Vivo recently launched their first foldable phone in India, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro. This is also the third foldable phone to enter the Indian market after Samsung and OnePlus, indicating that these types of phones in the premium segment are becoming popular with consumers. The OnePlus Open was also reviewed, and the appeal of these phones is not only their larger screen but also their impressive camera setups. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, co-developed with Zeiss like most of Vivo’s other flagships, will have its cameras tested in this review.
The unit received is in celestial black with specs of 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage capacity and is priced at ₹1,59,999 in India.
First things first, upon holding the phone, it feels remarkably light, thin, and slim, weighing just 236 g without the cover. Despite its lightness and slim profile, the grip is not very satisfying, though it may improve with continued use.
The camera module at the back lacks the fancy design of the OnePlus Open. It features a black circular module that Vivo calls Big Eye, designed to resemble a luxury watch. However, it mostly appears as a simple circular module, with some interesting details like the outer metal ring, but not much visibility within the module itself.
Specifications:
- 50 MP Main Camera with an f/1.68 lens and OIS
- 50 MP Ultra-Wide sensor
- 64 MP Telephoto Sensor with 3x optical zoom
- Both inner and outer screen have 32-MP Selfie Cameras with f/2.4 apertures
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Processor
- V3 Chip
Daylight Main Camera
The main camera of the Vivo comes with a 50-MP camera featuring an OmniVision OV50H sensor. It shoots at an actual resolution of 12.5 MP.
Images were shot in the Zeiss natural setting, and in most cases, the phone delivers pretty good images. It is able to produce sharp and crisp images. However, upon zooming in, the picture clarity isn’t the best compared to most cameras available today. Generally, it recognizes the scene well, but sometimes it tends to oversaturate or over sharpen the pictures. When the picture is oversaturated, it doesn’t sharpen the image, but when providing the actual scene, it tends to over sharpen, occasionally resulting in slightly underexposed images.
One observation while using the camera is that sometimes the screen display does not match the actual output. The final picture might be much better than what is shown, which can be misleading to the user. This might be considered nit-picking in most cases, and a regular viewer might not even notice such tiny details. However, these discrepancies can create doubt in the consumer’s mind.
Overall, the camera is decent in this case.
Daylight Wide Camera
The phone offers a 50-MP sensor with the wide camera, utilizing the Samsung JN1 sensor. The actual resolution of the wide camera exceeds that of the main camera at 13.8 pixels, and this difference is noticeable when zooming in on performance. There is increased clarity in the images when zoomed in, though, similar to widest lenses, significant zooming introduces a lot of noise.
In terms of overall image quality, the pictures are comparable to those taken with the main camera. They are pleasing to the eye, with the phone accurately recognizing scenes, though it sometimes oversaturates the pictures. Some distortion is also present in the images; for instance, in a picture of a car, the vehicle appears more stretched and wider than usual.
Daylight Telephoto
In the telephoto camera, the phone uses the 64-MP Omni Vision camera which comes with the OV64B sensor. This sensor has become quite popular in the industry, with OnePlus making it their go-to sensor for the telephoto lens. In previous reviews, this sensor was mentioned as one of the best telephoto sensors in the industry currently. The fact that more and more brands are using it indicates its success.
An interesting aspect of the telephoto category is that Vivo provides output at different actual pixels at different focal ranges. At 2x, it gives an output of 14.3 MP, and at 3x optical zoom and above, it provides an output of 18.2 MP. The performance of the camera is impressive. It is sharp, detailed, provides good output, and is definitely worth using.
However, there is a need to discuss this sensor further. Despite its quality, it has a challenge with the output it gives. There is a visible change in the colours of the image as one moves through the focal range, suggesting that this might be more of a hardware issue with the OV64B sensor rather than with the phones themselves. This issue has also been observed in OnePlus devices, initially thought to be fixable through software updates, but this has not happened. At the highest focal ranges, there is also noticeable colour fringing if a picture is taken at 100x.
Lowlight Main Camera
In low light, the camera demonstrates excellent performance. It accurately recognizes scenes and delivers a warm, saturated, and visually pleasing output. Even when zoomed in, its performance remains decent, with commendable handling of shadows and highlights.
Lowlight Wide Camera
In the wide category, the images appear satisfactory at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the performance is below average. The images exhibit noticeable noise and significant distortion. Despite these drawbacks, the camera manages to maintain a commendable tonal range in the pictures, which is a positive aspect worth noting.
Lowlight Telephoto Camera
Much like its daylight performance, the camera excels in low light as well, delivering sharp, well-saturated images. The performance in this category was impressive.
Portraits
In portraits, the phone offers the option to shoot with 5 different focal ranges. This feature is beneficial for consumers, as Vivo now integrates it directly into portrait mode. In some phones, such as those with Leica lenses, Vivo has included similar options, which can be confusing for users. However, Vivo portraits generally exhibit warmth, saturation, sharpness, and overall good quality. Edge detection is reliable, even in backlit environments. The phone performs well in both daylight and lowlight conditions, excelling in bokeh performance, particularly in lowlight situations.
However, a notable drawback is that the camera tends to alter colours from the actual scene, especially evident in images shot at higher focal ranges. Additionally, despite settings indicating otherwise, skin smoothing is noticeable in photos.
Front Camera
Now, users have the option to utilize the back cameras for selfies, although the phone offers dual 32-MP front cameras for capturing pictures.
One notable observation about this phone is the significant disparity between what is displayed on the screen and the actual output, particularly with the front camera. The phone’s screen gives the impression of viewing images in 720p resolution, whereas the actual output is in HD quality. While zooming in reveals sharp details, selfies generally appear decent in most cases.
Video Performance
In terms of video, the phone allows users to shoot in 8k up to 30 fps and 4k up to 60 fps. One notable feature is the ability to shoot using all four focal ranges for video. However, when using the ultra-stabilization mode, the resolution drops to 1080p. Overall, the video output is good, with fast focusing and effective stabilization. The audio quality is also satisfactory, making it suitable for vlogging and similar uses.
Conclusion
So what do we think about the Vivo Fold 3 Pro Cameras, there are several aspects that stand out positively. The camera system delivers sharp, detailed output in both daylight and low-light conditions, which I find quite appealing. While there are areas where the cameras could be improved, this is common across most products. It’s worth noting that the market for foldable phones is growing, although it’s still relatively small. As for the price, at ₹1,59,999, it feels a bit high for a foldable phone in India. However, for anyone interested in a foldable phone with a strong camera, this could be a compelling choice.