Oppo Find X10 Pro Max review

Three 200MP cameras. Yes, three.

The Find X10 Pro Max features what Oppo claims is the industry-first triple 200MP camera system, and indeed we can't recall that feat being achieved before. In a way, the closest we've been to that is Oppo's own Find X9 Ultra with its 2x200MP and 2x50MP configuration, there have been a few 2x200MP+1x50MP setups, but 3x200MP is something else, yes.

What hadn't been done before is the 200MP ultrawide and Oppo is keen to point that one as a first as well. They've used a Samsung HP5 sensor, which has a 1/1.56" optical format, and paired it with a 13mm equivalent lens - so not only is it a large high-res imager, but it's also got a pretty wide lens in front of it.

For the telephoto, there's another HP5 sensor, this one mated to a 70mm equivalent lens - this is actually the same hardware as that on the Find X9 Pro (the spiritual predecessor of the 10 Pro Max). Mind you, the X9 Ultra still has a marginally bigger sensor on its 70mm telephoto, at 1/1.28" (also 200MP).

Going back to some new bits, the primary wide camera has been upgraded too - from the 50MP sensor on the X9 Pro to a 200MP one here, while keeping essentially the same optical format (technically 1/1.28" before vs. 1/1.3" now, and 2.44µm resulting pixels vs 2.40µm, but is that really a difference?).

Oppo says this new ISOCELL HPC sensor is exclusively co-developed between them and Samsung. It's the first to feature what's branded DeepPix technology, which should improve the pixels' full well capacity (FWC) by 60% compared to the previous-gen design that only utilizes FDTI (Front Deep Trench Isolation, itself an evolution of BDTI, Back Deep Trench Isolation) and offer 17 stops of dynamic range. Samsung has the diagrams and initialisms on its HPC page if you'd like to get a better idea. We don't doubt dynamic range is going to be excellent either way.

All that said, the X9 Ultra still maintains superiority here in terms of sheer sensor size, with its 1/1.12" imager with 2.8µm binned pixels.

The selfie camera is familiar, but also kind of new. It's still based on the 50MP Samsung JN5 sensor, like on the X9 Pro and X9 Ultra (to name a few), but instead of the 21mm equivalent lens on those phones, you're now getting even wider 18mm optics. With autofocus too, of course.

• Wide (main): 200MP Samsung Isocell HPC (1/1.3", 0.6µm-2.4µm); 24mm, f/1.5, OIS, multi-directional PDAF (14cm - ∞); 8K30/4K120 video recording.
• Telephoto: 200MP Samsung Isocell HP5 (1/1.56", 0.5µm-2.0µm); 70mm (3x zoom), f/2.1, OIS, multi-directional PDAF (9cm - ∞); 8K30/4K120.
• Ultrawide: 200MP Samsung Isocell HP5 (1/1.56", 0.5µm-2.0µm); 13mm, f/2.2, multi-directional PDAF; 8K30/4K120.
• Front camera: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 (1/2.76", 0.64µm-1.28µm); 18mm, f/2.0, multi-directional PDAF; 4K60.

In addition to the image-capturing cameras, there's also the True Color Camera, which is a 24-channel 3.2MP multispectral sensor with 5.5 times the dynamic range of the predecessor, whatever any of that means. It's meant to gather more nuanced light temperature information for accurate color capture in all sorts of conditions. It's one of the pillars of the LUMO True Image Engine, which is what Oppo calls its processing magic.

Somewhat of a backward development is the omission of the hardware camera-centric Quick Button - the X9 Pro had it, as did the X9 Ultra, but it's gone now. That's becoming a trend with high-end cameraphones as vivos have been losing them too. The Snap Key remains, but it's not on the correct side to be used as a camera key. It's a more generic button-only affair, instead of the Quick Button with its multifaceted press and swipe functionality.

There are, of course, liberal Hasselblad references in the camera app. The hi-res mode where you can shoot in 50MP and 200MP resolutions is Hasselblad Hi-Res. There's the Xpan mode that will get you 22MP panoramic 65:24 aspect crops from your rear cameras, as an homage to one historic camera from the brand. That's in addition to the orange accent color used throughout the camera UI, which is Hasselblad's orange accent color, of course, and the Swedish company's logo on the back of the phone.

Another Hasselblad collab comes in the form of the Teleconverter bundle, by now a staple accessory for any self-respecting top-tier cameraphone. The lens itself offers the same 3.28x magnification as on the previous model, for a combined 230mm equivalent focal length (10x-ish from the main camera). We have a handful of samples shot with it in a separate article.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The default 26MP High resolution shots from the Find's main camera are great in most meaningful and measurable ways, though we can't say we're thrilled about the way random detail is rendered. Grass, tree leaves, even small text, for that matter, can look soft and not particularly well defined. We wanted to love these, but as it stands, they're merely okay in terms of pixel-level rendition. It's worth pointing out that the Find X9 Ultra does substantially better in High resolution mode.

There are no complaints to be made from a global perspective, of course. Dynamic range is excellent and you can count on well preserved highlights and great shadow development, though we did not exactly test vivo's claims for 17 stops of dynamic range. The auto white balance leans slightly towards extra warmth in the default color style, with a pleasing level of saturation making the color output pretty easy to like.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 26MP

If you choose to shoot in 12.6MP Standard resolution instead, you can count on finer, well-defined grass shoots, as well as thinner and generally better-looking straight lines on man-made objects (some jaggies too, though).

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 12.6MP

The main camera's 50MP shots are actually quite alright and if you're to downscale those to the same 26MP that the High Resolution mode saves, you'd be looking at better detail rendition, at least in well-lit outdoor scenes. Hmmm.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP to 26MP conversion

The 200MP images didn't strike us as particularly useful in capturing extra detail but we did try the same downscaling exercise and there just might be a small advantage over the 50-to-26 conversion in certain scenes. Either way, it's clear the default out-of-camera 26MP shots aren't realizing the full potential of the phone.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 200MP

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 200MP to 26MP conversion

People shots at 1x look very good too, with that caveat about absolute pixel-level sharpness in the default 26MP mode. Still though, exposures are great, dynamic range is excellent, skin tones are properly nice. The Portrait mode output is fixed at 12.6MP and its pixels look more... to the point. The bokeh is looking good too.

Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

The 26MP 2x zoom photos have good detail, though they are quite prone to showing jaggies.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), 26MP

In the 12.6MP counterparts that aliasing is less obtrusive and detail looks finer on a pixel level.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x), 12.6M

Headshots at 2x maintain the excellent colors we observed at 1x, detail is good in 26MP and very good in 12.6MP, and the Portrait mode blur is quite convincing, if a touch on the strong side.

Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Telephoto camera

The telephoto's 3x results are excellent. We'd say their detail rendition in High resolution mode is superior to that of the main camera and they're probably close to what you'd call pin-sharp in many situations, though dimmer indoor scenes can get softer. Of course, dynamic range is excellent, the white balance is reliable and colors have just the right level of pop - no complaints.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 26MP

The 12.6MP files are crisper, but with a bit of a digital rendition of detail.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 12.6MP

The 50MP 3x photos are also showing excellent potential for extracting extra detail, though with the 3x's 26MP shots being pretty good on their own, the 50MP-to-26MP conversion in post processing isn't yielding huge benefits over the out-of-camera 26MP shots. It could still be worth exploring, though.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 50MP

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 50MP to 26MP conversion

We're still struggling to see the point in having a 200MP mode, but here's a handful of samples to stare at if you'd like.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x), 200MP

The zoom camera's portraits are awesome. They have super sharp facial detail in the 26MP mode (which could be perceived as a downside in portraiture, but you can always airbrush stuff out after the fact), and some pretty decent optical background blur in Photo mode. Skin tones are lovely, dynamic range is excellent. The Portrait mode's bokeh looks great too.

Human subjects, main camera (3x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

The telephoto is doing a pretty solid job in 26MP at 6x too - foliage remains well defined and things are generally sharp overall.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x), 26MP

That said, the 12.6MP versions of these images are even better, pixel for pixel.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (6x), 12.6MP

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide's default 26MP photos are great as well. The bar for ultrawides tends to be a little lower, but the images do have excellent sharpness in this context, and detail is rendered reasonably well. Global parameters are predictably top-class as well, with both colors and dynamic range leaving little room for improvement.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 26MP

The 12.6MP photos are also great - you can stick to that and save on some storage space.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 12.6MP

Shooting in 50MP is probably warranted in some cases, mostly for the purposes of downscaling to a more sensible resolution on your own terms. Our 50MP-to-26MP post-processing conversion yields images with slightly finer detail rendition and less sharpening than the default output (though obviously these have the amount of sharpening you decide to apply, which was very little in our case).

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 50MP

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 50MP-to-26MP conversion

Once again, here's a handful of 200MP files for completeness sake.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 200MP

Close-ups

The Find X10 Pro Max's rear cameras can all focus pretty close, and you have many options for shooting close-ups - too many, even. The obvious path is to use the telephoto, which Oppo says should focus at 10cm, and in our experience we could get down to 9cm from the rear camera bump. In our attempts to get the largest possible reproduction (at the shortest possible focusing distance), we may have made a couple of missteps and not actually gotten what we were supposed to in focus, but you should trust us that the quality is excellent.

Close-up samples, telephoto camera (3x), 26MP

At 6x, pixel-level quality may suffer a bit, but the impressive reproduction tends to make up for it. It's worth pointing out that depth of field is pretty shallow when shooting on the telephoto camera at (or around) minimum focusing distance, so you should keep an eye on the captured images to make sure you've gotten it right.

Close-up samples, telephoto camera (6x), 26MP

Another option is to use the main camera at 2x zoom, though with that module's 14cm minimum focusing distance, you won't be getting nearly as great reproduction as on the telephoto.

Close-up samples, main camera (2x), 26MP

The phone does adopt an auto camera switching behavior where it will get you a zoomed in view from the ultrawide camera, if you're trying to shoot at 1x or 2x but you're closer to your subject than the 14cm main camera minimum focusing distance. Detail is quite alright at 1x, and pretty soft at 2x.

Close-up samples, ultrawide camera (1x), 26MP

Close-up samples, ultrawide camera (2x), 26MP

For certain subjects, you may want to actually use the ultrawide at its own native focal length for shooting close-ups, and it does great, though it's not exactly well suited for close-ups of wasps and the like.

Close-up samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 26MP

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

As we've come to expect from Oppos, the Find X10 Pro Max will happily use its Night mode processing without much input from you so you don't have to worry about choosing the right mode. That does mean you'll be getting 12.6MP shots (Standard resolution) even if you've set the phone to High resolution - it's just that below a certain light level Standard works better and the phone auto switches to that (whether you like it or not).

Predictably, the Find X10 Pro Max's main camera captures excellent photos at night. We're looking at great contrast, but also wide dynamic range and well developed tonal extremes. That said, in some instances brighter areas can be notably soft (which, as established, is something Oppos tend to do in good light as well) - like some of the patios and pathways in the fourth sample. The auto white balance showed no missteps in our use and the saturation makes for easily likeable, colorful, yet realistic images. Detail is generally very good, with that highlight softening a relatively rare occurrence (and you kind of have to look for it to see it).

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

At 2x zoom, the photos in particularly dark scenes can get soft throughout (pointing our finger at that fourth scene again). That's mostly an outlier though - with just a bit more light and subjects with well-defined features, the X10 Pro Max maintains very good detail and is often better than the X9 Ultra, but always at least as good - even though the previous-gen Ultra has a larger sensor.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

The telephoto takes properly nice photos at 3x. They are packed with detail and it's rendered in a reasonably natural if a bit gritty fashion and it's more or less on par with the Find X9 Ultra in this respect. Dynamic range is excellent, contrast is great, colors stay true to reality, but also maintain the vibrant look you get from the main camera and are generally punchier than the Ultra's output.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

At 6x zoom you'd be losing some pixel-level detail - more so than you would in good light. Still, these remain perfectly usable - maybe even good, if the scene is more forgiving (has more light in it). The Ultra does tend to have a bit of an advantage in sharpness here though.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (6x)

Ultrawide camera

The new ultrawide camera does an excellent job in low-light as well, showing a small-ish, but consistent advantage over that of the X9 Ultra and almost matching the vivo X300 Ultra's performance (that one has a larger 1/1.28" sensor on the ultrawide). We're getting very good detail, expressive colors, and wide dynamic range - it's hard to argue with the results.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x)

Selfies

Selfies were great on the previous generation and they're also great on the Find X10 Pro Max - now with the added benefit of an even wider field of view. The 18mm equivalent lens gets more in the frame than the 21mm one of yesteryear, and it does so while still capturing excellent detail. Skin tones are just right, saturation is great overall, dynamic range is plenty wide.

Selfie samples, 0.8x

If you'd prefer the 21mm focal length of the previous models, the 1x button in the viewfinder will get you there and you'd be sacrificing little in terms of detail. The 2x zoom level, on the other hand, isn't exactly producing pin-sharp results, but maybe your priorities lie elsewhere if for some reason you have to shoot your selfies from across the room.

Selfie samples, 1x

Selfie samples, 2x

Video quality

The Find X10 Pro Max has a wide-ranging video recording feature set. You get a ton of resolution and frame rate options and a very capable Pro mode too. In the regular video mode, you get 4K120 and 8K30 on all three of the rear cameras and that includes the ultrawide, which on the Find X9 Ultra maxes out at 4K60 (no 4K120 and 8K on there). Dolby Vision recording is enabled by default and is available in all quality settings, except for 8K (but including 4K120).

The selfie camera maxes out at 4K60, with or without Dolby Vision enabled.

There's always-on video stabilization in all quality settings, with an Ultra Steady mode also available up to 4K60 on the rear cameras and up to 1080p30 on the selfie camera. In Pro mode, you get three stabilization options - Off (completely), OIS (only), and Enhanced. As we've observed on other Oppos, this Enhanced option is somehow different from the regular video mode's stabilization - at least the coverage is different from both the regular and the Ultra Steady modes.

The Pro video mode adds a bunch more things to the mix, starting with a 24fps frame rate. You get Dolby Vision here as well, but also Log recording (Oppo's O-Log2) with 4 pre-set live preview LUTs (which you can also have directly applied to the final video) and an option to import your own. There are also shooting aids, like a waveform (a decently large one too), focus peaking, and audio levels monitoring.

The new addition with the X10 Pro Max is open gate recording - you can capture video with the full sensor area, as opposed to using a 16:9 or a 2.39:1 crop, and do your cropping after the fact. Open gate recording is available on all three rear cameras at their native focal lengths at up to 60fps, in SDR, HDR, or O-Log2.

You can hit 'play' below and use the 'next' button to advance through the playlist of all video samples, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.

Daytime videos from the Find X10 Pro Max are very good, all things considered. The three rear cameras will get you well matched output with vibrant colors and no odd casts, dynamic range is excellent and there's great contrast too.

Now, as for sharpness and detail... we've often been unimpressed in this area recently and the X10 Pro Max isn't looking like it's going to reverse that trend, though it's certainly not bad, of course. The main camera is somewhere between good and very good at 1x, though it's just a tad worse than the X9 Ultra. The Ultra is then vastly superior at 2x, where the X10 Pro Max is pretty meh. Compared to the X9 Pro, the X10 Pro Max is on par at 1x in terms of amount of detail, but the new model does render it in a nicer, less processed-looking way, so that's a win. The X10 Pro Max is softer at 2x though.

The all-new ultrawide does respectably in terms of sharpness, though it's no better than that of the X9 Ultra (maybe a little better than the X9 Pro's).

The 3x telephoto, in turn, is very good at 3x - again more or less the same level of detail as that on the X9 Pro (which is using the same hardware), but a more likeable rendition, while the X9 Ultra has a bit of an edge here. At 6x, all three high-end Oppos are more or less on par and it's a pretty solid level too.

Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 6x

At night, the X10 Pro Max maintains the great global properties, offering dependable white balance, pleasing colors, and excellent dynamic range across all zoom levels. The main camera sharpness is great at 1x (on par with the X9 Pro, actually better than the X9 Ultra), and not as good at 2x (similar to the Ultra, both worse than the X9 Pro). The telephotos are all doing pretty well in the dark, but the X10 Pro Max just might be a notch better than the other two.

When it comes to the ultrawides, you'd think that the largest sensor on the X10 Pro Max (1/1.56") would make a difference and indeed the result is slightly sharper than the X9 Ultra's (1/1.95"), but the X9 Pro with its almost tiny by comparison 1/2.76" sensor is doing just about as well in terms of sharpness as the X10 Pro Max. Then again, the old Pro is nowhere near in terms of dynamic range, and the X10 Pro has none of the old model's harsh highlights, so the benefits of the new ultrawide are still readily observable.

Video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 6x

Stabilization is a bit of a weird mix of awesome and meh. If you just stand in one spot and point the phone in one direction, you'll get nearly flawlessly stable clips from the main camera and the ultrawide - tripod-like stuff. The telephoto is a bit prone to tremors in these conditions but not too bad. However, all three are a little jumpy with their panning - more so the main and the ultrawide cameras - it was also our experience on the X9 Ultra, though the X9 Pro did pan smoothly.

When it comes to walking shake on the main camera, the result is alright, not perfect.