<\/p>\nArticle Jumplist<\/p>\n
<\/default:svg><\/button><\/p>\n\n1. Excellent, colour accurate shots<\/li>\n 2. Jawdropping sharpness at 10x zoom<\/li>\n 3. Telephoto extender kit offers even more flexibility<\/li>\n 4. Low light shots retain colour accuracy, with good exposure<\/li>\n 5. More about the Vivo X500 Pro Max<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\nWe were just in Shanghai for the China launch of the Vivo X500 series, and we had the pleasure of being able to use the new Vivo X500 Pro Max to capture memories not only in China, but on a quick trip to nearby Japan as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nThe phone gets upgrades to both its main and telephoto sensors.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Equipped with a new 1\/1.28-inch Sony LYTIA L910 sensor<\/b> that\u2019s co-developed with Vivo, this sensor features LOFIC technology which plays a big role in Vivo being able to tout an ultra high dynamic range of 17 EV stops for videos.<\/p>\n
As for the ultra wide camera, it\u2019s mostly similar to last year\u2019s X300 Pro, with the exception of the new Samsung JN5 sensor. It\u2019s still a 50MP camera, with an f\/2.0 aperture and a 15mm focal length (0.6x zoom).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 200MP telephoto lens, on the other hand, is upgraded with the 1\/1.14-inch Samsung HP0 sensor<\/b>, which was used in the recent X300 Ultra smartphone. It gets OIS, CIPA 7.0 stabilisation and a max optical zoom of 3.5x (85mm), which is one of the optimal focal lengths for shooting portraiture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All lenses are ZEISS-branded, and come with the ZEISS T* Coating for better reflection reduction while improving light transmission.<\/p>\n\nThe 400mm telephoto extender lets you get up close and person with subjects.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
There\u2019s also a telephoto extender kit, and we managed to spend some time with the 400mm extender, so we\u2019ll take a look at how much extra range it gives as well.<\/p>\n
Enough about the specs, let\u2019s get into how the photos out of this device look like.<\/p>\n
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Disclaimer: Photo samples below are taken from the phone\u2019s camera, with file sizes downsampled to reduce bandwidth demand. No other edits were made. The Vivo X500 Pro Max unit featured is built for the Chinese market (China ROM and Chinese OriginOS).<\/i><\/p>\n
Please do not reproduce the images without permission from SPH Media Limited.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Unfortunately, we seem to be quite unlucky when it comes to Vivo photowalks, with this session being just as overcast as the previous X300 Pro session in Shanghai. However, we had the opportunity to bring the device to Tokyo, Japan for extra photos.<\/p>\n
Excellent, colour accurate shots<\/h2>\n The shots out of the main camera are excellent and quite colour accurate, even when shooting in overcast or bright situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Depending on the colour profile you\u2019re using, you\u2019ll get slightly different results, so be sure to play around with the different settings on offer. We mostly shot on the Vivid colour profile to help boost the vibrancy of the images slightly and offset the overcast weather conditions.<\/p>\n
Jawdropping sharpness at 10x zoom<\/h2>\n The 3.5x optical zoom lens affords photos a lot of detail and sharpness, and we particularly enjoyed taking images at the 85mm focal length, although the 10x hybrid zoom also resulted in some stunning results.<\/p>\n
Just take a look at the sharpness and vibrancy of the fourth image in both galleries, the phone even managed to capture the water droplets clinging to the plant as well as the spiderweb strands clinging to the top of the flower.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Portraits are great as well. Skin textures aren\u2019t too aggressively smoothed out, although there is still a bit of blurring and skin tone evening applied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s the 85mm or the 135mm focal length, photos do turn out quite nicely. Some of the bokeh-ed backgrounds do tend to feel a bit odd, but the phone\u2019s algorithms do a good job at separating the subject (hair and all) from the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t have the chance to try using the camera in more challenging situations like a concert or sporting event, but we reckon the zoom capabilities would be massively helpful in those scenarios.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Telephoto extender kit offers even more flexibility<\/h2>\n Speaking of which, we had the chance to capture some shots with the 400mm telephoto extender, and it\u2019s just as impressive. Of course, the usual caveats apply in that it\u2019s difficult to take photos of moving subjects, and at the higher zoom levels (particularly 1600mm and 3200mm), you\u2019ll need to prop the phone on a stable surface to minimise hand shake and blur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ideally, you\u2019d have a tripod for even better shots, but we had to take our images fully handheld without even a supporting surface available closely. So, please excuse the slight blur in the images.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Low light shots retain colour accuracy, with good exposure<\/h2>\n Night shots and low-light shots are beautifully exposed as well. More importantly, the phone was able to capture the vibe that we wanted.<\/p>\n
Colours are also accurate, and manually changing the exposure gets you some nice, moody shots like the third and fourth photo in the gallery above.\u00a0<\/p>\n