Global smartphone company OPPO, continues to take smartphone technology to new heights with the launch of the first ever microscopic lens on a smartphone. Pioneering a new frontier, OPPO has ventured into microscopic magnification for smartphone cameras with its ‘Microlens’ that delivers images with a level of detail previously only possible with a microscope.
Supporting human curiosity to know more, the Microlens magnifies subjects by 30 times optically, and 60 times with hybrid magnification, going far beyond traditional macro photography. Colour, shape, size and scale, all look different at a microscopic level of magnification. Making its debut on the OPPO Find X3 Pro that was globally revealed last month, the Microlens is a testament to OPPO’s leadership in smartphone innovation and imaging technology, enabling users to capture worlds within worlds.
Tarek Zaki, Senior Product Manager at OPPO MEA, said, “OPPO has always broken barriers when it comes to smartphone cameras, with several ‘firsts’ to our name. Microscopic imaging was a natural step in smartphone photography for us. The appeal of the unknown and unseen can’t be overstated. Curiosity and a desire for knowledge have seen humankind explore the deepest oceans and venture into the vast depths of space. Our Microlens provides a new sensor that inspire users to re-experience the world around them and the details in things that we often take for granted. It also adds an element of fun for consumers to use the phone as a pocket microscope and look at everyday objects from a new perspective, with extreme detail.”
OPPO’s Microlens went through several stages of development, learning from sapphire glass manufacturers and light guide manufacturers, to deliver never-seen-before magnification on a camera phone.
The Microlens has a tiny ring light around the lens that provides even illumination and keeps the subject bright. OPPO uses two side-emitting LED lights, carefully manipulating and matching the colour temperature range with the Microlens’ custom ring-light to achieve significant results that a traditional LED would have been too large and bright to deliver.
The Microlens is treated with a custom cleaning solution, making it over 10 times more resistant to minute specks of dust or hair particles that could easily degrade picture quality as they would also be highly magnified.
Due to the unique mounting method required for a Microlens, OPPO installed the microscope module on the back cover of the phone, instead of mounting it on the motherboard. OPPO’s industrial design engineers had to work to maintain the structural and aesthetic integrity of the phone.
While the exterior of the lens needed to be black to match the phone’s styling, the opacity of a black ring light guide would impact quality. OPPO engineers overcame this by integrating a large lens and a hidden double-light guide. Semi-transparent ink was specially created with the optimum level of opacity to achieve a finish that looks black to align with the Find X3 Pro’s space-age, award-winning design. The bespoke ring light enables the Microlens to capture evenly lit, mesmerising images with accurate colour balance and a stunning perspective while maintaining design excellence.
The Microlens allows users to explore a new, microscopic world of fabrics, skin, hair, plants, the tiniest insects that take on a new form. Matched with best-in-class wide and ultra-wide imaging technology, OPPO’s smartphone cameras with Microlens, deliver versatility, quality assurance and attention to detail that is not available on any other smartphone camera today.
