Realme 16 Pro+ vs OnePlus Nord 5 camera zoom compared, and there’s one clear winner

The Realme 16 Pro+ and the OnePlus Nord 5 are obviously targeting different crowds, but the pricing is somewhat similar enough to make us wonder which actually shoots better. Specifically when we try to punch in and get close. So we did just that and the results were pretty revealing.

At the standard 1x magnification, the Realme pulls ahead with noticeably better detail retention. This makes sense when you look at the hardware. The Realme packs a 200MP Samsung HP5 sensor with an f/1.9 aperture, while the Nord 5 uses a 50MP Sony LYT-700 (sometimes called the IMX906) with a slightly wider f/1.8 aperture. Both phones share the same 1/1.56” sensor size, but that higher megapixel count on the Realme gives it more data to work with when cropping.

That advantage carries over to 2x as well. There’s also a difference in colour science between these two. The Realme leans warmer, which can look natural and pleasing to the eye. The Nord 5, on the other hand, goes for a more processed look with punchier blues in the sky. That style is very social media-friendly, sure, but crank this up to 2x and you’ll start to see some oversharpening creeping in.

Now, things get really interesting once you push past 2x. The OnePlus Nord 5 doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto lens, so it’s relying entirely on digital zoom from its 50MP main sensor. And that starts to show pretty quickly. Details begin to fall off, and by the time you hit 20x, the image basically falls apart. As you can see in the video, while the text on the side of that distant crane is still readable, it’s very mushy.

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The Realme 16 Pro+ handles this much better thanks to its periscope telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom. Even at 20x, it has captured plenty of detail – like the texture on the side of the building. Is there visible processing, sharpening, and denoising? Sure. But the shot is actually more than just usable.

That said, this comparison isn’t entirely fair. The Nord 5 currently retails for around Rs 32,499 while the Realme 16 Pro+ sits at Rs 39,999. That’s a decent gap. The OnePlus also packs a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, making it more of a performance-focused device. The Realme runs on the less powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, so it’s clearly prioritising camera capabilities.

We’ve already published our full review of the Nord 5. And while we have our first impressions on the Realme, a full review is dropping soon too, so stay tuned.