OnePlus 8T camera takes on Edinburgh’s fall colors

Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The OnePlus 8T comes with a slew of great features including 5G, superfast charging and a lovely display. But it’s the cameras on the back that I’m most interested in, so I was excited to get the phone in my hand and take it on a walk through the orange leaves of Edinburgh in the fall.
The 8T has four cameras: a 48-megapixel main camera, a 16-megapixel super wide angle, a 5-megapixel macro camera for close up shots, and an additional monochrome sensor for black and white photos. TL;DR: It can take great shots with the main and wide camera modes, but the black and white sensor is pointless and macro images don’t look good. Read on for more information and to see my test images.

OnePlus 8T outdoor camera test
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

OnePlus 8T outdoor camera test
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

OnePlus 8T outdoor camera test
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Using the standard camera lens in its default mode, I’m impressed by the phone’s ability to balance bright highlights and shadows (the auto-HDR mode is helpful, apparently). Colors are rich and vibrant and the images are packed with detail.

OnePlus 8T outdoor camera test, wide-angle lens.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

OnePlus 8T outdoor camera test, wide-angle lens.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Switching to the wide-angle lens, I’m again pleased to see a good handle on exposure. While I think the colors look more muted than with the normal lens, the white balance has shifted. It’s a wide view that makes it easy to capture a huge amount of the scene in front of you.
OnePlus 8T monochrome mode
One of the new additions to the 8T’s camera setup is a monochrome sensor. Interestingly, the image is still taken