New OnePlus 9 Series camera technologies help Kenyans capture the best shots

Hello everyone,

Let’s talk about the two new technologies in the upcoming OnePlus 9 Series Camera and how they can be beneficial and a breath of fresh air to the Kenyan and African smartphone scene:

Sony IMX789 – Oneplus’ largest custom main sensor ever
This new sensor is the culmination of the company’s work with Sony for the last two years. OnePlus leveraged the insights they gathered from OnePlus 8 Pro’s IMX689, keeping the same technologies that made it their best sensor to date – like dual native ISO, omnidirectional focusing (2×2 OCL), and real-time HDR video – but also included considerable improvements that put the IMX789 sensor in a league of its own.

Take a look at these sample shots that really highlight the powers of the IMX789 sensor.

Compared to the IMX689, the IMX789 has a denser circuit design, allowing higher data throughput. But let’s talk real-life benefits. This increased data throughput allows you to capture 4K video at a whopping 120 fps. That’s right. And with DOL-HDR, short for digital overlap HDR, the sensor can capture short exposure and long exposure images near-simultaneously and merge them into a high-quality frame with details in both highlights and shadows. Real-life benefits? HDR video with reduced blur, delivering improved video shooting in a backlit environment which often happens when you’re out and about in the evening in places in Kenya where there may not be adequate lighting

Freeform lens – near-zero distortion on ultra-wide
Sensors are obviously a very important part of the equation, but often neglected in spec sheets, lenses also play a significant role in a camera’s output. With ultra-wide photography, that’s even truer. The wide field of view easily introduces distortion in the edges of the image. One such common side effect is warping lines in architectural photography.

With the OnePlus 9 Series Camera and Sony’s IMX766 sensor, OnePlus added a freeform lens, not unlike those used in progressive eyewear. Compared to the 10-20% distortion found in the traditional ultra-wide lenses, freeform lenses have only around 1% distortion, almost eliminating it in ultra-wide shots.

And looking ahead, here are two camera technologies OnePlus are already working on for future devices:

Super Panoramic Camera – 140-degree field of view for the OnePlus 9 Series Camera

Another one of the fruits of the OnePlus innovation lab is the panoramic camera. By using two wide angle lenses and a prism, light refracts through the prism, it’s divided and synced between the two wide angle lenses, effectively capturing two photos that are then collated seamlessly. The result is a high degree of field of view with almost no distortion, for a striking panoramic result. We can’t wait for this to be introduced in a OnePlus flagship in the future so you can capture those beautiful Kenyan landscapes

Also in development, the T-lens was inspired by the human eye, leading to the OnePlus name for it: Bionic Lens. This lens sees the traditional coil motor replaced for near-instant autofocus, under a millisecond, 5 to 10 times faster than with the coil motor. This technology can also reduce energy consumption during the focusing process, while also shrinking the front-camera sensor.

The incredibly fast auto-focus allows creative uses of this technology like taking two photos in rapid succession – portrait and background – and combining them for next-level selfies. Additionally, this lens enables a focal length of 15 cm. Even if in a shaky environment, it will still be able to autofocus quickly on nearby things, with outstanding stability.

OnePlus is now pushing this technology into production and hope to have it in commercially available products soon.

We can’t wait for you to have a chance to try the IMX789 sensor and freeform lens on the OnePlus 9 Series Camera, and the 140-degree Super Panoramic Lens and Bionic Lens in our future products as well. We’re sure these technologies will power your best shot.

Note: all images were compressed to fit the website’s image upload limit