I went on holiday without my camera, but Oppo's new flagship was just as good – here's how you can buy one
The Find X10 Pro Max has a stellar camera suite, with support from Hasselblad
Last weekend I was enjoying a little time off work, exploring the island nation of Malta, a holiday trip for which I didn't actually pack my dedicated 'proper' camera.
That's because I've been using Oppo's latest flagship, the Find X10 Pro Max, which I put in my pocket, safe in the knowledge that it would be a photographic beast.
Pre-order discount promotion
While my full X10 Pro Max review is forthcoming, Oppo is already teasing a pre-order promotion to net a £200 discount on the final product release – which commences on 21 October, so it's just around the corner.
The same promotion also includes a free gift, which can either be an Oppo Watch X3 or the Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit. It's the latter I'd be most interested in, given the strength of this product's camera – and the reason for me writing this very article.
It's no secret that the Find X10 Pro Max has a trio of 200-megapixel cameras on its rear – indeed, none of the specification is a secret (per GSMArena), as the handset has already launched in China – replete with Hasselblad backing.
That's what that 'H' symbol in my pictures of the phone represents, if you're unfamiliar with Hasselblad's work – it's a renowned lens- and camera-maker, based in Sweden, which has worked with Oppo for some years now.
And it makes very good lenses. In the X10 Pro Max, however, its services are also deployed in collaboration for the processing, picture styles and colour balancing – making use of the True Color Camera (the fourth lens on the rear) for great accuracy.
Dreamy zoom options
But it's the zoom that's really blown me away in my use. Check out the gallery below. Sure, it's just a pizza on a table, right? Click through to the 3x zoom option and then full 6x zoom, however, and you'll see just what this device is capable of delivering.
Those glistening truffles sat atop a burrata are packed full of detail – and that's a shot straight out of the camera, I needn't do anything more to the image. It's nicely colour-matched to the other images, too, showing Oppo's and Hasselblad's finesse when it comes to consistency across its camera suite.
200MP clarity
It was really great being able to roam the streets of Maltese towns – from Valetta to Saint Paul's, even to the island of Comino – knowing that I could just quick-launch the Find X10 Pro Max's camera and confidently shoot, whether close-up, portrait distance, or zooming in further.
A stray cat, sat atop a car, I caught licking its whiskers in a burst shot at 6x zoom, during a walking tour around the city. It was candid, easy to shoot, and I hadn't noticed the tongue until afterwards – but it's a great shot.
The camera setup isn't just capable in distance shooting, of course, as its wide-angle is very capable too, as you can see in the coastal shot second in the gallery. The third shot, of a late sushi lunch, gives an impression of how those 200-megapixels squeeze lots of detail into an image (which, by default, are oversampled and output at 25MP).
Day or night
Malta is splendid in the day, but when the sun sets – often in dramatic style – the night takes over, and there's a lot of nightlife. Low-light scenes are little problem for this camera's triplet of large sensors, able to maintain detail and low noise throughout.
The only weakness I've really found in this camera is the occasional slip-up in focus and limitations for subject movement in low-light conditions.
Obviously it's tricky to avoid subjects blurring due to their movement in dim scenes, because there's only so much light available and, even with a wide aperture, there are limitations.
Nonetheless, what I've managed to shoot with the Find X10 Pro Max does, in many instances, put the other big names to shame. You won't get this kind of zoom clarity from Samsung or Apple right now, that's for sure.
Should I buy the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max?
If you're in the market for a camera phone first and foremost, then I've no doubt that this Oppo flagship is among the best of its kind. It made my holiday without a separate camera totally carefree.
It's likely to be rather pricey, however, so that pre-order promotion is well worth considering. You've got until this Wednesday, 21 October, to put £49 down for £200 off the list price.
