Meet the First Smartphone to Snap 50-Megapixel Photos

Move over, Nokia Lumia 1020. There's a new smartphone super-camera in town. Chinese manufacturer Oppo just unveiled its Find 7, which will be the first device of its kind to snap photos at a stunning 50 megapixels. The smartphone will launch in two forms, with the more affordable 7a arriving in April and a more fully-featured Find 7 becoming available closer to May or June, complete with a quad HD screen.

According to Engadget's hands-on, the Find 7 uses a  13-MP Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor to create 50-MP images. To achieve this effect, the handset uses Oppo's Pure Image 2.0 technology, which takes 10 consecutive shots and blends the best four into a 50-MP picture. 

MORE: iPhone 5s vs. Nokia Lumia 1020: Camera Shootout

The images captured with the Find 7 show just how rich of a shot you can get with the phone, as you could easily zoom in and see the finer ridges of a silver coin. The same goes for outdoor shots, as one sample image shows how much detail is captured from a busy city street, one that takes up only a small corner of the original image. 

The Find 7 will be able to capture 4K video at 30 frames per second and slow-motion video at up to 100 fps. The device's 480 megapixel per second bandwith is 33 percent faster than that of Oppo's Find 5. 

The $599 Find 7 will be one of the only smartphones to pack a quad HD (2560 x 1440) display. This high-end model is powered by a 2.5-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 3,000 mAh battery.

There's also the $499 7a, which features a 1920 x 1080 display, 2.3-GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 2,800 mAh battery. Both models feature Android 4.3, Gorilla Glass 3 and up to 128GB of expandable storage.

Recent handsets like the Nokia Lumia 1020 and Apple iPhone 5s have raised the bar in terms of mobile camera features, so we look forward to seeing how those devices stack up to the upcoming Find 7 and its impressive 50-MP output.

Michael Andronico
Editor
A devout gamer and tech enthusiast, Mike Andronico joined the Laptop team in July 2013. With a B.A. in Journalism from Purchase College and experience at GameNGuide, Examiner and 2D-X, Mike tackles everything from iPhone rumors to in-depth hardware reviews.