Some places just make you want to take out your camera, not to chase the perfect shot, but because everything around you feels like it has a story to tell. Landour is one such place. It is miles away from the crowd, a little unknown, the kind of place that often lingers in the background of Ruskin Bond’s stories.
With its winding forest paths, fog that rolls in without warning, and old British buildings, it’s the kind of town where the light keeps shifting and every corner offers a new challenge for any camera.
The journey itself gave me a taste of what was to come. As I left Dehradun for Landour, the skies were clear and the sun was warm, which seemed like perfect weather for clicking pictures. But just 40 minutes into the uphill drive, the conditions flipped. A light drizzle started, the temperature dropped, and thick fog began rolling over the hills. It was beautiful but also a bit concerning. Would the Reno14 Pro’s camera hold up in such unpredictable weather? Would I even be able to take decent shots? I wondered.
Despite my inhibitions, It felt like the perfect setting to get a real sense of what the Oppo Reno14 Pro’s camera can do. This wasn’t about shooting controlled test scenes or running benchmarks, it was about capturing fleeting moments, in natural light, with nothing staged. I left my DSLR behind and relied entirely on the Reno14 Pro.
Over the course of four days, I used it in a variety of lighting conditions, indoors and out, to see where it shines and where it doesn’t.
In this review, I will walk you through some of the scenes I captured with the Reno14 Pro, and explain what they reveal about the camera’s strengths and limitations.
Four 50-megapixel sensors power the Reno 14 Pro’s camera system
Let's have a look at the technical specs first. The Reno14 Pro comes equipped with a 50MP quad-camera system that includes a main camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 3.5x telephoto camera also at 50MP, a 50MP wide-angle shooter with a 116° field of view, and even a 50MP front camera. The sensors are sourced from Sony and Samsung—like the OV50D and JN5—which gives the phone solid imaging fundamentals.
That spider web moment
During our walk amidst the deodars, with sunlight just beginning to filter through the trees, I noticed a dew-covered spider web between two branches. I switched to the 3.5x telephoto lens and zoomed in.
What stood out was the level of clarity. The water droplets had a delicate sparkle, and the web strands remained crisp, without any overprocessing or excessive sharpening. Handheld shooting was easy thanks to OIS, and the image looked more like something shot with a macro lens than a smartphone zoom. It’s the kind of shot that benefits from both good optics and smart stabilisation.
Shadows, stone, and black & white
In a dim, stone corridor, I shot a monochrome portrait of a man using the main 50MP sensor. The lighting was challenging, barely any natural light, and no artificial source. The phone pushed ISO up to 6400, but grain was surprisingly controlled.
The image had a film-like character to it. The textures of the stone wall, subtle gradations in shadow, and overall contrast were all preserved. Oppo’s triple-flash system, which includes a dedicated focus flash for the telephoto camera, wasn’t used here, but it's a thoughtful addition for low-light shooting in general. The AI-driven Night Mode isn’t overly aggressive either, which helps maintain a more natural look.
A dog and a moment
In the lawns of the famous Kellogs Church, I saw a dog soaking in the raindrops. I didn’t want to disturb it, so I zoomed in using the 85mm equivalent view.
The telephoto camera managed the shot well. The fur texture held up, the background blur (bokeh) was soft and believable, and there were no distracting edge artefacts. With an f/5.6 aperture and a large sensor, depth of field is handled nicely for a phone, and there’s minimal need for portrait mode enhancements.
Zooming in on color
From a distance, I spotted a bunch of bright fuchsia flowers and zoomed in all the way, using a combination of optical and digital zoom that landed around 330mm equivalent.
Colours remained vivid, and edge clarity didn’t collapse as badly as one might expect at that zoom level. There's definitely some AI work happening behind the scenes, and Oppo's AI Unblur tool helped improve one frame that was slightly shaky. The processing doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, which is a good thing.
Fog, reflections, and restraint
Fog is tricky for smartphone cameras, it often leads to blown-out highlights or crushed shadows. I shot a small reflective pool surrounded by morning mist using the main lens at around 48mm.
The Reno14 Pro handled the gradients well. Whites weren’t clipped, and shadow details stayed intact. The image retained the softness of the fog without flattening the rest of the scene. It’s a sign that the sensor and ISP (image signal processor) know how to strike a balance without overcompensating with contrast.
Colors indoors: Zucchini and croissants
Inside a café with warm lighting and lots of colour contrast, I photographed a yellow zucchini in a red basket. Despite the ISO creeping up to 2500, there was no excessive noise or colour cast.
Another close-up of a pastry came out particularly well, sharp textures, realistic tones, and no artificial saturation. The 50MP main sensor's wide aperture and relatively large pixel size make a difference in these kinds of ambient-lit shots.
Churches and wide shots
I captured two contrasting shots inside an old church: a wide-angle frame of the aisle using the 50MP ultra-wide, and a more focused shot of a chandelier with the main camera.
What impressed me here was the consistency. Many phones struggle to match exposure and color temperature across lenses, but the Reno14 Pro did a solid job. There was minimal distortion in the wide-angle shot, and autofocus worked reliably even at the edges of the frame.
Selfies in tough lighting
The 50MP front camera was tested in a mix of backlight and overhead lighting. Despite the complexity, it balanced exposure well and preserved skin texture without leaning too heavily on beautification filters.
It also supports AI voice enhancements for video, which was useful when recording selfie clips in noisy surroundings. The front camera doesn’t just feel like an afterthought, it holds its own.
4K video that doesn’t fall apart
The Reno14 Pro can shoot 4K HDR video at 60fps across its main, wide, and telephoto lenses. I captured clips while walking outdoors and indoors in a bustling café, switching lenses mid-shot.
Stabilisation was decent, though not as gimbal-smooth as some premium flagships. What stood out was the colour consistency and effective voice isolation. Features like AI Vlog Voice Enhancer and Stage Mode help reduce ambient noise and bring out dialogue or narration.
AI tools that don’t feel gimmicky
The camera app also has a couple of AI features that are surprisingly useful for a regular user or a content creator. AI features like Recompose, Unblur, and Reflection Eraser were some features I extensively used to make my pictures perfect. They corrected framing, salvaged slight motion blur, and remove glare from window shots without over-processing the image. These aren’t tools you’ll use on every photo, but they’re handy when you need them.
Underwater mode wasn’t tested on this trip, but it’s a good offering, Oppo claims you can take full-resolution photos and 4K video capture underwater without a separate case. Worth trying in different conditions later.
Final thoughts
The Oppo Reno14 Pro isn’t here to dethrone the top-tier camera phones but it does carve out a niche for itself. Its quad 50MP camera system delivers dependable results across the board. The telephoto lens, in particular, offers more than just reach, it delivers tasteful compression and clean bokeh. Meanwhile, the main sensor and wide-angle lens keep up in most real-world situations, even in mixed lighting.
It’s not flawless. The digital zoom past 10x can feel stretched, and stabilisation for video, while decent could be better. But overall, the Reno14 Pro feels like a thoughtfully engineered tool. It’s backed by capable hardware, including the MediaTek Dimensity 8450 chip for efficient AI processing.
For anyone looking to travel light and still shoot photos that feel honest and well-balanced, this phone offers more than just convenience, as it is capable of clicking images worth keeping.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
