Unbelievable digicam telephone with one bizarre flaw

The vivo X100 Professional and X100 Extremely had been two of my favourite digicam telephones launched in 2024. Each telephones provided loads of premium bells and whistles, too, similar to quick wired/wi-fi charging, sturdy IP rankings, large batteries, and vibrant screens.

However they had been actually all concerning the improbable digicam {hardware}, with the X100 Professional that includes a flexible 50MP 4.3x periscope lens whereas the X100 Extremely delivered a frankly ridiculous 200MP 3.7x periscope digicam. Sadly, the Extremely telephone was restricted to China. There’s excellent news, although, as vivo has simply launched the X200 Professional and it packs the identical loopy telephoto digicam. So is that this a contender for greatest digicam telephone as soon as once more? It’s time to search out out.

Let’s begin with probably the most important caveat concerning the X200 Professional’s pictures credentials that’s already been doing the rounds. Upon the X200 Professional’s Chinese language launch in October, customers shortly found that the first digicam was susceptible to lens flare points. I actually hoped the model would be capable to handle this drawback with world gadgets.

Sadly, I used to be in a position to reproduce these lens flare/glare issues on my overview unit. This concern appears to happen once you’re taking pictures with the 1x digicam at a considerably perpendicular angle to the solar. A fast side-by-side with the X100 Extremely reveals that the older telephone would possibly present just a little lens flare at most, however to not the identical extent because the X200 Professional. The glare seen on the newer telephone will be downright horrible, as seen within the second and fourth photographs beneath.

The excellent news is that this concern doesn’t pop up usually, whereas secondary cameras are unaffected. Nonetheless, it’s positively an issue you wouldn’t count on from vivo in gentle of the corporate’s efforts with ZEISS to scale back lens flare. Finally, it’s a flaw that you simply’ll doubtless run into every so often, but it surely’s not a relentless drawback. That’s nonetheless a disappointment, given the telephone’s hefty €1,299 (~$1,337) price ticket.

An organization government beforehand acknowledged this drawback, claiming that it was associated to the first digicam’s large aperture and the kind of coating used. vivo’s world representatives reiterated this rationalization to Android Authority, including that it was a “frequent technical problem.” Right here’s the total assertion:

Our technical evaluation suggests two most important causes for this problem. First, it’s associated to the f/1.57 aperture, which is the most important aperture on the primary digicam of this smartphone. Whereas it does enhance the taking pictures efficiency in low-light environments, the bigger aperture and elevated gentle consumption make the gadget extra prone to exterior lens flare. Second, it’s our coating know-how. X200 Professional’s coating excels at dealing with radial and petal flares (ghosting) from level gentle sources in evening scenes. It additionally has industry-leading anti-flare capabilities in lots of outside situations with non-specific angle gentle sources. We’re actively researching methods to optimize each of the above.

vivo added that it was “continually making software program optimization updates to deal with the flare phenomenon.” It additionally added a Glare Discount device (Edit > AI Erase > Glare Discount) to sort out this concern, though it doesn’t all the time ship a considerably higher outcome if it detects the glare within the first place. That stated, this device, which requires an web connection, can typically make a giant distinction, as seen beneath.

Moreover, vivo informed us that it added a “photograph glare discount” toggle within the digicam app’s settings menu. Our testing exhibits that the toggle doesn’t require an web connection. This appears to do a strong job of lowering glare, though it isn’t all the time eradicated altogether. You’ll additionally nonetheless see glare within the viewfinder earlier than you snap an image, so it is best to examine the captured picture to verify it appears okay.

Is the X200 Professional nonetheless value it for the cameras?

vivo is switching to a barely smaller 50MP most important digicam this time (1/1.3-inch). The corporate was at pains to level out that this sensor was aggressive with first-generation one-inch cameras in photographs and will ship higher-quality video seize.

I used to be usually proud of the 1x snaps from this shooter (except for the occasional glare points) in most situations. You’ve received three totally different shade profiles as soon as once more, however I’m glad to see the return of some additional sliders (i.e. sharpness, distinction) to assist dial in your picture. vivo’s handset nonetheless tends to over-process photographs, similar to low-light snaps particularly. Take a look at the overly sharp raindrops within the second image beneath; it’s virtually as if elements of the image are snowy, like an analog TV.

The 50MP ultrawide digicam is a transparent step beneath the first shooter. That’s largely as a result of important distortion and a noticeably decrease degree of element, notably in combined lighting.

The telephone additionally sports activities a panorama mode now, which successfully serves as a hub for varied options like Supermoon mode, evening mode, perspective correction, panoramas, gentle portray, astrophotography, and extra.

Is that 200MP periscope digicam definitely worth the fuss?

That 200MP 3.7x periscope digicam is just about similar to the X100 Extremely’s telephoto shooter. Meaning a 1/1.4-inch sensor paired with an f/2.67 aperture that’s just a little wider than the Pixel 9 Professional‘s 5x digicam, for one. Fortunately, picture high quality is kind of on par with the Extremely telephone. I normally captured some detailed 3.7x photographs which might be roughly in keeping with the 1x shooter. Noise ranges are usually saved in examine, whereas photos are largely in step with the first digicam, save for some white stability and minor publicity variations. Both manner, I’ve to confess that I’m as soon as once more spending extra time with the telephoto digicam than the primary shooter.

The X200 Professional additionally excels at 10x for probably the most half, delivering sharp pictures with depth versus the flat photographs seen on many different telephones at this zoom vary. Distinction and highlights are additionally usually saved in examine at 10x, though there are some shade and distinction variations at 15x and 20x together with some chromatic aberration in some instances. I additionally discovered that element may very well be a coin toss at 15x and 20x.

Very similar to the X100 Professional and X100 Extremely, this periscope digicam has loads of methods up its sleeve. My favourite function is the macro-focusing functionality, permitting you to get just a little nearer to topics in comparison with typical periscope lenses. This permits macro pictures from a distance but in addition permits you to take typical pictures while not having to step again to focus. Macro pictures are pretty much as good as ever and have a wholesome degree of element, though the main target fall-off will be excessive at instances.

You may also shoot at a full 200MP decision in case you’d like, providing you with an extremely high-resolution picture at 3.7x. The quantity of retained element will be very spectacular, though you actually need superb lighting for this feature. These 200MP pictures are nonetheless susceptible to blown highlights in some conditions, ostensibly as a result of little or no multi-frame processing.

The vivo X200 Professional additionally retains the X100 Extremely’s stage mode, which is supposed to seize optimized photographs of live shows and dwell gigs from a distance. However very like on the sooner telephone, this mode tends to make topics appear to be wax. That is notably evident at 20x and better, whereas the 10x shot (first picture beneath) is certainly extra usable. NVIDIA’s CES 2025 occasion made for a stiff problem as we had been in the previous few rows of flooring seats in an enviornment. However this was clearly too distant for vivo’s software program to make a serious distinction, giving Jensen Huang a plastic jacket as a substitute. I additionally took the telephone to a Inexperienced Day and Offspring live performance. I used to be in a position to get respectable 10x photographs, however my nosebleed tickets meant that 20x pictures had been usually akin to work.

Very similar to the Extremely mannequin, you’ll be able to count on a great deal of video seize choices right here. There’s 4K/120fps slow-motion seize for each the 1x and three.7x cameras, 4K/60fps Dolby Imaginative and prescient recording throughout all three lenses, a 4K Cinematic Portrait mode akin to iPhones, LOG video recording, and extra. I’m additionally glad to see that vivo has managed to tame (however admittedly not remove) the judder I observed when panning on earlier telephones.

Transferring away from the cameras, the vivo X200 Professional is a premium providing by means of and thru. The telephone has a 6.78-inch LTPO OLED display screen (2,800 x 1,260, 0.1 to 120Hz, 4,500 nits peak brightness) with a micro-curved show. Meaning you’ve received very delicate curves which might be restricted primarily to the bezel, however a flat show in any other case, successfully providing you with the most effective of each worlds. The telephone additionally packs IP68/IP69 rankings, a flat aluminum body, and a glass again.

This is without doubt one of the first telephones powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chipset. Benchmarks present flagship-tier efficiency, but it surely’s nonetheless a step beneath the Snapdragon 8 Elite with regards to CPU efficiency. The X200 Professional beats the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional with regards to the ray tracing stress assessments however both stays degree with the ASUS gadget or lags behind within the different GPU stress assessments. It additionally runs hotter than the Snapdragon telephone, though it doesn’t attain the highs of the realme GT7 Professional. The Dimensity-toting Discover X8 Professional delivered higher, extra secure outcomes, but it surely’s not a shock as vivo’s latest MediaTek-powered telephones have all struggled on this regard. Maybe this can be a signal that the corporate must give attention to sustained efficiency and cooling.

Actual-world efficiency is one other matter fully; I didn’t encounter any points with system efficiency (multitasking, launching apps, switching screens) whereas video games like Genshin Influence ran at a clean 60fps. The one time I noticed any efficiency points was once I tried taking a number of full-resolution 200MP pictures in a row, as there was a multi-second delay between snaps. However that is one thing you’ll discover on most telephones with a 200MP choice.

The telephone can be geared up with a powerful 6,000mAh silicon battery. It wasn’t unusual for me to get roughly eight hours of screen-on time, which isn’t superb however remains to be fairly good. I used the X200 Professional throughout a latest work journey to Denmark. The busiest day of the journey noticed us attending a media occasion within the morning, taking a great deal of snaps, filming a number of movies, and importing stated media. The remainder of the day concerned a sightseeing tour till roughly 5 PM, taking tons of images, adopted by dinner and taking photographs round an adjoining amusement park. The excellent news is that by the point I walked again to my resort after 11 PM with assistance from Google Maps, the telephone nonetheless had ~30% juice left. Extra reasonable utilization equated to charging the telephone each different day. So you continue to received’t get three days of typical utilization regardless of the battery capability improve, but it surely’s received some legs nonetheless.

vivo additionally presents 90W wired charging through an included adapter, and the telephone’s battery will be totally charged in beneath an hour. Sadly, the bundled charger doesn’t assist PPS charging and comes with a USB-A to USB-C cable, which feels a bit outdated. A minimum of there’s 30W wi-fi charging as nicely in case you choose to go cable-free.

Enjoyable Contact OS continues to be a middling Android pores and skin, providing a largely stock-like aesthetic with loads of pointless bloatware. The latter consists of third-party apps (Fb, Lazada, Truecaller, LinkedIn) in addition to first-party junk just like the Sizzling Apps/Video games shortcuts and Lockscreen Poster adverts. What’s even worse is that the telephone later prompts you to obtain a ton of bloatware, though you’ll be able to select to hit the tiny “skip” button on the high of the immediate. vivo has promised 4 main OS upgrades and 5 years of safety patches, which isn’t on par with Google or Samsung however is the minimal replace coverage I’d count on from a telephone on this worth bracket.

We’ve additionally received some AI options now, similar to object erasing, photograph upscaling/enhancement, folks removing, and recorder summaries. Sadly, most of those options require an web connection, whereas recorder summarization requires a vivo account. You’ll be able to manually brush objects out of your picture when offline, however these outcomes don’t look nice.

The vivo X200 Professional follows in its predecessors’ footsteps by largely delivering among the finest digicam telephones of the 12 months. That’s largely because of the wonderful telephoto digicam and all kinds of photograph/video options. The sturdy design, good battery life, nice display screen, and flagship-tier efficiency all add as much as a telephone that’s value contemplating if it’s in your market.

Sadly, the glare concern is one thing I couldn’t overlook about, and also you’ll need to take into consideration in case you’re seeking to choose one up. It doesn’t happen usually, and vivo has launched a few instruments in a bid to take care of it, however that is nonetheless annoying when it does occur. Moreover, you’ll need to take care of loads of bloatware and a dearth of on-device AI options that don’t add as much as a lot when in comparison with Google or Samsung’s suites.

The vivo X200 Professional isn’t accessible within the US, however you will discover it within the likes of Europe, India, South Africa, and several other different markets. Anticipate to pay €1,299 (~$1,337) in Europe, making it just a little cheaper than the Galaxy S24 Extremely launch worth.