Review of OnePlus 5 Camera for Photography

OnePlus 5 selfie in Kyoto, Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

I am currently borrowing the OnePlus 5 from my sister Jennifer, and just went on a walk with it on the streets of Kyoto.

Initial impressions:

Love the design

First of all, I love the simple design of the phone. No annoying logos on the front of the phone. Only a subtle [1+] logo in the back.

The phone is very light, yet solid.

The camera is very good.

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

The camera on the phone tends to over expose a bit, but when processing with the in-phone processing editing, or when putting it into VSCO and using the A6 preset and lowering the exposure and increasing the contrast, the photos look very good.

The dual camera is mostly a gimmick for the portrait mode.

There is pretty much no lag in the camera. Very good for street photography. You won’t miss any decisive moments with this phone.

Auto focus is also insanely fast.

User interface is clean.

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

The user interface of OnePlus is very clean, bold, and fluid. A very good rendition of Android.

Also, it comes with no stupid bloatware (superfluous pre-installed apps) which is a delight.

Front facing camera

MEMENTO MORI by HAPTICLABS

Very good for selfies.

HONOR THY SELFIE.

The best value phone camera for photography

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

To sum up, the OnePlus 5 is the best value photography phone on the market. I actually am a huge fan of OnePlus. They are the underdog, who are constantly innovating, pushing boundaries,and like they say… “Never Settle”

If you want the absolute best camera for photography, buy the newest iPhone. Why? The iPhone team has millions of dollars for research and development to improve the in-camera processing of images. Of course the photos are going to look better.

But for Android, if you’re like me and prefer open systems that you can hack, tinker, and fuck around with… definitely buy a OnePlus for the camera and the value.

Meditations on phone photography

Walking on the streets of Kyoto, I feel a calm elation. Only walking with the phone, and nothing else.

I hear the birds chirping, the cicadas buzzing, and my senses are heightened. I see textures, lines, shapes, and forms, and having a phone is the ideal camera.

The benefit of phone for photography:

Very light. Allows you to walk more and shoot more with less fatigue.
Ability to shoot macro mode, very close to your subjects, to highlight details.
Simplification of photo shooting: Point and click, and focus on composition and framing, not getting distracted by stupid technical settings.