The OnePlus 8 Pro’s color filter camera has been engulfed in a bubble of controversy since the phone was launched. First, this color filter auxiliary camera was discarded by many for having no real use. Then news emerged that the color filter camera with Photochrom mode was also able to see through thin plastic objects and very thin clothing. Consequently, Photochrom mode was disabled in the next updates, first in China and then even in global variants (although accidentally for the latter). The device even went on sale in India with Photochrom mode disabled from the factory! OnePlus finally fixed the transparent color filter issues with the OxygenOS 10.5.10 update by superimposing sensor information on an image of the main sensor. But it turns out that if you really want to use the auxiliary camera as originally configured, you can do so since the color-filtered camera is still accessible through a hidden app.
OnePlus 8 XDA Forums ||| OnePlus 8 Pro XDA forums
The XDA member found that the color filter camera is still accessible through the Factory Mode app in the latest OnePlus 8 Pro update. However, this app needs to be launched via ADB. Once the app starts, you can keep it locked in the phone memory to access it without ADB. The best part of this discovery is that you don’t need to be rooted or even have your bootloader unlocked.
To use the color filter camera on OnePlus 8 Pro, connect your phone to ADB and run the following commands:
adb shell am start -n com.oneplus.factorymode/.camera.manualtest.CameraManualTest
This will launch the Factory Mode application. Once in the app, use the camera switch icon in the lower right corner to cycle through the different cameras. The color filter chamber is placed at number 4 within the application.
The question remains the general usefulness of the camera. The X-ray / transparent effect can only be reproduced on very thin plastics. The overall usefulness of the OnePlus 8 Pro’s color filter camera mode is very limited, and you’re much more likely to appreciate its novelty only a few times and then completely forget about it.
[GUIDE] Access the color filter through the shell command – XDA Thread
The images above are from Max Weinbach. I tried the same on my OnePlus 8 Pro, and was unable to locate any objects around me with a plastic shell thin enough to see through. As for clothing, the same results were observed. So the ability to use this for dire purposes is still very, very limited, if at all.
