I Left My Mirrorless Camera at Home for the Fireworks—and Don't Regret It
Can my smartphone's Fireworks mode truly capture the magic of Bonfire Night? I tested the OPPO Find X8 Pro to find out.
Bonfire Night in the UK offers photographers plenty of chances for memorable shots. Usually, I’d bring my Fuji mirrorless camera to capture the local bonfire and vibrant fireworks displays. This year, with two energetic toddlers to watch over, I decided I’d need both hands free and rely on my smartphone for quick photos instead.
Testing Smartphone Fireworks Mode
I had been eager to try the dedicated “Fireworks” mode in the OnePlus 13 and OPPO Find X8 Pro camera apps, and I chose the latter for this test. This mode combines long and short exposures, delivering vivid detail along with well-balanced lighting and colors.
Since I wouldn’t have time to manually adjust shutter speed and ISO while monitoring the kids, this mode did the complex work for me. That sounded promising in theory, especially considering that today’s top camera phones offer impressive instant multi-frame processing and computational photography advantages over traditional DSLRs.
Results and Editing
I applied a few quick filters to some shots to fine-tune their tones with minimal editing. How did the images turn out? Honestly, it went better than I expected.
"Even the most die-hard DSLR enthusiasts must concede that today’s best camera phones have considerable advantages in instant multi-frame processing and computational photography."
This experience showed me that under the right conditions, smartphone camera modes can effectively capture dynamic scenes like fireworks, all while keeping my hands free for my toddlers.
Author's Summary
Using the OPPO Find X8 Pro’s Fireworks mode, I successfully captured Bonfire Night moments without my mirrorless camera, proving smartphone cameras can handle complex shots with ease.