Review: OnePlus 5T, a top-notch smartphone for the taking: Page 2 of 2

Camera and video

In a nutshell, I found the 5T’s camera to be quite good. Although it didn’t have fancy features such as AI in picture taking found in the Huawei Mate 10, I did find that the everyday usage was a joy. Do note however that the 5T camera features electronic image stabilisation (EIS) and not optical image stabilisation (OIS) as found in other flagship devices. Again, read more about the differences here.

Navigating around the camera app was easy enough. Swipe up to get to mode select and swipe down, whilst in Pro mode, to give you quick settings. Going from left to right gets you into video mode while the other way gets you into Portrait mode. You can also long-press the fingerprint scanner on the rear of the handset to take a photo, which is pretty handy.

Personally, I found the Mate 10’s OIS feature better than the EIS on the 5T but not by much. Unless you’re taking pictures in a really unstable environment, the difference is not that noticeable.

Aside from stabilisation, the camera performed really well when taking pictures. Shots were vibrant and the camera was fast, even when HDR was on. The camera app is somewhat minimalist, and may be lacking in features for some, but I like that as I don’t prefer a complicated shooter on a smartphone.

Low-light pictures were IMHO quite good too. The f/1.7 aperture is obviously doing the job, and I found that it performed well without too much noise in the background. Other reviews say it isn’t as good as the Google Pixel 2, which is reputed to have the best camera around, but I can’t attest to that having not tested the Pixel 2. But I suspect that for most of us, it’s good enough.

Portrait mode shots – where the lens focuses on the foreground while blurring the background – were good. They were easy to zoom in on and shots were taken quite quickly. The results also were quite sharp. The shots taken with the 5T’s camera complemented nicely with the way they were displayed on the AMOLED screen – bright, vibrant but natural and with really great contrast.

Videos were great too and it’s also nice to have a range of choices of lower to higher definitions to choose from. I found the video app also pretty intuitive to use so those video buffs should enjoy this too.

In conclusion

There isn’t much more to say about the 5T as given its relatively affordable price for a flagship smartphone, I would wholeheartedly recommend it. It has all the features found in a much more expensive phone bundled in a package that is as attractive as it is distinct.

But if I were pressed on this, three features for me stand out. The first has to be the AMOLED display, which is really quite nice to behold. I might be biased here but like I said, you have to view it compared to an IPS LCD screen to tell the difference.

The second is the speed and performance of the 5T coupled with the lightning fast Oxygen OS. The interface is easy to get around, its customisation features are thoughtfully laid out, and the user interface is very slick to use.

Lastly, the camera. I’ve not tested the Pixel 2 or the Samsung Galaxies, but I did try the Mate 10s. While the latter boasts artificial intelligence (AI) features, which isn’t bad, I just felt the 5T’s camera hardware and software make for a good pairing. It’s easy to use, produces quality shots, and is minimalist – put simply, it just gets the job done without fanfare.

If there are any drawbacks against the 5T, it would be three points: It doesn’t come equipped with IP68 certification, which means you can’t dunk it into a one metre deep pool of water for 30 minutes; it doesn’t have SD-card expandable storage; and it isn’t a QHD screen.

But these to me, aren’t dealbreakers.

Overall, the OnePlus 5T is a joy to use. If you’re in the market for a flagship phone now, there isn’t any better smartphone to choose at this price point, IMHO.

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