vivo X100 Pro review

Video recording

The vivo X100 Pro can record video up to 8K30 with its main camera, and it can do that at both 1x and 2x. All three rear cameras can capture 4K at 30fps and 60fps. The selfie camera, meanwhile, is capped at 1080p60.

Update: Following a software update, the selfie camera can now capture 4K video at 30 and 60 fps, too. The Steadiface selfie video stabilization works only up to 1080p@30fps but the other video modes are stabilized as well so they all look quite good.

There's always-on electronic stabilization in all modes on all cameras. As part of that, the vivo will also correct for focus breathing while in video mode.

The main camera captures very good 4K video. Both 4K30 and 4K60 modes offer excellent dynamic range and great contrast. White balance is dependable and colors are expressive without going into extremes. There's a bit of a difference in how detail is rendered, with 30fps clips delivering slightly smoother textures, while 60fps footage is grainier and a bit heavier on the sharpening.

The 8K mode at 1x zoom level does actually capture some more detail - you can read some of the license plates on the parked cars and the sign on that cream building in the center, to name a couple of examples. Part of that difference is possibly due to the fact that 4K capture isn't the sharpest around, but the 8K mode does look a bit better than most. It's also nice that there aren't penalties in the other areas of image quality - it's just that files are larger (105Mbps vs. 60Mbps bit rates).

4K at the 2x zoom level looks good from afar, but less so if you view it at 1:1, where it quickly reveals that it's been an upscale job - an okay one, but still not pin-sharp.

It's kind of weird then how much cleaner the 8K clips are at 2x zoom - if you have that level of detail to work with, why not turn it into better 4K footage?

The telephoto does a great job with video capture as well. 4K clips are looking nice and sharp, with excellent colors and dynamic range. There's virtually no difference between 30fps and 60fps either.

The ultrawide camera doesn't disappoint either. Dynamic range is very good, there's nicely high contrast and colors remain on point. As on the main camera, the 60fps mode goes for heavier sharpening and is cropped in a little bit.

Stabilization on the X100 Pro is excellent on the main and the ultrawide cameras. They both iron out walking shake, produce extra smooth pans and stay planted if you're just pointing the phone at a subject. The telephoto falls a bit shot of perfection - while it too pans nicely, there's still some fidgeting left over in the resulting footage when just holding the phone pointed in one direction.

In low-light, the main camera remains a strong performer. It can't quite match the dynamic range in stills and you may find the highlight roll-off a bit abrupt, but it does expose for the shadows, leaving a bright and lively scene - the well maintained color saturation completes the look. Detail is very good for the circumstances.

The ultrawide prioritizes getting the light and colors right, which it does succeed at. When it comes to sharpness and detail, however, things are pretty sketchy, especially in the shadow areas.

The telephoto is struggling with a classic enemy of smartphone periscopes and its low-light videos have pretty pronounced astigmatism, which makes light sources appear as streaks as opposed to points. Sharpness isn't great and there's more noise than we'd like, but all things considered, it's not worse than the competition.

Here's a glimpse of how the vivo X100 Pro compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

vivo X100 Pro against the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the Pixel 8 Pro in our Video compare tool