The OnePlus Nord CE4 (review) is now official in India, and the smartphone has a lot to offer if performance and good battery backup (along with fast charging) matter to you. Although the smartphone houses fewer camera sensors this year, the company promises a reliable performance, thanks to the new 50MP primary sensor.
On the other hand, the OPPO F25 Pro (review), which occupies the same sub-Rs 25,000 segment, promises a better camera performance with the capability of 4K video recording with the selfie camera. The smartphone also houses an extra sensor, which may or may not be useful.
Therefore, should you go with the OnePlus Nord CE4 or OPPO F25 Pro, if cameras truly matter to you? Here’s a comparison.
Camera specifications
| OnePlus Nord CE4 | OPPO F25 Pro |
| 50MP primary camera with OIS | 64MP primary camera with auto-focus |
| 8MP ultra-wide camera | 8MP ultra-wide camera |
| None | 2MP macro camera |
| 16MP front camera | 32MP front camera |
Table of Contents
Daylight
At first glance, both images may look similar. A closer look reveals the daylight image by the Nord CE4 is brighter, mainly due to the colour of the clouds. However, the subject in focus, which is the fountain, appears similar in both photos. Individual elements such as leaves, the yellow-black border around the fountain, and the walls appear almost identical.
It becomes evident that the dynamic range and details captured by the OPPO F25 Pro are better when you zoom in. Overall, the picture taken by the Nord CE4 is more social media-ready, while the OPPO F25 Pro provides more intricate details in daylight. It all boils down to personal preference. My vote goes to the OPPO F25 Pro.
Winner: OPPO F25 Pro
Ultra-wide
Both the OnePlus Nord CE4 and OPPO F25 Pro offered colour consistency even with the ultra-wide lens. Again, you will notice that the sky looks more dramatic in the image by Nord CE4. However, details are more refined with the OPPO F25 Pro’s ultrawide camera.
The OPPO F25 Pro also offers a marginally better field-of-view than the Nord CE4, at least in this case.
Winner: OPPO F25 Pro
Portrait
In this case, the Nord CE4 goes for a more dramatic approach with prominent shadows around the face. The overall brightness and white balance are evidently better with OPPO F25 Pro’s portrait shot.
Under natural sunlight, the OPPO F25 Pro accurately detected the skin complexion of the subject. However, when I took multiple photos under portrait mode, neither smartphone offered consistency in colours. Solely based on this photo, the OPPO F25 Pro takes the point.
Winner: OPPO F25 Pro
Selfie
The OPPO F25 Pro does a fantastic job at detecting complexion and facial details. Some users may be appealed by Nord CE4’s results too, therefore, it depends on your preference.
I picked the OPPO F25 Pro for its natural treatment. Plus, the native editing tools allow me to add my preferred filters at a later stage. OPPO F25 Pro’s selfie camera offers a wider field-of-view as well.
Winner: OPPO F25 Pro
Low light
In low light, the OnePlus Nord CE4 automatically relies on night mode and there seems to be no option to adjust it. As a result, the camera sensor automatically captures more light, and the final output is brighter than usual. That is why the image here is brighter than that of the OPPO F25 Pro. There’s also a catch, but more on that in the “Night Mode” section.
Despite capturing more light, the Nord CE4 struggles to retain details and sharpness. The software optimisation also failed to remove the lens flare(s) from the image. The image captured by the OPPO F25 Pro isn’t the best either. Contrast and shadows are on the prominent side, leading to the loss of many details. However, the OPPO F25 Pro preserved image details and sharpness relatively better.
Winner: OPPO F25 Pro
Night Mode
Since the OnePlus Nord’s low light shots already rely on night mode, enabling the dedicated “Night” mode under the More options doesn’t help substantially. In other words, the overall brightness and colours remain more or less the same.
The OPPO F25 Pro managed to capture more light, although the details aren’t the best. Even after zooming in, many details appear shaky or blurry. In this case, the Nord CE4 performed better.
Winner: OnePlus Nord CE4
Verdict
In our camera test, the OPPO F25 Pro emerged as the winner in five out of six scenarios. In daylight, the smartphone captured more details and offered better dynamic range. The OnePlus Nord CE4 wasn’t far behind either, and in some cases, its images were totally social media-ready, even though the details weren’t the best.
In low light, it’s more or less a draw between the two smartphones and depends on whether you enable night mode. If I had to pick, I’d go with the OnePlus Nord CE4 over OPPO F25 Pro for its snappier performance in low light. Otherwise for selfies, the F25 Pro won’t disappoint at all. On a side note, we have also compared the camera performance of the Nord CE4 and Nothing Phone 2(a), and you can check that out on our YouTube channel.
Other things to keep in mind between the Nord CE4 and OPPO F25 Pro include:
- Overall, the UI of the camera and Photos apps is more or less similar between the two smartphones. That’s also because of similarities between Android-based ColorOS and OxygenOS.
- The OPPO F25 Pro includes a macro camera, though its results aren’t always the best. For close-ups, the phone offers 2x digital zoom. The same option is available on the Nord CE4.
- While the OnePlus Nord CE4 offers OIS support, the OPPO F25 Pro surprisingly provides better video stability. The OPPO smartphone also supports 4K recording via the selfie camera.
