“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Beauty is relative; it is subjective to the one who sees it. Our eyes and interpretation define the characteristics of our subjects. We see ‘beauty’, and we capture every moment of the experience it begets through our eyes. It is through this experience that encourages us to relive the moment through our photos and videos. Every shutter click and every recording beep are steps to create masterpieces.
vivo X Series, in a nutshell
When they launched the vivo X70 series last year, it was met with very warm reception. It was praised for its “great cameras” and for being a “camera beast”, which puts the series off to a good start. It is the device that embodied what vivo and ZEISS wanted to accomplish. The X series is not just a camera phone, but a tool to let you create piecemeal and grand masterpieces.
Hello, vivo X80 Pro!
Fast forward to today, the vivo X80 series has finally arrived in the Philippines. vivo sent over a vivo X80 Pro for me to experience what they and ZEISS put together, and share with you my thoughts about it. My full review will be published in a few days from today, but reading through Emman’s long term review of the vivo X70, I can already tell that the new series certainly has more things to offer.
Before I get to the photography and videography side of things, let me first give you a quick primer about this product. Besides, the vivo X80 Pro is not just a ZEISS-filled camera, but primarily a flagship smartphone.
The vivo X80 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the same chipset that powers the current line-up of flagship smartphones. I benchmarked this device the day I received this smartphone, and boy was I surprised at how fast and powerful this one is. This is actually the first device that I benchmarked that reached more than 1M score at Antutu.
While this is the case in my artificial benchmark, I wanted to really see how this device fares in terms of actual gaming performance. There is no surprise that games like Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds and Black Desert play smoothly on the vivo X80 Pro. I will give more drill down of the performances of these in my full review.
Complementing what the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ can do is the vivo V1+ coprocessor. This is an innovation that vivo decided to integrate in the vivo x80 Series. While this specific feature gives more emphasis on achieving better photo and video capture performance, it also helps in display and game graphics on the vivo X80 Pro. It enables games to achieve full frame rate potential through vivo V1+ chip’s Game Frame interpolation.
The phone also features a 2K E5 Ultra Vision Screen. It is an AMOLED display with WQHD+ resolution, and with a refresh rate of 120Hz. As this is primarily a content creation-focused smartphone, vivo made sure that its display is calibrated for it. If you have been in the content editing industry, you will be happy to know that this received a DisplayMate A+ certification and was able to set 15 new DisplayMate A+ records.
Another smartphone feature that I do not want to miss out on is its upgraded battery and charging technology. The new vivo X80 Pro now packs a 4700mAh battery and can support up to 80W Wired FlashCharge. Vivo wanted to make sure that you will get what you need so they included the 80W charger in the box. What you can optionally do is to buy a wireless Flashcharge (up to 50W) for hassle-free charging.
vivo X ZEISS
Undoubtedly, the crowning glory of the vivo X80 Pro is its camera. For starters, the vivo X80 Pro has a 50MP GNV Main Camera and is supplemented with a 48MP IMX598 Wide-Angle Camera, 12MP IMX663 Portrait Camera and another 8MP 5x Periscope Camera. As for its front camera, you’ll find a whopping 32MP shooter. As earlier mentioned, it has a dedicated coprocessor that helps the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in terms of imaging, which is the V1+.
| X80 | X80 Pro | |
| Rear camera | 50MP IMX866 RGBW Main Camera12MP IMX663 Wide-Angle Camera12MP IMX663 Portrait Camera | 50MP GNV Main camera48MP IMX598 Wide-Angle Camera12MP IMX663 Portrait Camera8MP 5X Periscope Camera |
| Front camera | 32MP | 32MP |
| Professional imaging chip | V1+ | V1+ |
These are powerful sensors, to say the least; and it will show in the photos that I took and shared in this article. vivo knows that every moment you wish to capture counts, and they are making sure that they will look beautiful with these camera technologies they offer.
As a professional imaging brand, ZEISS partnered with vivo to bring their imaging technology to more people through vivo’s flagship smartphones. In the case of vivo X80 Pro, you will find ZEISS’ participation in the following features: professional imaging, AI video enhancement via V1+ chip, maximize the 50MP Ultra-sensing GNV sensor, and video stabilization.
In terms of ZEISS professional imaging, the first important feature is implementation of ZEISS T* Coating on all the lenses of the camera. T*Coating, in professional imaging, is a coating or layer that rests on top of the lens to help optimize light efficiency when capturing photos.
If you happen to look at the rear camera lens of vivo X80 Pro, you will notice that it has a special glass cover with the ZEISS logo on it. This specific cover meets the very standards of ZEISS T*Coating that was patented by Carl Zeiss Jena in 1935.
Vivo and ZEISS made sure that the lens meet the standards of the T* Coating in order to capture photos with precise color quality and without unwanted elements like glare and reflections. This means that when you take a photo of sunrise or sunset (or anything that emits light directly to the lens), you will still be able to see the color and beauty of both foreground and background subjects without or very minimal unwanted ghosting or flare artifacts. This works particularly well on images shot with high dynamic range, where these mentioned concerns are prevalent.
T*Coating is just the tip of the iceberg. When you fire up the camera app of the phone, you’ll see ZEISS right away. On camera, you can use ZEISS Natural Color, which uses ZEISS’ imaging technology that allows you to see the beauty of your subject in its original color. You can shoot with this color mode either in Auto or Pro mode.
ZEISS Cinematic Video is also another feature that you can select under Video Capture mode. While some people will find this as just another implementation of “bokeh mode”, this is actually more than that. Best used at night, ZEISS Cinematic Mode is a godsend for video capture enthusiasts. It uses a unique ZEISS-styled unique flare, which is a style used in some Hollywood full length movies. This gives your videos an impressive cinematic look that will put more impact to your stories.
vivo X80 Pro Sample Video Capture
Cinematic Mode Sample Videos
This mode is also present in portrait mode. In fact, the camera app offers plenty of styles that are co-developed by ZEISS: Cinematic, Biotar, Sonnar, Planar and Distagon – all named after the lens patented by ZEISS. Portrait mode is, perhaps, my favorite and most-used feature because I love taking photos of people who matter to me and also document important events in my life
Cinematic Mode on Photos
You will also be surprised how ZEISS’ imaging technology helps out in terms of achieving good night shots. I was surprised how this can put more drama and color to my usual dull and uninspiring night shots. vivo and ZEISS developed AI Deglare and RAWHDR in order to render very clear night shots. This is, of course, only achievable because of the camera hardware that is built in the vivo X80 Pro.
Speaking of the hardware, ZEISS is utilizing the power of the phone’s 50MP Ultra-Sensing GNV Sensor. vivo X80 Pro is the first smartphone to use this sensor – a Sony IMX866 RGBW. This ensures that all the imaging technologies of ZEISS that I previously mentioned are fully implemented.
vivo X80 Pro, A Leap Beyond from other camera smartphones
vivo X80 Pro is shaping up to be my most favorite camera smartphone this first half of the year. For quite some time now, I have seen it leapt beyond my expectations as the first flagship phone that I have reviewed from vivo
The phone does not just promise amazing things for consumers, but it delivers outstandingly in various fronts: gaming, work, and content creation. This is truly a labor of love; all made to help you create, capture, and frame every moment of your “masterpieces”.
Learn from the Masters – Global ZEISS Masterclass
As global premium brands, Vivo and ZEISS believe in excellence and distinction. You can step out of your comfort zone, and become one with the “masters” of photography in the upcoming Global ZEISS Masterclass.
Learn from award winning master photographers like Michael Halsband, Peter Van Agtmael, Issa Barte, E-Jay Zhang, and Raul Romo in this free online class by vivo and ZEISS. More details can be found on this link.
Price and Availability
The vivo X80 Series is now available for pre-order in the Philippines. We were informed by vivo that they’ve got exciting pre-order offers for their customers.
vivo X80 Pro
Shopee : https://bit.ly/vivo-X80ProLaunch-SHP-PR
Lazada : https://bit.ly/vivo-X80ProLaunch-LZD-PR
Website: https://bit.ly/vivo-X80ProLaunch-WEB-PR
vivo X80
Shopee: https://bit.ly/vivo-X80Launch-SHP-PR
Lazada : https://bit.ly/vivo-X80Launch-LZD-PR
Website: https://bit.ly/vivo-X80Launch-WEB-PR
You may refer to the table below for your reference of the price and pre-order bonuses:
Online Freebies (until stocks last):
| vivo X80 Pro | vivo X80 |
| PhP59,999 | PhP45,999 |
| TWS VOGuard | TWS VOGuard |
| Neck Massager | 2-in-1 Clock Speaker |
| 50W Wireless Charger |
Offline Freebie (until stocks last):
| vivo X80 Pro and vivo X80 |
| VIP Exclusive Bluetooth Speaker |
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
