Photography and video are one of the main focuses of mobile companies. Users demand better performance and quality. The growth of social networks such as TikTok and Instagram are a reference of what that market demands. Vivo seeks to be one of the main references in mobile photography and video and with their X70 series they have presented an interesting bet.
The X70 Series is betting on OLED displays and adopts wireless charging methods for the first time. In technical aspects, the series shows great power at an average price for the range of mobiles. However, the company’s trend is getting closer and closer to bet on a content creator market. This can be seen in the photographic aggregates of the most recent families.
The traditional ones of the family
The X70’s camera setup is the most traditional of the three models featured. A 40MP main sensor with F1.9 aperture. On 12 MP sensors, an F2.0 telephoto lens equivalent to 50mm and a wide-angle F2.2 equivalent to 16mm. Among the three mobiles it is the least striking, only standing out for the 32 MP front camera designed for vloggers.
The X70 Pro setup is four cameras: a main 50MP, ultra wide angle and 12 MP telephoto lens, and a third periscope telephoto lens on 8MP sensor. In that order, the lenses are equivalent to a 25mm F1.8, a 16mm F2.2, a 50mm F2.0, and a 125mm F 3.4. It also has the 32MP F2.5 front-end system.
The darling of the series
However, the Pro + model promises more with the technology that they have implemented in their premium mobiles: gimbal stabilizer.
The Chinese company introduced the first mobile with optical stabilization in June 2020, the Vivo X50 Pro. The news of the stabilizer came a little earlier; and the video of how it was implemented launched several expectations around the product and what it meant for the captured images. At the time, this technology implied a stability improvement of 300% compared to the stabilization systems of the time.
This stabilization that they introduced with the X50 migrated to the X60 family and is now in the X70 family. In the X70 Pro + it remains in the wide-angle, but leaves aside the traditional 12 MP sensor to be implemented in a 48 MP Sony IMX598 sensor. This allows users to capture stable videos at a higher resolution.
The main system is on a Samsung GN1 50 MP sensor. It has a 26mm focal equivalent and an F1.52 aperture. In addition, it has a hybrid autofocus system by phase detection and laser.
Along with the stabilizer, all three models feature Zeiss lens signature. The alliance that started in December 2020 with the arrival of the X60 family presents new advances in the quest to improve image quality with high-quality glass. In addition, the German has been in charge of helping in the science of color of the device. This translates into shots with a better level of detail that can take advantage of the high resolutions of mobile phones and a more natural color in the captures.
In the past we have mentioned that the next thing that the mobile world needs to improve is in the construction of mobile optics. The bet that Vivo and Zeiss raise is interesting, but a new addition to the world of virtual elements draws attention. The company added a list of blurs that simulate the bokeh produced by some of Zeiss’s most popular lenses.: Planar, Sonnar, Biotar and Distagon.
Planar offers an oval bokeh, similar to that of an anamorphic lens. The others give different levels of bokeh smoothness from a traditional spherical lens. We will have to wait to see how the bokeh is applied on the mobile and in different situations.
The most new
One of the most striking elements is the company’s new proprietary image signal processor: Vivo V1. This specialized chip for photography promises to be key to compensating the processor and helping to obtain images with less digital noise and better stabilization compensation. Likewise, the dedicated processor also benefits the overall system by consuming less power to process shots.
Likewise, the X70 Pro + is the company’s first mobile to implement optical stabilization in all camera systems. Which will greatly help capture in low light conditions.
Availability and price
The Vivo announcement has only revealed the prices within that Asian market, we will continue to listen to the announcement of the arrival of mobile phones in Spain. At the European exchange rate, the price range is from € 485 to € 563 for the X70; from € 603, to € 904 for the X70 Pro; and finally of € 721 to € 917 for the Vivo X70 Pro +.