Category: Camera

The winding action is long and heavy, and unforgiving. You must wind in one complete action, otherwise the shutter will not cock, the mirror will not drop and the camera won’t “remember” where the film advanced to in the frame, meaning you’ll get a large space between frames, and likely lose a frame off the end of the roll. I learnt this the hard way when my finger slipped off the winder one day and I went to complete the wind, and found that it did a complete wind instead of completing my previous wind. Lots of sites also mention to wind slowly, smoothly and not (in large, bold type) to let the winder return automatically but to guide it back with your thumb. I haven’t tested that particular theory yet, as I find it pretty difficult to not guide the winder back.

The shutter release is – rather uniquely – front-mounted rather than top-mounted. A wise choice, and in the Kiev 60, on the right hand side of the camera, rather than the rather oddly chosen left hand location on its predecessor, the Kiev 6C. Why wise, you ask? Because the size of the camera makes it difficult to steadily hold it, and reach your finger to the top plate to depress a shutter. With it on the front, your index finger naturally falls to the shutter release comfortably.

We couldn’t do a review of the Kiev 60 without a mention of the absolute, stonking, noisy mirror slap that it makes when releasing the shutter. The huge mirror pivots back in a swoosh and slap that would make giants cry, and the shutter curtain zips across with a noise somewhere approximating the sound of a small jet engine. I may be over-egging this part, but it is loud. This is in no way – in size, shape or sound, a discreet, stealth camera. And because the mirror is heavy, and – on original, un-modified versions (like the one I have) – there’s no mirror lock-up feature (aftermarket refurbs tend to come with MLU retrofitted), shutter speeds slower than 1/30 tend to be off limits for creating super sharp images (if you don’t mind a little softness, if you mount on a very steady tripod so as to eliminate any other sources of movement, you may just get away with slower speeds. Otherwise, don’t think about trying slower speeds.

Kiev 60 – In Use

Suffice to say – the Kiev 60 has to be one of the most affordable ways into medium format film photography, because of the use of the Pentacon 6 lens mount. There is such a vast range of glass, ranging (in order of expense/desirability, from East to West) from the lenses coming out of the old Arsenal factory in Kiev itself on the budget end, through the Zeiss lenses coming out of Jena, to the Schneider glass on the western side of the Wall that was designed for the Exakta 66 using the same mount, on the upper end of the price scale.

The Oppo Find X3 Neo is the middle entry in the company’s X series, slotted between the top-end X3 Pro and the X3 Lite. It features a 6.55-inch, 90-Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, Qualcomm’s 865 chipset with 5G support, and 12 GB of memory along with 256 GB of storage. There are four cameras on the back. The primary module uses a 50 MP Sony sensor. There’s also a dedicated tele-module that offers a 2x optical zoom. Both those cameras have the same specs as on the top-of-the-line Find X3 Pro. The Neo’s ultra-wide has to make do with a 16 MP sensor instead of the Pro’s 50 MP variant, though. There’s also a 2 MP wide-angle macro module for getting extra close to objects.

Read on to find out how the Find X3 Neo performs in our DXOMARK Camera tests.

Key camera specifications:

• Primary: 50 MP 1/1.56-inch sensor with 1 µm pixels, 24 mm-equivalent f/1.8 lens, OIS, PDAF, DOL-HDR
• Ultra-wide: 16 MP 1/3.09-inch sensor with 1 µm pixels, 14 mm-equivalent f/2.2 lens, 123° (14.1 mm measured) field of view fixed-focus lens
• Tele: 13 MP 1/3.4-inch sensor with 1 µm pixels, 52 mm-equivalent f/2.4 AF lens
• Macro: 2 MP 1/5-inch sensor with 1.75 µm pixels, 22 mm-equivalent f/2.4 fixed focus lens
• LED flash
• 2160p at 60/30 fps, 1080p at 60/30 fps, 720p at 60/30 fps (4K 30 fps tested)

About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here.

Test summary

With an overall score of 115, the Oppo Find X3 Neo lands around the middle of our general rankings. It also sits mid-pack among other phones in the Premium segment, tying the Samsung S20 FE (Exynos), but landing below the class-leading Apple iPhone 12 (122).

Its Photo score of 117 is among the lower scores in the Premium segment, tying the Huawei P40 but fairly distant from the iPhone 12’s score of 132. The main camera produces accurately exposed photos with pleasant color in bright outdoor light and more moderate indoor lighting. Dynamic range is wide, and detail levels are high. The portrait mode also does a fairly good job of bringing the subject out of the background. On the other hand, when the lights get low, underexposure and crushed shadows become a problem. Autofocus speed could also be better for a phone in this segment.

The Zoom composite score of 68 is quite good for the Premium category. Tele performance is respectable, missing the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Exynos) by a single point and roundly trouncing most phones that lack a dedicated tele camera, like the iPhone 12 (41). Wide performance is good, tying the likes of the Xiaomi Mi 11 and the Google Pixel 5.

The video score of 103 is respectable, though a handful of phones in the category do better. The Oppo Find X3 Neo is fairly competitive within its category, and though it does not particularly excel in any one aspect (except perhaps zoom), it will deliver decent results in most situations.

Below you can find detailed analyses and image samples for all Photo, Zoom, and Video sub-attributes, along with comparisons with some of the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s competitors.

Photo

The Oppo Find X3 Neo achieves a Photo score of 117. In this section, we take a closer look at each sub-attribute and compare image quality against competitors.

In these tests we analyze target exposure, contrast, and dynamic range, including repeatability across a series of images. Tests are undertaken in a wide range of light conditions, including backlit scenes and low light down to 1 lux. The score is derived from a number of objective measurements in the lab and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s exposure performance in low-light conditions.

In these tests we analyze color rendering, skin tones, white balance, and color shading, including repeatability across a series of images. The score is derived from a number of objective measurements in the lab and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s color performance in bright light.

In these tests we analyze autofocus accuracy and shooting time, including repeatability, in the lab. We test focus failures, depth of field, and tracking of moving subjects using perceptual analysis of real-life images.

This graph shows autofocus performance of the Oppo Find X3 Neo in 1000 lux light.

In these tests we analyze texture on faces and objects, including objects in motion, in a range of light conditions, using several lab test setups and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

This graph shows the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s texture measurements in the lab.

In these tests we analyze noise on faces and objects, including objects in motion, in a range of light conditions, using several lab test setups and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s noise performance in indoor light.

For these tests we switch to the camera’s bokeh or portrait mode and analyze depth estimation, bokeh shape, blur gradient, and repeatability, as well as all other general image quality attributes mentioned above. The score is derived from perceptual analysis of real-life images.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s bokeh simulation outdoors.

In these tests we shoot a selection of images in pitch-black darkness as well as with city lights in the background providing some illumination. We shoot sample images with the camera at default settings in both flash-auto and flash-off modes. We analyze all image quality attributes but we pay particular attention to exposure, autofocus, and color. We do not test night modes that have to be activated manually.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s night performance in flash-auto mode.

In these tests we check images for optical artifacts such as vignetting, flare, lens softness in the corner, distortion, and chromatic aberrations, as well as for processing artifacts such as ghosting and fusion errors, hue shift, and ringing.

This sample shows artifacts in the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s photos.

 

In these tests we analyze the quality of the preview image and the differences between preview images and captured images, particularly in terms of exposure, dynamic range, and bokeh effect. We also check the smoothness of the field-of-view changes in the preview image when zooming with both buttons or when using the pinch-zoom gesture.

This graph shows the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s preview performance.

Zoom

The Oppo Find X3 Neo achieves a Zoom score of 68. The Zoom score includes the tele and wide sub-scores. In this section, we take a closer look at how these sub-scores were achieved and compare zoom image quality against competitors.

In these tests we analyze the performance of the ultra-wide camera at several focal lengths from 12 to 20 mm. We look at all image quality attributes, but we pay particular attention to such artifacts as chromatic aberrations, lens softness, and distortion.

These samples show the performance of the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s ultra-wide camera in outdoor conditions.

In these tests we analyze all image quality attributes at focal lengths from approximately 40 to 300 mm, paying particular attention to texture and detail. The score is derived from a number of objective measurements in the lab and perceptual analysis of real-life images.

These samples show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s tele performance outdoors at a 50 mm-equivalent zoom setting.

Video

The Oppo Find X3 Neo achieves a Video score of 103. A device’s overall Video score is derived from its performance and results across a range of attributes in the same way as the Photo score. In this section, we take a closer look at these sub-scores and compare video quality against competitors.

In our Video tests we analyze the same image quality attributes as for still images, such as white balance and color rendering, but we also include such temporal aspects as speed, smoothness and stability of exposure, and autofocus.

NOTE: The sample video clips in this section are best viewed at 4K resolution. 

These video stills show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video exposure characteristics in low light compared to the competition.

These video stills show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video color in outdoor light compared to the competition.

These sample clips show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video autofocus performance.

This graph shows the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video texture performance in the lab.

This graph shows the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video noise performance in the lab.

For video artifacts, we check for the same kinds of artifacts mentioned in the Photo section, along with such video-specific artifacts as frame rate variation in different light conditions, judder effect, and moving artifacts (artifacts such as aliasing, color quantization, and flare can often be more intrusive when moving than in a still image).

These video stills show some of the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video artifacts.

In these tests we analyze residual motion when handholding the camera during recording, as well as when walking and running with the camera. We also look for stabilization artifacts such as jello effect, sharpness differences between frames, and frame shift (abrupt changes of framing).

These sample clips show the Oppo Find X3 Neo’s video stabilization compared to the competition.

With 8 days to go on its Kickstarter, Kosmo Foto’s new Agent Shadow film is getting very close to success, but needs a little push to get it over the line. At the time of me writing this, it has had £32,498 pledged of its £37,500 goal with 664 backers. It is a success, it just needs that final nudge.

I know Stephen Dowling, the man behind Kosmo Foto quite well, and I know how much time and effort he has put into this project over the last year or so. I also know how much effort he has expelled on Kosmo Foto Mono 100, over the last few years, how many people enjoy shooting the film and totally buy into the brand and what it stands for. I do too, and want to support Steve in his endeavours to push the film community forward. Hence this little post.

For me, projects like this are about supporting the film photography community and industry. They are about promoting it’s growth, supporting a small independent brand, supporting the supply chain, and promoting film photography to new people.

If those are ideals you can get behind, then get yourself over to Kickstarter, and punt as little as £23 at four rolls of film, or spend a little bit more and get yourself the Agent Shadow Briefcase Box 5 rolls of Agent Shadow 35mm film, ‘The 36 Frames’ graphic novella, Luxury magnetic-seal Briefcase Box – that’s what I’ve gone for!