The Black Shark 2 Review: A Gaming Phone's Existential Crisis

Camera - Low Light Evaluation

We’ve had the Reno 10x in camera comparisons in previous articles, but as mentioned in the introduction of the device, Oppo was able to update its software over the last few months. The one area where there has been significant advancements in is in terms of low-light photograph and an apparent new night mode.

Previously, the original Night mode on the Reno was a dedicated mode one had to select to use. In newer firmware updates, the Reno now will automatically select a new kind of night mode in lower light conditions, and this is characterised by the camera app doing three quick shutter animations and sounds. We’ll see how this has changed, and how the new mode compares against the competition.

[ BlackShark 2 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ P30 Pro ] - [ Mi9 ] 
[ G8 ] - [ Reno 10x ] - [ RedMagic 3 ] - [ Pixel 3 ]

As expected, this first shot isn’t any good, albeit it does a little bit better than the Mi9’s auto mode. The problem here is that it’s just a tier below any other newer phone out there with better camera sensors, OIS, or night modes.

[ BlackShark 2 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ P30 Pro ] - [ Mi9 ]
[ G8 ] - [ Reno 10x ] - [ RedMagic 3 ] - [ Pixel 3 ]

The next shot is again a disappointing blurry mess. I’d like to point out the result of the Red Magic 3 here – that phone uses the same camera sensor again and it also lacks OIS, both being gaming phones. Yet the RM3 managed to have a significantly better image that is much sharper.

[ BlackShark 2 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ P30 Pro ] - [ Mi9 ] 
[ G8 ] - [ Reno 10x ] [ RedMagic 3 ] - [ Pixel 3 ]

Here we again see the same results. The BS2 ends up as the worst result amongst the line-up by quite a significant margin, and again I want to point out the differences to the RM3 that is leagues ahead even though both have almost the same hardware.

[ BlackShark 2 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ P30 Pro ] - [ Mi9 ] 
[ G8 ] - [ Reno 10x ] - [ RedMagic 3 ] - [ Pixel 3 ]

I was actually surprised to see the BS2 get in as much light as it did here in this shot as it’s extremely dim.

[ BlackShark 2 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ P30 Pro ] - [ Mi9 ]
[ G8 ] - [ Reno 10x ] [ RedMagic 3 ] - [ Pixel 3 ]

Lastly, in this indoor low light shot, the BS2 couldn’t focus and the picture is largely unusable.

Low-light Conclusion - Also Terrible

The low-light conclusion for the BS2 doesn’t differ to much of that of the Mi9 – they’re both terrible at it. The situation for the BS2 is even more dire than that of the Mi9 as it doesn’t offer a dedicated Night Mode to at least attempt to capture more light and at least be able to produce images fit for social media.

I understand gaming phones aren’t camera oriented, but Xiaomi at least could have put the effort to just copy the camera processing from its main flagships for the Black Shark 2. As it is, it’s just pretty much unusable.