Closer Look at Oppo’s Retractable Camera System – Goodbye Camera Bump?

As smartphones feature more sophisticated camera systems, the camera bump gets bigger too. Well, with Oppo’s new retractable camera system, we could get rid of the unsightly bump once and for all – or at least make it less noticeable.

We had the pleasure of trying out Oppo’s new retractable camera system, and we’re quite impressed with it. Compared to the conventional telephoto lens of the prototype phone we tested, the retractable camera offers the same 2x optical zoom, but with better detail preservation and exposure control.

Unfortunately, we were not able to transfer out the sample images we took; the prototype phone had some software issue that prevented us from doing so. Anyway, it does seem to offer promising camera performance, and it’s worth noting that it has manual controls too.

To launch the retractable camera, we have to tap on the “R-Cam” button in the camera interface. The camera does take about half a second to launch, but once it does, we can adjust the ISO, shutter speed, autofocus, and even the white balance. We imagine aspiring photographers will appreciate these manual controls.

While Oppo’s retractable camera system is promising, it also introduces extra moving parts on a phone, which can be an extra point of failure. Then again, it could be a risk most folks are willing to take if it gets rid of the camera bump.