The OnePlus 15 is the following premium handset from the Chinese language phone-maker, and I simply acquired my palms on it. To offer its cameras a whirl, I took it out for a fast spin by way of a hip nook of Los Angeles.
The OnePlus 15’s large benefit is that it is one of many first to run the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm’s next-generation chip for high-end phones, which was launched in September. The system-on-a-chip has a giant affect on how images come out, processing each picture captured by way of the rear cameras.
The OnePlus 15 has three 50-megapixel rear cameras, together with a selfie shooter on the entrance, and I took images of my neighborhood natural world utilizing all of them. Whereas there is a sure stage of polish anticipated of premium phone cameras, this cellphone has one thing new: it is the primary main OnePlus handset launched for the reason that firm’s partnership with Hasselblad ended. For years, OnePlus included the long-lasting Swedish digital camera maker’s colour science and picture calibration in its cameras.
With Hasselblad gone, the OnePlus 15 options the debut of the DetailMax Engine, a loftily-titled computational processing system that goals to “current scenes as they really are, with out over-beautification or distortion,” as the corporate’s official blog post defined.
Which means a brand new web page for capturing images on a OnePlus cellphone, which made me wish to know what the OnePlus 15 is able to. Be part of me by way of an informal tour of a vibrant Los Angeles neighborhood, taking the sorts of snapshots that make up nearly all of everyone’s digital camera roll. I am going to want to spend so much extra time with the machine to offer it a complete evaluation.
The Silver Lake Home, a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles, is a mixture of shapes and textures.
Our first shot is of the surface of The Silver Lake Home, a neighborhood Thai restaurant. Whereas I clearly cannot resist a slight Dutch angle right here, the mix of colours look distinct and never oversaturated — a win for true-to-life processing. I like the best way the OnePlus 15 captured the sunshine and shadows filtering by way of the bushes, and the digital camera has dealt with the lens flare effectively with out over-exposing that space. Additionally, discover the reflection on the chrome on the warmth lamp.
Elephant and cactus vases to carry small crops adorn a windowsill of The Silver Lake Home.
Here is a close-up of knick-knack plant vases on a windowsill overlooking the restaurant’s indoor tables. The sunshine is de facto balanced, shiny on the foreground outdoors the eatery and dimmer inside — however colours and particulars are nonetheless seen inside. It’s also possible to select some element within the reflections on the window of the road behind me.
A Nineteen Sixties Ford Thunderbird sits at a curb in Los Angeles.
I could not resist this Nineteen Sixties Ford Thunderbird sitting idly on the road, a cruising automotive from yesteryear resting in a hipper nook of LA. Be aware the feel of the dust streaks over the paint contrasted towards the shiny chromed steel surrounding the taillights. Extra importantly, regardless of the digital camera’s deal with the foreground, the OnePlus 15 nonetheless manages to seize the blue sky within the background, full with particulars within the clouds.
The Silver Lake Reservoir canine park is not too energetic through the afternoon of Halloween 2025.
I took this photograph of a close-by canine park with the ultrawide lens, which preserves humdrum particulars within the brown dust amid sprouted grass alongside the underside.
A zoomed-in shot of the Silver Lake Reservoir canine park.
Here is a picture of the identical canine park that I took whereas zoomed in at 7x magnification. It has loads of element and colour. However we will go additional!
Pc, improve! A zoomed-in shot on the excessive finish of the OnePlus 15’s telephoto and crop zoom capabilities.
Here is the canine park photographed at 120x magnification, the farthest this cellphone can zoom in. The picture regarded grainy as heck on the cellphone’s display after I shot it, however that DetailMax Engine’s post-processing has achieved relative wonders, making this semi-recognizable regardless of loads of smudging on the edges brought on by noise discount — look between the chain hyperlinks. To make sure, this isn’t a fantastic picture — it is practically painterly — however the truth that it could zoom on this far and nonetheless serve up a photograph with one thing recognizable is superb.
A selfie on the South Lake Reservoir in Los Angeles.
Here is a selfie that includes yours actually. I feel this photograph has good element and shadow, however what most impresses me are the mountains within the distance, which will be seen to a point by way of the basic Los Angeles haze (marine layer, not smog) occluding the air, not the OnePlus selfie digital camera.
An evening selfie on the streets of Los Angeles.
For comparability, here is a selfie I took at night time. The colour is okay, with respectable particulars within the foreground, although they begin to blur behind me — discover the bricks on the underside proper, the posters on the sunshine pole on the mid-left, and particularly the constructing over my shoulder.
An evening shot on the streets of Los Angeles, displaying the OnePlus 15’s capabilities of capturing element and ranging colour in low mild.
Here is the compulsory night time shot of a Los Angeles road. Whereas town won’t ever be darkish sufficient to check the cellphone’s potential to seize constellations of stars within the night time sky, this does present the distinction between heat streetlights and the brilliant neon. The small print of the stucco pockmarked the partitions of the bowling alley are clear, even from throughout the road. Look intently on the texture of the road’s pavement. It is a granular mixture of grays flecked with white spots. All of the grime of town, preserved by the OnePlus 15’s new shiny cameras.
Completely satisfied Halloween!
That is it for the primary take a look at the OnePlus’ digital camera capabilities. Completely satisfied Halloween! And maintain a watch out for my full OnePlus 15 evaluation.
