Tag Archives: Smartphone Camera Test

iPhone 17 Pro vs vivo X300 Pro: A Flagship Camera Face-Off

Pricing and Positioning

The iPhone 17 Pro starts at ₹1.35 lakh, placing it firmly in the ultra-premium bracket. The vivo X300 Pro undercuts it at around ₹1.10 lakh, though street pricing and offers can narrow this gap. Both phones target serious users who expect top-tier performance, particularly from their cameras.

vivo X300 Pro

Triple 50 MP camera setup
New custom 200MP telephoto sensor by Samsung, Mediatek & vivo (14.3MP output with 50 & 200MP options available)
50MP Front camera (Samsung JN1 – 14.2MP output)
50MP hi-res photo option available on all sensors including front
Powered by Mediatek Dimensity 9500 processor and V3+ imaging chip
Video capability bumped up to 8K at 30fps and 4K at up to 120fps, with LOG – which is only available in 4K

iPhone 17 Pro

Triple 48 MP Fusion cameras on the back
18 MP front camera with a square sensor and Center Stage support
Updated Photonic Engine for better low light and color accuracy
Powered by the A19 Pro chip with 12 GB RAM (up from 8 GB)
Video: 4K up to 120 fps, with ProRes RAW, and GenLock support

Camera Performance

In daylight, the difference in philosophy becomes immediately apparent. The iPhone captures images at 24MP, while the vivo defaults to a lower-resolution output. In practice, the iPhone produces slightly sharper images, particularly noticeable when zooming in. vivo’s recent software updates have improved natural rendering, but images still tend to be marginally underexposed, affecting shadow detail and highlight recovery. vivo images are more saturated, while the iPhone leans towards neutral, accurate colours. At 2× zoom, both phones show a dip in quality, but the iPhone maintains a slight edge. vivo’s high-resolution shooting modes can recover detail at the cost of storage space, while Apple counters with its own high-resolution options.

Daylight Main

In daylight, the difference in philosophy becomes immediately apparent. The iPhone’s 48MP Sony IMX903 sensor outputs 24MP images by default, while the vivo’s 50MP Sony LYT-828 sensor produces 14.3MP images. In theory, the iPhone’s higher output resolution should translate into sharper images – and in practice, it does as well.

On zooming in, the iPhone images retain finer detail. vivo’s recent software updates have improved natural rendering, but images still tend to be marginally underexposed, affecting shadow detail and highlight recovery. vivo’s colour tuning leans towards saturation, while the iPhone remains more neutral and truer to life.

At 2× zoom, both phones show a drop in quality, but the iPhone maintains a marginal edge. vivo does counter this with its 50MP high-resolution mode on the main sensor, though this comes at the cost of increased storage usage, while Apple offers a similar high-resolution option on its main camera.

Daylight Ultra-Wide

The trend continues with the ultra-wide cameras. The iPhone’s 48MP Sony IMX972 sensor delivers better sharpness, superior distortion correction and more reliable dynamic range compared to vivo’s 50MP Samsung JN1 sensor. vivo’s ultra-wide images again appear slightly underexposed, with punchier colours but compromised shadow detail.

While vivo offers a 50MP high-resolution mode on the ultra-wide camera, the iPhone’s default 24MP output feels more refined, balanced and dependable, especially in challenging lighting.

Daylight Telephoto

Telephoto performance is a strong point for both devices, but they take very different routes to get there. The iPhone’s 48MP Sony IMX973 telephoto camera offers optical zoom up to 4× and digital zoom up to 40×. vivo’s custom 200MP telephoto sensor, on the other hand, offers optical zoom up to 3.5× and digital zoom reaching 100×.

Up to 4×, the iPhone produces sharper and cleaner images. Beyond that, vivo quickly catches up and then overtakes. At 10× zoom, both phones deliver comparable results, though vivo’s brighter output makes images appear more appealing at first glance. At extreme zoom levels, the vivo’s higher-resolution sensor gives it a clear advantage, delivering noticeably sharper images despite visible processing. For users who rely heavily on long-range photography, vivo clearly holds the upper hand once digital zoom becomes the primary factor.

Low-Light Performance

Low-light photography is more evenly matched than expected. Using the main cameras, the vivo’s Sony LYT-828 sensor delivers stronger contrast, producing more dramatic images, though it sometimes over-brightens scenes and introduces colour shifts due to aggressive processing.

The iPhone’s Sony IMX903 sensor produces more restrained and consistent results, even if the images lack some visual punch. On the ultra-wide cameras, vivo again shows better sharpness and contrast from the Samsung JN1 sensor, while the iPhone’s IMX972 maintains superior colour accuracy.

Telephoto performance follows the daylight trend, with both phones performing well at optical zoom levels, but vivo dominating once digital zoom comes into play, albeit with heavier computational processing.

Portrait Mode

Portrait photography highlights the philosophical divide between the two brands. The iPhone allows portrait shooting across all three rear cameras and produces more natural-looking images with accurate skin tones and consistent colour reproduction.

vivo offers a wider range of portrait focal lengths, made possible by its multi-sensor setup, but applies noticeable skin smoothing and occasionally inconsistent colour tuning. Edge detection and background separation are strong on both, but Apple’s portraits feel closer to reality, while vivo’s lean towards a more stylised aesthetic.

Macro Photography

Macro photography delivers an unexpected result. Despite vivo’s super macro advantage, the iPhone produces sharper images with better detail and more accurate colours. vivo does allow users to get as close as approximately 10cm to the subject, offering greater flexibility, but it also tends to alter colours from the original scene, particularly in natural textures like bark and foliage.

Front Camera Performance

On the front, vivo’s upgraded 50MP Samsung JN1 sensor delivers higher detail, particularly when zooming in. The iPhone’s 18MP square sensor produces warmer, more saturated images but clearly vivo has an edge when it comes to this one.

Video Performance

Video remains Apple’s strongest suit. While vivo’s hardware enables 8K recording, the iPhone’s output at 4K – driven by the A19 Pro chip and Apple’s image processing – remains more balanced, better stabilised and far more consistent in colour and exposure. ProRes RAW & GenLock support and dependable autofocus make the iPhone the more serious tool for content creators and professional videographers.

Battery & Thermals

Battery life clearly favours the vivo thanks to its massive 6500mAh capacity, often stretching to a day and a half of use. The iPhone, however, manages heat more effectively and remains stable during extended shooting sessions, except when recording ProRes RAW video.

Final Verdict

This is not a clear-cut win. The vivo X300 Pro excels in telephoto photography, low-light contrast, front camera detail and battery life, largely thanks to its ambitious sensor choices. The iPhone 17 Pro counters with superior consistency, more natural portraits, stronger macro performance and industry-leading video capabilities driven by its tightly integrated sensor and processing pipeline.

For users who value experimentation, extreme zoom and computational flair, vivo offers remarkable value. For those who prioritise reliability, colour accuracy and professional-grade video, the iPhone remains the safer choice. Despite vivo’s impressive hardware advantages, the iPhone 17 Pro’s overall balance and predictability give it the edge as the better all-round camera phone, albeit at a higher price.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 vs Vivo V30e Camera Test

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In this review we are comparing the cameras of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 vs Vivo V30e cameras. Both of these phones come in very interesting price category, between ₹25,000 – 28,000. Now this is a very competitive market and also something that users tend to use a lot. Both these phones are the best variants that the manufacturers offer, 8GB RAM and a 256GB capacity which is expandable to 1TB using an external card. The OnePlus is more affordable of the two coming in with a price of ₹27,000, while the Vivo is for ₹30,000.

Camera Set up

At the back both these come with a dual camera set up which are identical, they both feature a 50-MP main camera and an 8-MP ultrawide camera set up. But there are two major differences between them, one the front camera of the Vivo is also a 50 MP camera while the OnePlus is at 16 MP and the other is that the Nord 4 CE is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 while the Vivo is powered by the 6 Gen 1 processor. Now to the naked eye this might not seem much, but the processor can make a big difference to the performance of the phones, both in the cameras as well as the overall performance.

Both these are powered by the Android 14 with the layer of Oxygen and Funtouch OS.

Daylight Main Camera

A quick look at the sensors of the camera tells us that both manufactures have used different sensors, the OnePlus uses the Sony Lytia 600 sensor which we have now seen on the Open as well as the 12. While the Vivo uses the Sony IMX 882.

In terms of pics, for a camera which offers 50 MP the performance from both of them is ok. The Vivo in some cases boosts the saturation than the actual scene and giving out more reddish tinge to it. On the other hand, the OP was able to give the output as per the original scene. And because of this compensation, the vivo also boosts the contrast of the image leading to the shadow and highlights being blown out. On zooming in as well the images from the OP are sharper than the Vivo.

We put the phones in a challenging shooting scene with harsh light to see multiple things and in this case as well the Vivo was over saturating the pics and also blowing out some details. If you see the wire in this pic then it has blown out coz of the over compensation. I liked the performance of the OP in this case since it didn’t blow out the sky and made it appear bluish which was slightly dull in the Vivo.

But in cases where you are looking for a better saturation and poppy colours then the Vivo would come out on top with the images looking more pleasing to the eye. Although the flare performance could be better.

Daylight Wide

The wide camera of both the phones comes in at 8 MP and its isn’t the best resolution that you get today. But in this price bracket I don’t think the manufacturers can give you much more either.

The images from both of them are ok. The Vivo again displays signs of over saturation but the performance of the flaring is pretty good in this case, much better than OP. But closer to the actual scene, the OP is able to deliver it much better, the Vivo in this case consistently displayed a yellowish or reddish tinge in most cases. I also found the distortion performance of the OP much better.

Daylight Telephoto

In the telephoto category both the phones allow the user to click upto 2x and then shift to digital zoom of 10x for the Vivo and 20x for the OP.

In this case the performance of both the phones up to 2 to 3x is decent. Anything beyond that I wouldn’t expect a lot. To the naked eye, the OP appears to be sharper on zooming in, but there is hardly any difference between the two honestly. What works for the Vivo in this case is the saturation compensation for vivo which makes some images appear more sharper and pleasing to the eye.

But overall, for zoom purposes and also at high focal ranges the OP is much sharper than the Vivo.

Lowlight Main

In lowlight, the main camera of the OP is again much better giving better sharpness and more saturation as well. The overall image from the Vivo appears to have some sort of a haze due to which the images aren’t looking sharp or saturated. Even on zooming in you can find more details in the pics from the OP. Overall the OP does seem to show a lot more clarity, saturation and also true to scene pics in this case.

Lowlight Wide

And this performance continues in the wide category as well. The Vivo gives a slight reddish tinge to the images while the OP gives a slight yellowing tinge in some cases under ambient light. But under more natural conditions the images from the Vivo seem better than the OP. The images do come slightly underexposed in the OP while they seem well lit and saturated in Vivo.

Lowlight Telephoto

Under this category neither of these phones are that great. At best they are passable.

At 2x the OP displays much better shapes and quality but anything beyond that, both the phones start losing sharpness and in my mind images under such conditions can be used much. As you go higher into the focal range the difference seems more apparent. And in this case as well the OP has a much better quality than the Vivo.

Portraits

In terms of portraits the Vivo gives you the option to use the aura light to shoot more warmer portraits if you want. But the images from that are warmer and the fill of the light can be much better. Also, by default the setting for skin smoothening is on for the Vivo so if you are someone who doesn’t like that then you should put it off in settings.

In general, the images from either of the phones are decent. The output is sharp in most cases, but the edge detection could be better. Now with these types of phones I don’t expect them to have excellent output in terms of bokeh and depth, but in this case as well the OP is visibly much better. The depth is more real and better than the Vivo.

Front Camera

The front camera has quite a bit of difference between both of the phones. The vivo has a 50-megapixel camera, whereas the OnePlus has a 16-megapixel camera in terms of resolution, and the Vivo definitely has an advantage in this case on paper.

But despite the resolution advantage, the images from the OP are well saturated and good. In terms of portraits as well the pictures from both the phones are decent. The have a decent edge detection, especially in backlight scenarios and can be passed at decent images.

Video

When it comes to Videos, both the phones can shoot 4k upto 60 fps and the output from both of them is good. In daylight there is very little to choose between either of them, but in lowlight the OP seems much better than the Vivo. The stabilisation also works better in the OP as you can see from the samples.

Conclusion

So which phone has the better camera? The OnePlus or the Vivo? They both have something that works well for them, but in this case for me the OnePlus Nord CE 4 is the winner, not only because the camera is better under most conditions, but also since it features a much faster processer, specs and also is more economically priced than the Vivo.

Bhavya Desai