Oppo hinted at its Find X8 series earlier this year by letting us review its Find X7 Ultra flagship. The high-end camera-centric smartphone wasn’t launched in India, but it set everyone’s expectations about Oppo’s latest flagships in terms of camera performance. This got me a bit excited, as Oppo’s Find X series has been missing in action for the past four years. The last Find X series devices announced in India were the Find X2 (and Find X2 Pro), but neither of them sold for reasons best known to Oppo.

And now, Oppo has decided to relaunch both its camera-centric flagships in the country. The Oppo Find X8 and Oppo Find X8 Pro are now set to take on similar offerings from other premium brands like Samsung and Apple. Keeping in mind the legacy of Oppo’s Find series, the brand certainly has some big shoes to fill. I’ve used both these smartphones for a while, and here’s what I’ve observed about their cameras so far.

Oppo Find X8 and Find X8 Pro Camera Specifications

The Oppo Find X8 has a triple rear camera setup compared to the quad rear cameras of the Find X8 Pro. There is also a significant difference between the hardware used, and this obviously makes the former less capable than the latter.

Diving into the hardware specs, we have a 50-megapixel primary camera on both devices, but the Find X8 has a smaller aperture of f/1.8 compared to the Find X8 Pro’s f/1.6 aperture, which is less sharp. Must be able to shoot photos from – Lighting conditions. The 50-megapixel ultrawide cameras on both smartphones are the same, with a bright f/2.0 aperture and a wide 120-degree field of view (FOV). The same goes for the 32-megapixel selfie cameras that have an f/2.0 aperture and can shoot 4K.

Both the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro share some camera hardware.

The big difference here is the way both cameras handle zoom with their respective telephoto setups. The Find X8 has a single 50-megapixel periscope telephoto (OIS) camera with 3X optical zoom. The Find X8 Pro has the same 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera but enhances the telephoto shooting experience by adding a second periscope telephoto (OIS) camera with 50-megapixel resolution and 6x optical zoom. Naturally, this will improve its reach when we zoom beyond the optical focal length, and it also makes the Oppo Find X8 Pro the first smartphone to feature two periscope telephoto cameras.

Oppo Find X8 and Find X8 Pro Shooting Experience

The Find X8 Pro also has a new trick up its sleeve – a camera button. For obvious reasons, Oppo had to brand it differently, so it called it Quick Button. Apple aside, the button can also be compared to the one available on Sony’s Xperia flagship, as its main function is to let you take photos without touching the display.

Pull the phone out of your pocket, press the button twice, and the camera instantly fires up, ready to take photos. You can also slide your finger over the button to zoom in and out, but I found it quite fiddly in terms of operation as it wasn’t as smooth as I expected. Holding down the capacitive button will activate what Oppo calls Lighting Snap, which is a continuous burst of photos (or burst mode).

The new Quick Button can be a bit fiddly.

To be very clear, a quick button is not a moving button but a static button. It has a capacitive layer, which lets the camera app detect swipes when zooming or tapping. However, keep in mind that the tap indication will require you to press and hold on the surface and wait for vibration feedback, which confirms that your actions have been registered. More on that in my full review.

Oppo Find X8 and Find X8 Pro camera samples

Let’s take a quick look at what the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro cameras are capable of.

The ultra-wide camera (on both the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro) captures quality images with minimal distortion.

The primary camera on the Find X8 seems up to the job, managing decent low-light photos.

The primary camera on the Find X8 Pro displays better-resolved detail in all lighting conditions.

At 2X zoom, I noticed that the Find X8 does a better job of preserving detail.

The Oppo Find X8 Pro has an edge when shooting at 6X zoom, thanks to its dedicated camera. Top: 1X, Bottom: 6X

The 6X telephoto zoom is also good for close-ups.

After my initial use, it’s hard for me to decide which phone is better and which one offers better value. From a camera perspective, the Find X8 Pro definitely has an edge in the zoom department, as not many premium smartphones offer 6X optical zoom these days. As for the Find X8, despite having fewer cameras, it seems quite capable, but I’ll have to test both devices in different scenarios to see and gauge each phone’s strengths and weaknesses. Not only with their cameras but also with their design, battery life, and display. So, stay tuned for our detailed review of the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro, which will be out soon.

Disclosure: Oppo sponsored representative’s flights and hotel for the event in Bali, Indonesia.