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A Sample Shot Diary by woSch Oct 12, 2020

woSch , Oct 12, 2020 :

Hello Community!

I'm Wolfgang from Germany, living in a smaller town in the middle of some well known landscapes "Ruhrgebiet", "Niederrhein" & "Rheinland" in the north of Duisburg and Düsseldorf. I grew up with a lot of grafic & artistic design, photography, art, archeology, architecture... studied agricultural science and now I work in public administration.

My first camera was a birthday gift of my uncle in 1966, since then photography has been a part of my life - woSch without a camera, no way. First steps with 6x6 rollfilm in B&W and actually digital with a SLT Sony a77ii (APS-C) ... since 11/2015 going with OnePlus (2, 3T, 5T, 7pro) and active in the Photography Section especially with macro shots of plants & insects, landscapes or architecture shots.

But let's start with my personal fairy tale...

Once upon a time... an eMail popped up, a direct conversation started by @dsmonteiro from the OnePlus Team asking if I was "interested in embarking on a brand-new photography adventure", the Sample Shot Program revived for the upcoming flagship... wowow... taking sample shots, giving feedback & beeing in close contact to the OnePlus Team (especially @dsmonteiro & @OverDrive H.) ... wowow... I had no struggle to give a big YES back to him... some eMails back and forth... I signed an NDA (🤫 non disclosure agreement 🙈🙉🙊)... finally a small parcel arrived on September 3rd and a very, very special unboxing experience started...

Spoiler: don't, 🙈🙉🙊 don't open the spoiler 🤫

... unwrapping black bubble wrap... and there was "the Prototype" in a "special" all black full body case... sweaty fingers... I've learned that the upcoming OnePlus flagship is codenamed "Kebab".

So I got "Kebab to go" in my hands

You all know, strolling around in the city tasting Kebab is a normal thing if you are hungry - strolling around testing Kebab is like beeing in a fairy tale, believe me

We - yes, we, there is another lucky one @maarten_lisboa, for whom I have great respect not only for his wonderful awesome pictures of sunsets, Sintra,... - got only little information about the "Kebab camera features & specs":

Rear Camera

• Main Camera 48 MP IMX586
• Ultra Wide Camera 16 MP IMX481
• Macro Lens 5MP
• Black & White Camera 2MP

Front Camera

• Selfie Camera 16MP

And in addition a "Spectrum Sensor", for me an amazing & promising Camera setup with proven Sensors & Lenses.

Rear Camera obviously a 2x3 block off centre, on the left side of the device (4 lenses, dual flash, spectrum sensor) - Front Camera obviously a punch hole upper left corner.

What, they skipped the Tele Lens? Some of the "long time Forum Buddies" will remember my mantra since OP2 times "don't use zoom - take a perfect shot with the main sensor/lens and crop later" for tele & macro close-ups... this is still true, the 48MP Main Cam Sensor delivers and I didn't/don't miss the dedicated Tele Lens! In my eyes the IMX586 Sensor ist still top. In bright light with 48MP, in "not so bright light conditions" with so called pixelbinning combining 4 pixel to total 12MP. Also equipped with a "Bayer-Matrix" - a special colour-filter-pattern. In the Camera App you can not only switch aspect ratio for 12MP (4:3 | full screen ratio | 1:1) you can also chose 48MP or 12MP resolution.

I'm fine with the 16 MP Ultra Wide, several times (OnePlus events like OEF-Camera,...) I've expressed a great wish: Ultra Wide deserves a bigger Sensor. I love to "dive" into wide-angle pictures searching for details... and here we go

Macro... anyone interested in my opinion regarding macro ... really... for me this macro-sensor-lens combination is the first OnePlus macro-camera where I can leave my extra clip-on macro-lense at home - yeah, woSch happy

1.-3. Main, UltraWide, Macro 🤔 ... yep Quad Camera setup... 4. B&W, a dedicated sensor and lens for B&W - my first years in photography, all B&W - I love the option to chose B&W amongst the preset colour filters

Spoiler: sample crops comparison

btw. don't forget to have a look at @maarten_lisboa 's Kebab Sample Shots Thread! Laters of course

At the beginning I wrote that I grew up with a lot of design, both parents graphic-designers influenced by "bauhaus", so asymmetric design of the Rear Camera ... but, form follows function, so I'm very pleased and fine with the off centred camera block because the flexibility holding the device to get extrem viewing angles is much better, thumbs up for that

Back to topic - Sample Shot Program - so this thread could not be a review of the device, the prototype, the Camera App or a comparison with other smartphones,... several Software Updates came,... it's about taking sample shots, giving feedback to the OnePlus Team and showing what's possible, the capabilities of the Kebab Camera setup... I've enjoyed the Camera experience!

Spoiler: my Wishes for the Camera App

• focus peaking in ProMode
• AF in macro, not only fixfocus
• ProMode bar always visible
• multiple focus points
• focus tracking not only in video

I don't want to miss the chance to say a big big thank you to OnePlus & OnePlus HQ for the unique opportunity beeing part of the Sample Shot Program, @dsmonteiro & @OverDrive H. for the close contact, sharing knowledge, having open ears for the feedback, @maarten_lisboa for 🙊🙉🙈 sharing this outstanding experience ... and last but not least my beloved wife @Sweet_Ivy for her endless patience and shared passion in photography 😍

... so let's start with the journey, follow me to some locations & accompany me for some photowalks: