[OnePlus 5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Yank555:
I have to agree, that camera left aside, the op5 is one beast of a device. Should it compare to a Google flagship, it totally does in specs ... so why not also the camera ? Granted the price difference has to be somewhere (at least partly in the hardware) ... but here's the thing, I have a bunch of devices (no Pixel, though) and for me the top 3 as for camera of those I have are as follows :

1) Nexus 6P (by

far

the best of all the devices I have !)

2) OP3t

3) OP5

Yes I have the OP5, yes I got mine on preview launch (so have had it from the very beginning) and nope I haven't used a single day so far, it's neither unlocked nor rooted nor whatever, just tested camera and put it away (and I do so at each OTA in the hope for better).

Why did I get the OP5 you might ask ... well because the camera has been hyped and I hoped to get a camera upgrade (to get more or less at Nexus 6P level, wasn't asking THAT much), as I was totally satisfied with the firepower of my 3t.

But the

THING

they hype the most about this device is the thing that's actually

worst

on the device (cause the rest is pretty much top notch).

And it's worse than their previous phone ... and now that is where it really hurts ! And that is just not ok, especially given how much that particular feature is hyped !

The 6P, an almost 2 year old Google flagship does

far

better (and wasn't

that

much more expensive at its launch) ... that comparison should be allowed at least if you want to exclude Pixels (which are ~1 year old flagships about to be replaced, though).

You may say that I look at this as a hobby photographer used to take pics with a DSLR, not as normal user, and yes that fits the picture, I am a hobby photographer. But also the 6P has been

THAT GOOD

that I go on vacation

without

my DSLR nowadays and just take the 6P with me (although I use the 3t as my daily driver when at home as I prefer it's performance and battery life).

And again I've had the OP5 (128Gb) lying mostly untouched in my drawer since it was launched (think I charged it twice in total).

That has to mean something, doesn't it ? I mean I am certainly not just bashing OP here given I happily use one of their devices as my daily driver.

Hmm ... well ... I still tend to think the Google has shown the right path, and OP just decided to disregard it and follow the hype of dual lenses.

Using a bigger lense and sensor with same or less megapixels (~12-13 is more than enough) is the better choice, any photographer will tell you ! And if a camera takes better pics for a photographer, rest assured, that will also give better shots for a normal point&shoot user.

The bigger lense allows for way more light to get to the sensor, and the bigger sensor pixels (since the sensor is bigger with the same amount or less of pixels) results in less noise in low light.

--> So this allows for shorter exposure times (less likely unsharp pics due to shake) with less noise (better low light pictures) for a same given subject.

That should have been the way to go for "clearer pictures" instead of 2 mediocre small cameras and software trying to make them look better than they actually are, imho that is.

But this is where I totally agree with you ;)

Now since we can't change the hardware choice, OP really should at least allow users to use the cameras 1:1, and make the use of their filters simply a "mode" in their camera app by moving the filters out of the the closed source blobs (as now sharpness/detail is just crappy whatever camera app you use) and allow for the use of 3rd party camera apps for those who prefer untouched shots which you can then rework in photoshop if need be.

I'm confident the camera modules are at least good enough to be indeed better than the 3t's ... and I would probably stop using the 3t as daily and likely take the op5 with me on vacation,

if only they did listen to you, that is

!

JP.