vivo V30 review

A capable dual-camera solution

The vivo V30 comes with two or three cameras, depending on the market. However, the wildcard is a fairly useless depth sensor, so don't feel bad if you can't get the triple-camera variant.

• Wide (main): 50 MP OmniVision OV50E f/1.9, 23mm, 1/1.55", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; 2160p@30fps
• Ultra wide angle: 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1, f/2.0, 15mm, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, autofocus; 1080p@30fps
• Front camera: 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1, f/2.0, 20mm, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, autofocus; 2160p@30fps

The good news is that both cameras on the vivo V30 are capable shooters, especially the ultrawide camera. The outdated 8MP ultrawide camera is swapped out for a 50MP snapper that takes considerably better photos and has autofocus for more dramatic close-up shots.

The selfie camera is good too. In fact, this is one of the few phones to offer a 50MP front-facing camera. Check out the quality below.

Daylight photos

Main camera

During the day, the vivo V30's main camera outputs somewhat clean, colorful and sharp photos. You may find the shadows a bit thicker than usual, but we believe it's due to the overcast. Otherwise, the dynamic range is good and fine detail is present in all scenarios, even indoors. Still, we would have preferred a slightly brighter exposure in some of the stills as well as better noise reduction in uniform and dark areas.

Main camera daylight samples

Portrait mode

In case you are not a fan of the saturated colors, there are two color modes in addition to the default Vibrant one - Natural and Textured.

2x zoom

Expectedly, the 2x zoom samples offer the same rendition style with a surprisingly high level of detail, but they are also a bit too fuzzy for our taste. In more challenging scenes, the noise reduction algorithm seems to be working overtime and smears away fine detail, making the scene even softer. We have definitely seen better 2x zoom implementations.

2x zoom daylight samples

2x zoom Portrait mode

Ultrawide camera

We are happy to see a non-8MP ultrawide camera on the V30, and we must say the samples are considerably better than most competitors still relying on the outdated 8MP sensor. The photos are vibrant, surprisingly detailed, sharp and leave little to complain about.

Ultrawide camera daylight samples

Going indoors or shooting high-contrast scenes, however, seems to take a toll on the camera. You will notice either crushed shadows, clipped highlights, or both. Nevertheless, this ultrawide camera is one of the best in its class.

Selfies

Vivo V30's selfie game is quite impressive. The camera produces detailed and sharp photos with real-life colors and natural skin tones. Dynamic range is also good, while more challenging scenes with insufficient ambient light don't seem to bother the front-facing shooter all that much.

Selfies

Low-light photos

Main camera

The system prefers using the dedicated Night mode more often than not, but that's not necessarily bad because the result is always great. The nighttime samples taken with the main camera are clean, balanced, with punchy colors and lots of detail. There's quite a bit in the shadows too, while highlights and light sources are always well-preserved. We can even go as far as saying the nighttime photos get close to flagship quality.

Main camera low-light samples

2x zoom

Quite expectedly, the 2x zoom mode delivers somewhat soft and sometimes noisy pictures, but they may be just enough for casual social media posting.

2x zoom low-light samples

Ultrawide camera

We are pleasantly surprised by the ultrawide camera. The nighttime samples are clean, sharp, detailed and have decent dynamic range. You will notice the occasional clipped highlights and soft patches here and there, but the overall quality is quite impressive for its class.

Ultrawide camera low-light samples

Video recording

The vivo V30 caps at 2160p at 30fps for video recording with its main and selfie cameras. Interestingly enough, the ultrawide camera caps at 1080p, even though the sensor has enough pixels for 4K footage.

The standard 4K footage is stabilized, while an Ultra stabilization mode limits the resolution to 1080p and mimics action camera-like stabilization.

As far as the 4K footage goes, it's pretty solid. We like the contrast, sharpness, detail and vibrant colors. We are also impressed by the overall rendering despite the overcast - there's quite a bit of detail even in the shadows without blowing up the highlights.

The ultrawide video isn't impressive - limited dynamic range, plenty of noise, and it's quite soft too. That last part could be due to the 1080p resolution.

At night, the main camera delivers decent enough videos, considering the price bracket. Sure, the video may seem a little soft and noisy (especially in uniform areas like the sky), but the dynamic range is okay, the contrast is good, and there's plenty of detail all around.

Video samples playlist