The OnePlus 5's camera might be as good as the Galaxy S8's, but it falls victim to the hype

The OnePlus 5 might be known for its design and cost, but OnePlus really pushes its camera system. After all, the company teamed up with DxO, the company behind the DxOMark camera benchmark, with the OnePlus 5’s box having the “Dual Camera. Clearer Photos” tagline embossed on it. It appears as if DxOMark took note of the camera system too, since the benchmark deemed it one of the better ones out there.

Ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so images that might look good for certain people might not look as great for others. Nonetheless, DxOMark grades cameras in order to provide a numerical basis of comparison. The same goes for smartphone cameras, and this is where the OnePlus 5’s camera comes in.

DxOMark’s analysis slapped the OnePlus 5’s camera with an 87, which puts the sensor on par with those on the Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11, HUAWEI P10, and Apple iPhone 7, all of which either scored the same, a point or two more, or a point less.

More specifically, DxOMark commented on the sensor’s accurate white balance, good detail preservation, fast and smooth autofocus, and punchy color rendition. Regardless of whether it was an image or video, DxOMark said the sensor does well in bright and low-light settings. However, the benchmark also notes that indoor performance was mixed and there was digital noise in images.

The only problem is this might not be good enough for OnePlus. To say that OnePlus advertises the OnePlus 5’s camera is an understatement – whether it’s an announcement, the box, or OnePlus’ own home page, the OnePlus 5’s dual-camera sensor is front and center. It seems as if OnePlus portrayed the phone’s camera as the second coming of Jesus, yet the sensor does not live to the exceptionally high bar the company set for it, at least in terms of benchmarking.

At the end of the day, DxOMark is a benchmark, so someone’s subjective experience with the OnePlus 5’s camera may differ from another’s experience. Regardless, it appears that OnePlus fell victim to its own marketing yet again, a trend that put the company in a negative light not too long ago for different reasons.