How does the OnePlus 12's telephoto lens perform in Portrait Mode at night

In Portrait Mode, the telephoto lens is often recommended at 3x zoom to maximize detail and depth effects. Night photography with the OnePlus 12's telephoto lens in Portrait Mode is reported to deliver good results under reasonable lighting conditions, producing clear portraits with accurate colors and good subject separation from the background. The bokeh effect and edge detection during night portraits are generally effective, rendering high-quality images with minimal noise at 3x zoom.

Performance in low-light or nighttime situations on the telephoto lens specifically can be somewhat limited because of the smaller pixel size (0.7 microns) on the telephoto sensor when compared to the main sensor, which means less light capture per pixel. Additionally, the 6x zoom mode disables pixel binning, which negatively impacts low-light capabilities. However, with sufficient external light or artificial illumination, the telephoto lens manages to produce detailed and sharp portraits with strong subject isolation and well-maintained skin tones. Noise reduction algorithms help minimize the grain in these images without overly smoothing textures.

OnePlus includes dedicated night mode support that can be applied to all cameras, including the telephoto lens, which uses longer exposure times and multi-frame noise reduction to improve image quality in the dark. In this respect, the night mode helps counterbalance the inherent low-light weakness of the telephoto sensor, enabling portraits in more challenging night environments. Users have reported that night portrait shots using the telephoto lens are surprisingly good for a smartphone lens of this zoom level, producing visually pleasing background blur and natural-looking colors when the subject is well-lit.

Comparing the telephoto night portrait results to those taken with the main camera, the telephoto lens does not capture as much light or fine detail in extreme low-light scenarios as the main sensor would. It struggles more with noise and detail degradation in very dark conditions. Still, in typical nighttime lighting such as street lights or moderate ambient light levels, the telephoto performs admirably, maintaining decent clarity and bokeh effects without significant image artifacts.

In sum, the OnePlus 12 telephoto lens in Portrait Mode at night is characterized by:
- 3x optical zoom offering the best trade-off between detail, zoom, and low-light performance.
- Support for night mode which extends usability in darker scenes with longer exposures and noise reduction.
- Effective bokeh and subject separation for night portraits with well-managed noise.
- Reduced sensor sensitivity and no pixel binning at 6x zoom resulting in lower performance in very dark conditions.
- Better results under moderate nighttime lighting conditions rather than extremely low light.

Users and reviewers praise the OnePlus 12's telephoto lens for its versatility and relatively strong performance in both day and night portrait photography, particularly citing good rendering of subjects, pleasing colors, and natural-looking background blur at night with the 3x zoom telephoto in Portrait Mode. While it cannot match the light capture abilities of the main sensor in dark scenarios, the telephoto lens remains an excellent option for capturing zoomed-in portraits with sufficient ambient light at night.