Smartphone Maker Oppo Teases Retro-Styled Retractable Camera Lens

If you are tired of reading about megapixel upticks and other digital camera buzz words, you may be ready for a blast from the past, a physical retractable lens. 

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has teased a nifty-looking retractable camera lens that should start appearing in the company’s future device releases, according to a Tweet and accompanying video.

"Most pop-ups are annoying, but not our self-developed retractable camera,” the company wrote. 

Actual details are scant, but the video shows a retractable camera lens that activates with the push of a virtual button and looks to be water-resistant and shock-resistant. As a matter of fact, the company shows off the phone being dropped from quite a height with the camera elongated, which may indicate it can survive some serious real-world conditions. 

Additionally, a close-up shot of the camera indicates that the sensor is sized at 1/1.56-inches, features an aperture of f/2.4, and a full-frame equivalent focal length of 50mm. The housing of the retractable camera also looks to be twice the size of each of the remaining non-retractable cameras. 

Retractable lenses have long been popular with dedicated single-purpose cameras, thanks to the ability to have a larger aperture which increases light input and, as such, overall image quality. Smartphones have, until recently, shied away from retractable lenses for security reasons and to keep the phone as slim as possible.

More details will be revealed at Oppo’s Inno World event on December 14.