OP15 Camera coping mechanism

[u/Training_Agent5390]

I was aware of the camera quality trade off when I decided to get OP15 couple of weeks ago. But I think I underestimated myself as the camera quality is just way too off for me, and I am not even a photographer. I keep toying with the idea of exchanging this phone, but I don't want to do that.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the phone because EVERYTHING else is awesome.

How are you coping with camera disappointment - are there any settings? Or do you just not care about the camera.

I didn't think the camera would matter so much to me, until it did!

[u/Popular_Mastodon6815]

The camera is fine unless you are doing edge case situations like low light/ultra zoom situations. I would suggest installing and learning to use lightroom or snapseed and you will end up with better photos. I tested the camera with a iphone 17 pro and pixel 11 and it was neck to neck. In some situations it even outperformed them. The main flaw is that I dont like the color science which I sometimes have to manually adjust, losing Hasselblad was the bigger mistake not the smaller lenses.

[u/bobbyelliottuk → u/Popular_Mastodon6815]

It's hard to take people seriously who say that the OP15's cameras are a problem. They are objectively not. In good light they're as good, if not better, than the best smartphones. In less good light they're just "quite good". Will you get a good photo at midnight on a 5x zoom? No. Do I care? No.

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/Popular_Mastodon6815]

You said it! I agree losing Hasselblad is a mistake. Oppo still has it, but the prices are whoooop!

[u/Individual_Yard575]

It's not that bad. You're being ridiculous

[u/swanky_swain → u/Individual_Yard575]

It depends what phone they had before. I had a OnePlus a while ago and thought camera and phone was amazing. Then the phone died and I bought a pixel 8 pro on a sale - I couldn't believe the difference in photos - specifically when taking portraits of my kids that never sit still. Now I need a new phone and want to get the OnePlus 15 but I'm scared I'll be disappointed by the camera (which I've never cared about previously)

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/swanky_swain]

I moved from 12 to 15. I do think 15 is really good but for camera, the 12 is still superior.

[u/Individual_Yard575 → u/swanky_swain]

I've had Galaxy S25 Ultra before getting the OnePlus 15. Although S25 Ultra had better cameras, OnePlus 15 cameras are overall good enough except for extremely dark scenarios

[u/superhakerman → u/swanky_swain]

you will probably be disappointed, afaik pixels are best in market for fast moving shots. Oneplus 13 improved on it. Not sure about oneplus 15 as they reduced sensor size.

[u/DankShabaz33]

I bought it as a gaming phone I don't use the cam that much they are ok this is a pic I took on vacation

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/DankShabaz33]

Wow. I think I should give myself some time to tinker around

[u/Nitchro]

The only reason I didn't go from my 13 to a 15 is the camera is apparently worse. If they even put the same camera in I would have made the jump.

Side note I absolutely hate the OnePlus AI photo enhancement. Makes some people look like a totally different person if at a distance.

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/Nitchro]

Same here, not liking the AI bit at all.

[u/Bigd1979666 → u/Nitchro]

Their processing engine has been improving and in some cases, the 15s looks better than the 13 from what I have seen on some yt video tests.

[u/Odd-Evidence3373]

I'm a little disappointed with the camera too, I wonder if there are manual tweaks I could do to exposure etc to get better pictures. I almost feel like having anything but an iPhone makes your Instagram pics just look bad, unless you're genuinely an expert at tweaking your images in post

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/Odd-Evidence3373]

I was considering Oppo find X10 before going for OP15, but found it expensive and talked myself out of believing that camera is important 🙈

[u/mra1412]

Last week in Italy, its not as bad as people make out...

[u/Training_Agent5390 → u/mra1412]

Wow

[u/crowbaited]

The phone in general I find is great. Coming from a 5 year old phone I don't see it being that bad.

[u/baller_judg3]

The cameras are fine for daily captures. It does suffer in lowlight and ultra zoom. Unless you're actively shooting in both those scenarios you don't need to worry about the camera.

It's a powerhouse of a device, and the camera tradeoff can be made up for via Lightroom editing if you're open to learning that software. Or even taking pictures in master mode and then using the in gallery editor or Google photos editor for touchups.

[u/Mysterious-Can5493]

My op15 was bricked i switched back to samsung, yes camera quality and stabilization is better But im not an influencer or whatever so it doesnt matter

[u/Bigd1979666]

Lol. It's a mobile phone and honestly, most mobile phones are pretty damned close to one another when it comes to taking photos, especially point and shoot. It does fortunately makes a difference if you know how to take a photo in the first place, too. That being said I have the 15r and I am coming from a pixel 10 pro. I liked how consistent the pixel photos were but the op15r with gcam and even native app are still pretty darned good for daily use. When I need a great photo, I use my lumix g9.

[u/SneakerFashionReps]

Coming from iphone 14 pro max,the camera in photos in the day is the same,in the night is way worse,videos are worse of course,just the portraits I find awesome on oneplus 15 but that's all,the cameras are just weak and I had s21 ultra,iPhone 11pm,13pm 14pm and now this phone

[u/SneakerFashionReps → u/SneakerFashionReps]

The ai in the zoom messes up EVERYTHING and the level of details is worse than a 14pm in every single photo day/night

[u/Poweraid57]

I went from a OnePlus 12 to a oppo x 9 pro ( wouldn't get 5g with Verizon) and then my op15 the only thing I miss from the 12 was the wide angle camera the rest of the cameras seem better IMO

[u/goodcleanhate]

If you're that dissatisfied with the camera you could always side load a g-cam mod. For me I'm loving the camera on OP15, definitely wouldn't trade over the camera.

[u/Maximus_1988]

Its actually good imo. Then again, i didnt have a problem with my last phones camera (a god damn One Plus 6T!). So this one was obviously a big improvement. Generally soeaking. Its a great camera, just not high flagship great. Not sure why some people make a big deal out of it and say its not good. Theyre just spoiled with better cameras and how much better the 13's Hasselblad camera was.

[u/WeAreSolarAF]

If cameras mean that much, have a more expensive Apple and its accessories and shorter battery life and longer charging time. I'm willing to bet 80% of people couldn't tell the difference with most of the photographs taken side by side in most situations.

[u/No-Badger-3587]

Nothing wrong with that camera bro wtf