OPPO F29 shines bright in our blind camera test: full analysis

Recently, we conducted a blind camera comparison, which consisted of four of the most popular “camera phones” under Rs 25,000. It included the Nothing Phone 3a (review), OPPO F29 (review), Motorola Edge 60 Fusion (review), and the Samsung Galaxy A26 (review). Our test involved taking photos in various lighting conditions and using different camera lenses. In each scenario, we shuffled the photos and labelled them as Phone A, B, C, and D to keep the voting unbiased.

Now that we have the votes, it’s time to announce the winners and dive deeper into how the winning shot differs from the rest.

Camera comparison results at a glance:

Let’s glance at the results of our “Ultimate blind camera comparison”.

Daylight HDR

Winner: OPPO F29

The daylight HDR shot was a low-angle capture aimed at the top of a building, featuring a complex mix of elements, like harsh and soft shadows, glass windows, a bright sky, and the blazing sun. The scene posed a significant challenge due to its wide dynamic range and dominant red and blue tones, making strong HDR processing essential.

In this scenario, the OPPO F29 image won by securing the most votes, followed by the Nothing Phone 3a, the Galaxy A26, and the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion.

OPPO’s processing not only did a great job of balancing the warmth and cool tones based on the sun’s position and true-to-life colours, but also increased the brightness a bit to make it more appealing for social media. The Nothing Phone 3a added a dramatic vibe with aggressive HDR processing, increased the brightness, and added some artificial blue tones on the glass panels and sky. The Galaxy A26 was the best if we talk about the gloom exposure around the sun, but the dark look and blue tint issue took away the charm. Motorola’s image is contrast-heavy with a slight shift towards blue hue, gloom can also be observed near the building’s top structure.

Portrait

Winner: Nothing Phone 3a

In our daylight portrait test, we focused on evaluating each phone’s ability to handle shadows, direct sunlight, and surrounding greens. The goal was to push the phones to their limits in terms of edge detection, bokeh effect, and HDR performance.

The Nothing Phone 3a secured the top spot in terms of votes, followed by the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, Galaxy A26, and the OPPO F29.

When it comes to side-by-side comparison, the portrait from Nothing Phone 3a shines out with a vibrant and bright look. Its image has a slightly aggressive contrast, the least amount of noise, and when it comes to skin and hair details, it’s the best among the competition. The portrait from the Moto Edge 60 Fusion is well balanced in terms of contrast, did a good job of retaining details after Nothing. Samsung Galaxy A26’s portrait shot is the only one with the most accurate skin tone. The bokeh is natural and not overdone like its competitors. Its poor contrast and lack of punch that likely took away the votes. The OPPO F29’s portrait not only looks overly bright, but also has average edge detection, and the details have been smoothened aggressively.

Selfie

Winner: OPPO F29

Our selfie test evaluated similar elements as the portrait shot without using portrait mode.

According to the votes, the OPPO F29 took the top spot, followed by the Galaxy A26, Nothing Phone 3a, and Moto Edge 60 Fusion.

The OPPO’s selfie struck a pleasing balance of contrast with a slight brightness boost. While it doesn’t offer the best detail, the subtle touch-up gives it the most appealing look among the competition. The Samsung A26 once again delivers the most accurate skin tone, though it falls short in contrast and white balance control. Nothing’s selfie is vibrant with good detail and contrast, but it appears flat next to OPPO F29’s punchier output. The Moto Edge 60 Fusion’s image is visually appealing, but deep blacks and noticeable over-sharpening affected its overall impression.

Indoor HDR

Winner: OPPO F29

Coming to the indoor HDR shots, the scene involved a cafe setting in our office corridor. The location posed a challenge due to inconsistent lighting from the ceiling.

The OPPO F29 got the highest number of votes, followed by the Nothing Phone 3a, Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, and the Galaxy A26.

OPPO did the best to control noise and white balance. Its image also features a pleasing contrast, while the HDR is well balanced as well. Nothing’s image lacks fine details and accurate colours, though some users might still appreciate its deep contrast, which gives it a visually appealing look. Motorola delivers the most accurate colour processing and retains good detail, but the image suffers from noticeable noise and appears slightly dull when compared to OPPO and Nothing. Samsung’s image looks flat and lacks exposure.

Indoor Selfie

Winner: OPPO F29

Moving to the indoor selfies, we again choose a scene with a mix of shadows and light sources, a range of colours, to push the phones for HDR processing.

Again, OPPO F29’s selfie secured the most votes, followed by the Nothing Phone 3a, Moto Edge 60 Fusion, and the Galaxy A26.

The selfie from the OPPO F29 has the brightest look. The image also featured a slight warm tone, which many users appreciate. The Nothing Phone 3a is again contrast-heavy, though with balanced highlights. But its image got a little too aggressive with the warm tone. The Edge 60 Fusion’s selfie captured the best details, but lacks punchy colours. The selfie from the Galaxy A26 has the most natural look, with accurate colours, but it lacks detail and has some noise.

Low-light

Winner: Tie between Galaxy A26 and Motorola Edge 60 Fusion

To push the phone’s primary camera to its limits, we chose a challenging low-light scene featuring a mix of light sources, deep shadows, buildings, and a dark sky.

It’s a tie between the Galaxy A26 and the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, followed by the OPPO F29 and the Nothing Phone 3a.

The low-light images in default settings are impressive on both the Galaxy A26 and Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, offering accurate exposure and effective gloom control. The Moto’s shot shows signs of artificial sharpness, while the Galaxy A26 handles highlights better but introduces noticeable noise despite using a lower ISO. OPPO’s image was the weakest in terms of exposure and noise, though it maintains natural colours and deep blacks without aggressive processing. Nothing’s image may look visually appealing, but its exposure is inconsistent, and there’s a slight blue tint throughout.

Low-light (with night mode enabled)

Winner: OPPO F29

This test involved taking the low-light shot from the same spot with night mode enabled. This time, there was a significant difference in the images.

The OPPO F29 boasted the most votes, followed by the Nothing Phone (3a), Moto Edge 60 Fusion, and the Galaxy A26.

The OPPO F29 has shown a significant improvement, offering much better exposure control with minimal noise, and its HDR performance has also been enhanced. However, those with a keen eye may notice a reduction in detail. The Nothing Phone 3a now delivers better detail and vibrancy, with more aggressive and consistent bloom control. The Moto Edge 60 Fusion, however, overdoes the sharpness, which results in lost shadows and an artificial appearance. The Galaxy A26 excels at exposure and gloom control around light sources, but the final image suffers from noise and a noticeable colour shift in the sky.

Verdict

The OPPO F29 secured the most votes and took the top spot in our “Blind Camera Comparison”. It excelled in multiple scenarios, like Daylight HDR, Selfie, Indoor HDR, Indoor selfie, and Low-light with night mode. Based on our analysis and your votes, it is evident that the OPPO F29 is well-optimised for images in various tricky conditions. However, the other phones fare quite well too.

The Nothing Phone (3a) is the first runner-up, securing the most votes in Portrait. It also fared well in Daylight HDR, Indoor HDR, Indoor selfie, and Night mode tests. The Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, although a versatile performer, tends to overdo post-processing, occasionally distorting skin tones. The Galaxy A26, on the other hand, excels in delivering natural colours but falls short in punch and vibrancy compared to its competitors.

While the votes stand as a testament to each device’s strengths, this blind camera comparison highlights the unique pros and cons of each contender, as seen from the eyes of our readers who voted to choose the photos they liked the best. Regardless, all of these smartphones offer a capable camera experience. Stay tuned to 91mobiles for more insightful blind camera comparisons.