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DisplayThe French manufacturer Crosscall is known for smartphones that are designed for rough conditions, offering waterproof bodies, shock resistance and long battery life. The latest model, the Action-X5, is no exception and is targeted at outdoor lovers and athletes. Inside the rugged housing, the Android OS is powered by a Snapdragon 662 chipset and the 5.45-inch display offers an HD+ resolution.
With an 48MP primary camera and a 13MP ultra-wide — no tele lens or bokeh mode — things look pretty simple in the camera department compared to some other devices in Crosscall’s price range. Let’s see how this rugged phone stacks up against more conventional competitors in the DXOMARK Camera test.
Key camera specifications:
- Primary: 48MP sensor, AF
- Ultra-wide: 13MP sensor, 120° field of view
- 1080p at 30fps
About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here.
Test summary
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Crosscall Action-X5
Use cases & Conditions
Use case scores indicate the product performance in specific situations. They are not included in the overall score calculations.
Outdoor
Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux)
Indoor
Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux)
Lowlight
Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux)
Friends & Family
Portrait and group photo & videos
212th
33rd
Pros
- Acceptable detail
- Good video exposure and white balance in bright light and indoors
Cons
- Frequent underexposure in photos
- Strong noise in photo and video, especially in low light
- Pink white balance cast in photos
- Limited dynamic range on primary and ultra-wide
- Unstable video exposure and autofocus
- Inaccurate white balance and color rendering in low light video
- Lack of detail in video
With a DXOMARK Camera score of 87 the Crosscall Action-X5 struggles to compete with the best devices in the High-end segment and achieves one of the lower scores in its class. Image noise is one of the main issues in both photo and video modes. There is no bokeh mode and without a dedicated tele lens, tele-zoom images have poor detail. Still, it might be a good choice for users who prioritize hardware durability over camera performance and who only occasionally take photos and videos in good light conditions.
When recording still images, detail is generally acceptable, especially in bright scenes. However, our testers often observed underexposure and limited dynamic range results in highlight and shadow clipping. A pink white balance cast is usually noticeable and gets worse with decreasing light levels. In addition, image noise is quite intrusive, especially in low light. On the plus side, the lack of strong HDR processing and noise reduction means images are mostly free of fusion and loss of texture artifacts.
Compared to some of its competitors, the Crosscall applies very little processing to its images. As a result, the preview image on the display is very close to the final result. The Action-X5 lacks a bokeh mode, removing the need for simulating the effect in preview.
The Action-X5 does not come with a dedicated tele lens but features an ultra-wide camera that allows you to squeeze more of the scene into the frame than the primary shooter. Image quality leaves room for improvement, though. Dynamic range is limited, with clipping often visible for bright and shadow tones and with visible color fringing.
Given the lack of a tele lens, tele-zoom images lack detail. Dynamic range is limited, too, and many images show highlight and/or shadow clipping. In addition, tele images show strong color fringing, distortion, and noise.
In terms of video quality, the Crosscall is mainly held back by an unstable exposure and autofocus. As you can see in the clip below, exposure is very unstable and the autofocus has trouble tracking the subject. Our testers also observed frequent focus breathing. White balance is quite decent in bright conditions and indoors, but becomes an issue in low light as well.
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