OnePlus Upgrades OnePlus 9 Series Camera To Hasselbald XPan  Camera

OnePlus has finally upgraded its camera software to bring the look and feel of Hansselblad’s cinematic XPan camera to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro.

The update adds an XPan Mode for the OnePlus 9 Series camera, alongside some much-needed practical patches. The XPan Mode replicates the focal lengths, colors, and processing of the original XPan camera for the phone, allowing users to capture wide aspect ratio images from their phone.

The Hasselblad XPan was the first dual-frame 35mm camera on the market that allowed photographers to shoot either standard-format images or ultrawide panoramic images without having to switch film. It has a physical switch that helped photographers switch seamlessly between shooting single frames and (wide) photos across two frames, so they don’t have to risk losing all their photos by changing film between different sizes.

To bring the unique look of Xpan to smartphones, OnePlus has collaborated with Hasselblad to create a mode that replicates many aspects of images captured on an Xpan camera. This simulation extends not just to the final images; it also aims to emulate the experience of shooting through the viewfinder of an Xpan camera in the photo app. OnePlus worked with Hasselblad to make this as authentic an experience as possible.

The XPan Mode is expected to capture photos with a 65:24 (8:3) aspect ratio. “The images taken on XPan Mode are cropped from the [OnePlus 9 Series] 48MP main camera and 50MP ultra-wide camera instead of the default 12MP mode,” according to the press release. That should result in 20-megapixel-plus files, once the crop is applied.

The software upgrade also offers users the option to shoot panoramic photos at either 30mm or 45mm focal lengths, mimicking the Hasselblad camera’s classic lenses. Users can now compose and review their shots by toggling between the two views within the OnePlus camera app. These images will be high resolution as well — 7552 × 2798 resolution on 30mm and 7872 × 2916 resolution on 45mm.

By default, the XPan Mode will take black and white photos but users will have the option to switch to full colour to capture images. Hasselblad has also created custom black-and-white and color profiles for the XPan Mode. These sample XPan images from OnePlus certainly look promising: cinematic black-and-white with plenty of drama and expansive panoramas with a more natural color palette for which OnePlus is known.

OnePlus also added an animation to mimic the negative film being developed into an image, when you press the shutter button.

Other updates that are included in this OTA:

Optimize the wireless charging experience

Update Android security patch to September 2021

Fix known issues and improved stability

Optimize HDR frame retrieving algorithms and reduced noise in multiple scenes

Fix the over-sharpening issues in auto mode scenarios

Improve stability of auto white balance in auto mode

Optimize auto white balance when shifting between the main and ultrawide camera

Reduce over-brightening of images on Nightscape Mode

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Improve the dynamic range in low-light conditions

Improve success rate when shooting moving objects

Update the memory optimization solution and reduced the launch time of the native camera app by up to 50 percent

Reduce lag in camera preview and optimized the shutter lag in some scenarios

This update will be rolling out to OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro starting today, September 17th, 2021.