing cameras dole out and there’s even smile detection for automatically capturing your best you.

OnePlus 3T on the left, OnePlus 3 on the right.

The original OnePlus 3 had a habit of producing smeared skin tones, whereas the OnePlus 3T looks less like the lens has been coated in vaseline and produces generally sharper results. For the narcissists out there, the selfie camera upgrade is a decent improvement.