TL,DR: If you’re looking for a reasonably priced flagship phone that is stylish, performs well, and more importantly, has a great camera system, the vivo V30 Pro might be what you’re looking for.

Need me to convince you further? Let’s get to it.

Last year’s vivo V29 was a game-changer for mid-priced smartphones for many reasons. First, it was a beautifully designed device that easily stood out among those in its price range. Second, its camera had high specs that actually delivered good-quality images and wasn’t just for show. And this time, with the vivo V30 Pro, they’re taking things up another notch.

With vivo V29, you get a 50 MP wide lens, a 12 MP telephoto, and then an 8 MP ultrawide lens. The vivo V30 Pro, however, has 50 MP lenses all around (one on the front, and three on the back). And as if the higher resolution lenses weren’t enough, they even collaborated with ZEISS to bring you better imaging quality.

Who is ZEISS?

Mobile phone photography enthusiasts and photographers will have heard of ZEISS but in case you’re new to the name, ZEISS is a German optical electronics company known for making lenses for cameras, microscopes, and other imaging devices founded by an optician named Carl Zeiss in 1846. For generations, ZEISS has produced highly sought-after lenses for cameras, and in the past decade for smartphones too.

The vivo V30 Pro’s camera system was co-engineered with ZEISS. This translates to closer professional imaging quality and high color accuracy with every shot.

Here are the specs for the triple-camera system found at the back of the phone that was co-engineered with ZEISS:

• 50 MP vivo Camera-Bionic Spectrum (VCS) True Color Main Camera + Optical image stabilization
• 50 MP Professional Portrait Camera with a 50 mm focal length
• 50 MP Autofocus Ultra Wide-Angle Cmaera with a 119° perspective (equipped with lens distortion correction) and macro shot from 3.5 cm capabilities

The front camera is nothing to sleep on either as it also uses a 50 MP autofocus lens made together with ZEISS.

Apart from being supplemented by ZEISS, the camera system also has AI enhancements that make faces brighter for group portraits. The vivo V30 Pro also has the Aura Light 3.0 which acts as a fill light (not a harsh pop flash) that helps balance highlights, shadows, and colors.

The photography experience

I sold my mirrorless camera a year ago because I decided to focus on mobile phone photography. After all, I was more of a hobbyist than a professional photographer. What helped me decide in this process was testing out whether or not I would enjoy taking photos on smartphones.

If the vivo V30 Pro was available then, I would have swapped my mirrorless for this. Now, I’m not saying that smartphone cameras have gotten to a point where they can fully replace mirrorless cameras. There are still limitations when it comes to mobile phone photography, but if you’re a hobbyist who likes capturing moments on the fly, the vivo V30 Pro is a device you can rely on. I can say this confidently after having spent some time traveling around and testing the phone’s camera system.

Several factors made me believe in this phone’s photography capabilities. The first reason may sound mundane but hear me out: the vivo V30 Pro is so thin and lightweight that sometimes I slip it in and out my satchel without noticing the difference. And for me, this is a big deal!

A couple of years back, I owned a DSLR camera and swapped lenses while traveling whenever I took photos. I did the same when I switched to a mirrorless camera. But with the vivo V30 Pro, a phone that is 7.45 mm thin and weighs 188g, photography (especially street photography) is so much easier. For comparison, my main phone right now is 7.85 mm thick and weighs a significantly heavier 240g, not including the bulky case I bought for it.

Of course, there are still differences when it comes to photography performance, but whether or not they are significant is up to the end-user.

Second, taking photos with this device is fun and easy! I only have a few photos that I don’t particularly like, but I chalk it up to user error.

Here’s an example:

There’s nothing wrong with this photo. The composition is good, you can see the details of the algae floating in the water, and my bud George (I named this duck hehe, he’s my best friend now) waddling about. You can even see the little trail George traced along the algae-filled pond. The only problem with this photo is George is a tad bit overexposed. And I think it’s because I tapped to focus on the algae and not George. Otherwise, everything would be fine.

Here’s another photo of George with better exposure using the vivo V30 Pro:

And here are more photos I took with the phone:

Taking group photos and portraits

Other forms of photography that I enjoyed a lot while using the vivo V30 Pro are taking photos of people and taking portraits. By now, you probably know how other brands of smartphones (especially the ones that are way more expensive) overprocess photos to the point where skin flaws are made more prominent. I’m talking about eye bags, wrinkles, and other details that we would rather smoothen or at least make them look more natural.

The vivo V30 Pro gives you options. You can keep photos looking natural or use beauty filters to enhance certain things. I prefer a more natural look.

I also enjoyed using the Portrait mode a lot because you get options for the kind of bokeh that you get. Bokeh is what happens when you isolate your subject from your background, resulting in a more blurred environment with light sources looking like orbs or circular blobs of color. With the vivo V30 Pro, you can customize how strong you want your bokeh and keep photos looking natural.

And through the collaboration with ZEISS, they even created modes that simulated ZEISS lenses for a more interesting look. This includes ZEISS’s Biotar, Cinematic, Cine-Flare, Sonnar, Distagon, and Planar portrait lenses. Here are some examples:

Not your average flash

Another feature I enjoyed using a lot was the Aura Light 3.0. I got introduced to the Aura Light when I reviewed the vivo V29, and I still think that phones should switch to this instead of conventional flashes.

Okay, I get that flashes now have a certain aesthetic, but let’s face it: a pop of light that harshly reflects on our skin and glasses doesn’t look that good. I would rather use the Aura Light because it acts more as a fill light than a flash. Think of it as a built-in ring light that helps the phone measure distance, focus better, and balance shadows.

AURA LIGHT 3.0. The Aura Light acts like a soft fill light, illuminating photos without harsh flash reflections.

There’s more to love with the vivo V30 Pro

Of course, the vivo V30 Pro is more than just its camera system. There are other great things about this phone that I haven’t gotten into detail yet. The first is that the vivo V30 Pro is more powerful than it seems.

The thin and light frame of the phone would make you wonder if it performs well, and it does. I’ve used apps like CapCut with no problem (although it has its native video-making tool called MicroMovie), and I’ve played Honkai Star Rail on this smoothly.

It uses a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8200 processor and an Arm Mali-G610 GPU. These enable the vivo V30 Pro to start up the phone and apps fast and smoothly while saving on energy consumption. The vivo V30 Pro comes with 512 GB storage and a 12 GB + 12 GB Extended RAM. It also has a 5000 mAh battery with 80W FlashCharging.

In terms of durability, the vivo V30 Pro has an IP54 Dust and Water Resistance rating and a “Comprehensive Cushioning Structure” that protects the phone from blows and drops.

Who would love this phone?

I love this phone, so if you’re like me, you probably will too. This phone is for people who like stylish-looking phones, the kind you wouldn’t want to hide behind a case. This phone is also for those who like making content and appreciate good value for money as it costs P34,999 only.

If you’re the kind of person who non-stop opens the camera app and takes snaps of every little moment whether to post on social media or to reminisce in the future, you’ll enjoy this phone a lot. It’s powerful, it’s thin and lightweight, and the camera produces sharp and color-accurate images.

Need more information? Visit vivo’s website, and check this out through Shopee, Lazada, or TikTok. – Rappler.com 

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