vivo V30 Pro review

Four 50MP cameras with autofocus

Vivo's V-series has always focused on photography. The V30 Pro takes things to a whole new level with its impressive camera setup. It consists of a total of four cameras - three on the back and one on the front, all of them with 50MP resolution and all of them supporting autofocus.

The star of the show is, of course, the main 50MP camera with a Sony IMX920 sensor. Vivo calls it a "VCS True Color Main Camera". VCS stands for vivo Camera-Bionic Spectrum - a technology that enhances color accuracy, resulting in a 25% increase in image clarity and 15% in color reproduction compared to the vivo V29. It promises outstanding clarity in night shots in particular. The main cam also has OIS.

• Wide (main): 50 MP Sony IMX920 f/1.9, 23mm, 1/1.49", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; 2160p@30fps
• Ultra wide angle: 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1, f/2.0, 15mm, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, autofocus; 2160p@30fps
• Telephoto: 50 MP Sony IMX816, f/1.85, 50mm, 1/2.51", 0.64µm, PDAF; 2160p@30fps.
• Front camera: 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1, f/2.0, 20mm, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, autofocus; 2160p@30fps

Vivo has experimented with plenty of interesting lighting solutions on its V-series devices in the past. While the V30 Pro doesn't have any front-facing light for selfies, it does have something called an "Aura Light Portrait" on the back. Aside from the regular LED camera flash, there is a big ring light of sorts below the main camera island. It is allegedly 19 times larger and 50 mites softer than a standard flash. Its primary purpose is properly lighting and exposing the subject's skin tones and skin texture.

The V30 Pro can automatically recognize lighting conditions and enable the Aura Light on its own. The light can also automatically adjust its intensity based on the distance from the subject. For closer shots, the light is softer, while it's conversely brighter and harsher for subjects further away. The V30 Pro promises to easily handle complex lighting conditions by adjusting to warm or cold tones of ambient light. This is done by adjusting the color of the Aura Light.

The camera app is quite familiar, similar to the one seen on the V and X series. There is a straightforward zoom selector and a customizable carousel for camera modes. Pro mode is quite feature-rich and available on all three rear cameras. It allows you to adjust the focus distance, metering, white balance, shutter speed, ISO and exposure.

While we've seen this before on other vivo phones, it is still worth pointing out that you can choose between three color reproduction modes in the camera UI. There is vivo's default "vivid color" mode, as well as a "textured color" mode and a "natural color" one designed and worked on in collaboration with ZEISS.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The main camera on the V30 Pro captures stills in around 12.5MP by default due to pixel binning. In fact, the same goes for all of the cameras on the phone. These photos are solid overall. The main camera is quite competent and consistent. Detail is great, and so is contrast.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera samples

Dynamic range, while pretty wide, could be a bit better. You can notice sharpening artifacts on certain surfaces, especially grass and foliage. Nothing too severe, though.

As previously mentioned, the V30 Pro has a total of three color modes available for the camera. In the default vivid mode, you can definitely notice some extra saturation in things like the sky and grass. Still, we wouldn't call the color reproduction oversaturated or anything of the sort. Color rendition is still pretty true to life. As expected, using the ZEISS natural color mode gives you even more laidback processing and more natural colors. The difference isn't major, and, of course, it is going to vary from scene to scene, but it is definitely there.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera ZEISS natural color samples

You can force every camera on the V30 Pro to shoot in its native 50MP resolution. However, we would not recommend doing that since there really isn't much benefit in terms of detail. Plus, in 50MP mode, exposure tends to be off, with all the cameras overexposing nearly all the time. And, of course, there is the matter of big file sizes.

Vivo worked closely with ZEISS on the portrait capabilities of the V30 Pro. These look great. Subject detection and separation are on point, and the quality of the background blur is superb.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples

In fact, you get to choose between a total of four bokeh styles that are meant to mimic actual ZEISS camera lenses. These include ZEISS Biotar Style Bokeh, ZEISS Planar Style Bokeh, ZEISS Distagon Style Bokeh and ZEISS Sonnar Style Bokeh. There is cinematic style bokeh for video capture as well. Plus, the V30 Pro can automatically generate a classic cinema-style lens flare effect for you if that is your cup of tea.

Telephoto camera

As already mentioned, vivo puts a lot of emphasis on the portrait-taking capabilities of the V30 Pro. As such, it makes sense that the 2x telephoto camera on the device is being marketed as a 50mm portrait camera first and foremost. And we have to admit that faces come out looking very clean and sharp in 2x portraits.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera 2x samples

Generally, the 2x telephoto captures very competent shots. Detail is great, without any obvious traces of oversharpening. Colors are a nice match to those of the main camera, regardless of which color mode you choose. We quite like the telephoto overall.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera 2x samples

The V30 Pro also features a 4x toggle on the main camera UI. These shots are taken by the telephoto as well and retain most of the excellent quality characteristics of their 2x counterparts. There is just a bit more softness, but that is perfectly expected.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera 4x samples

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera on the V30 Pro looks quite impressive on paper. It has a massive 50MP resolution and autofocus, so it can double as a macro shooter. In practice, however, the shots it captures tend to be quite blurry and soft, with not a lot of detail. We aren't overly impressed. Sometimes, the autofocus will misbehave, but other times, it will get it right, and the results will still be a bit disappointing with plenty of oversharpening artifacts.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera samples

On a more positive note, dynamic range and contrast are not half bad, and colors look great and well-matched with the other cameras on the phone.

Macro shots

The ultrawide camera does great with macro shots. These come out looking very sharp and detailed. Autofocus on the ultrawide works great at short distances and can, in fact, focus very close up to the subject. We have no complaints.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera macro samples

Selfie camera

Vivo has always paid a lot of attention to the selfie cameras of its V-series devices. The V30 Pro is no different with its large 50MP selfie with a wide 92-degree field of view and autofocus. Unfortunately, in this generation, there are no dedicated selfie LED lights. But then again, their utility has always been a bit niche, in our opinion.

Selfies from the V30 Pro look amazing. Detail is great, and skin texture comes through very true to life. The same goes for skin texture.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP selfie camera samples

Selfie portraits look great, too.

Low-light camera quality

The main camera on the V30 Pro is a true beast when it comes to low-light photography. The shots it captures are extremely clean, with plenty of detail, well-developed shadows and highlights. Light sources are competently contained. Colors look great as well. Honestly, we have no major complaints.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples

The V30 Pro is pretty competent when it comes to applying night mode processing automatically. Still, if you prefer a bit more sharpness added to the frame and a slightly more processed look, you can switch over to the dedicated Night mode and wait a couple of seconds more per shot to get those results.

The 2x telephoto camera continues to impress in low-light conditions just as it did in the daytime. Its photos are clean and sharp, with plenty of detail and nice colors. We honestly can't realistically ask for more.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera low-light samples

Before we move on to the other cameras, we did take notice of all of vivo's nighttime portrait advertisements for the V30 Pro and decided to test it out for ourselves. Portraits from both the main camera and the telephoto look amazing; no two ways about it.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera low-light portrait samples

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera low-light portrait samples

Things generally get even better by employing the Aura Light on the back of the phone. We just left it on full auto both in terms of intensity and color and let it do its thing, and the results speak for themselves. You get much finer detail with more light, especially on things like facial hair.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP main camera low-light portrait samples

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera low-light portrait samples

The ultrawide camera does alright in low light but is nothing to phone home about. You still get the occasional autofocus issue with missed focus, though surprisingly less so than in the daytime. The oversharpening is there, but we don't mind it as much in low-light conditions. Colors are nice.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

Just like with the main and telephoto cameras, the dedicated Night mode doesn't really do all that much for the ultrawide cam. We would probably just skip it.

Low-light selfies are solid overall as well. There is plenty of detail, and even some skin texture comes through. Skin tones look nice and natural, and colors generally look nice.

vivo V30 Pro: 12.5MP selfie camera low-light samples

Night mode doesn't really do all that much for the selfie either and just brightens the background up a bit. In case you were wondering, low-light selfie portraits look just as good.

Video capture quality

All of the cameras on the V30 Pro can capture video at up to 4K resolution. That is 4K@60 for all cameras except for the telephoto, which is limited to 30fps. The 30 Pro can also automatically drop the frame rate down to 24fps for low-light videos in order to achieve better quality. Videos get saved in a standard AVC/h.264 video stream at around 50Mbps at 4K and a stereo AAC 48 kHz audio stream inside an MP4 container. Alternatively, you can also capture in HEVC/h.265 to save some space.

Videos from the main camera come out looking very sharp and detailed with little noise. Dynamic range is not perfect, but still pretty wide. Contrast is also good. Colors look quite natural to the point of actually looking a bit washed out. Perhaps a color processing toggle is in order for videos as well.

The telephoto camera fairs well with its 4K video capture. The frame has a bit more sharpening, and contrast is cranked a bit higher.

The ultrawide camera fairs well overall. The detail is there, and colors look quite consistent with the main camera, even if that makes them a bit dull. There is practically no noise. Dynamic range could be better.

Unfortunately, the V30 Pro doesn't do great in terms of video stabilization. Two separate levels of EIS are available on the phone - standard and ultra. Standard works at the camera's full 4K resolution and does an alright job, but it does introduce quite a bit of focus hunting. That is, unfortunately, the case with the ultra stabilization mode as well, which is capped at 1080p. Interestingly enough, it takes its footage from the main camera rather than the ultrawide, which also leads to a pretty narrow crop.

Video sample playlist

Low-light videos from the main camera are solid overall. The detail is there, and shadows are very well-developed. Highlights look good as well, though light sources are slightly blown out. There is very little noise, and colors look great. Unfortunately, we couldn't force the telephoto to capture low-light video since the phone insists on getting a crop from the main camera instead in such conditions, probably for the better. As for the ultrawide, it is surprisingly decent in low light, but not amazing in any way.