3 weeks ago
Two unthinkable camera phones pinch different strengths.
Mat Smith for Engadget
For immoderate companies, nan improvement of smartphone camera tech can't travel accelerated enough. In nan past fewer years, some Vivo and Oppo person been experimenting pinch teleconverters, tube lens add-ons that grow nan zoom of their flagship phones to dizzying heights. This year, 2 "ultra" flagships person launched broadside by side, pinch akin propositions arsenic existent replacements for your dedicated camera.
Vivo's X300 Ultra and Oppo's Find X9 Ultra person a batch successful common. Both person teleconvertors, yes, but nan companies person besides allied themselves pinch storied camera brands; Vivo worked pinch Zeiss connected some lenses and its colour technology, while Oppo continues its Hasselblad business done nan camera software, immoderate hardware creation touches and its 10x telephoto camera.
Both phones person a batch successful common, but what's much absorbing are nan different choices Vivo and Oppo made pinch their strongest feature: nan cameras.
Cameras
Mat Smith for Engadget
On nan Find X9 Ultra, nan superior camera has a 200-megapixel 1/1.28-inch sensor. With a debased f/1.5 aperture possible, this is an incredibly versatile camera, built to return successful ray and activity good moreover successful difficult shooting conditions. There's besides a brace of telephoto cameras. The first has a 200MP sensor and tin zoom up to 3x (70mm equivalent) for image photos and general-purpose shots, while nan showstopper is an 'ultra' telephoto, tin of 10x zoom astatine 50MP.
It's rare, but we've seen 10x zoom successful smartphones, including, briefly, Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, they weren't paired pinch specified high-resolution sensors. This offers much item successful shots, arsenic good arsenic nan expertise to digitally harvest down to get moreover person to nan taxable — though you won't request to astir arsenic often. The Find X9 Ultra besides has a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 3.2MP multispectral sensor to fortify achromatic equilibrium and colour accuracy.
Mat Smith for Engadget
However, Oppo's innovative 10x telephoto is nan astir thrilling portion of nan phone's penta camera setup. The 10x optical zoom besides opens up nan anticipation of 20x lossless zoom, each earlier we commencement attaching Oppo's teleconvertor lens. It besides has sensor-shift stabilization to amended clarity and trim nan chances of blur. (Vivo has its ain solution, which we'll get to successful a minute.)
The 3x telephoto camera is simply a convenient midpoint betwixt nan main camera and its immense sensor and nan unthinkable scope of nan 10x telephoto. However, Oppo gets a small excessively keen connected computational photography boosting present and I'd often get shots pinch ghostly outlines, particularly of quality subjects. Overly fierce integer sharpening besides made immoderate images look unnatural.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Within nan camera app (and arguably excessively galore shooting modes), Oppo's collaboration pinch Hasselblad gives shooters a Master Mode that blissfully strips distant nan computational AI tricks and augmentations. This intends that while you won't get that AI nip-tuck connected telephoto shots, you besides won't get nightmarish low-res faces aliases scrambled alien lettering. I broadly preferred it, though I occasionally missed nan amended low-light capacity of nan AI-boosted basal photograph mode.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The Vivo X300 Ultra has nan nonstop aforesaid 1/1.12-inch 200MP main camera sensor, though it has a constrictive 35mm focal length, which could beryllium based on to beryllium much "cinematic'. Its aperture tin spell arsenic debased arsenic f/1.85, losing again to its Oppo rival.
The X300 Ultra ultrawide camera, however, performs caput and shoulders supra nan Find X9 Ultra's version. Unlike astir smartphone ultra-wide cameras, which I cynically position arsenic a lazy effort by companies to adhd different camera to their smartphones, Vivo went to town. To start, Vivo added optical image stabilization (OIS), which is uncommon for this focal length. This, mixed pinch a 50MP sensor, intends images look crisper and much elaborate than those from rival devices, which typically usage lower-res sensors.
To Oppo's credit, its ultrawide camera isn't bad. The Find X9 Ultra besides has a 50MP camera sensor and a little f/2.0 lens. However, nan sensor isn't arsenic large (the X300 Ultra's 1/1.28-inch sensor is astir doubly nan beingness size of nan Find X9 Ultra's 1/1.95-inch sensor ) and it lacks built-in OIS. There's besides a batch little lens flaring connected ray sources pinch nan Vivo phone, apt owed to Zeiss' anti-reflective lens treatment.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The X300 Ultra's telephoto (another 200MP sensor) maxes retired astatine 3.7x zoom without a teleconverter and while you tin harvest down from that for much 'zoom', it loses a batch of item and adds a batch of artifacts successful nan process. Fortunately, for those looking to punch successful further, Vivo has you covered.
Teleconvertors
Mat Smith for Engadget
Despite some offering teleconverters, nan 2 companies took different approaches. If you're looking for axenic king-of-zoom credentials, Vivo takes nan crown pinch nan furthest full optical zoom, pinch 400mm focal magnitude (approximately 17x zoom). The X300 Ultra besides offers a convenient one-touch icon to modulation to teleconvertor mode. With each these cameras and shooting options, it tin beryllium laborious to swipe to nan teleconvertor connected either phone.
The X300 Ultra besides offers a spot of versatility pinch 2 pieces of glass. The 200mm lens offers immoderate telephoto mediate ground, pinch an 8.7x optical zoom. And yes, that's a little zoom than nan Find X9 Ultra's built-in telephoto camera, moreover if nan X300 Ultra uses a bigger, much tin sensor.
But it doesn't make Vivo nan definitive winner. The Find X9 Ultra's 300mm Explorer teleconverter provides 13x optical zoom by utilizing nan phone's 200MP 3x telephoto sensor. It whitethorn not sound for illustration a awesome leap complete nan built-in 10x zoom. Still, it captures images connected a substantially larger sensor pinch an f/2.2 aperture, offering much item and amended capacity successful adverse lighting. Attaching nan teleconvertor does mean nan effective aperture increases, but it'll still return successful much ray than nan Find X9 Ultra's built-in 10x telephoto lens and f/4.3.
Mat Smith for Engadget
While I balked astatine nan size of Oppo's teleconvertor, I deliberation nan Find X9 Ultra has nan amended setup. Vivo's teleconvertor struggles successful low-light scenes and adding nan lens intends gimbal-grade OIS can't grip precocious zoom levels. It decidedly seems shakier than nan Find X9 Ultra.
Regardless, for illustration nan camera-focused smartphones that came earlier them, playing pinch some teleconvertor systems is simply a batch of fun. These telephoto lenses connection acold amended ray sensitivity and much item than immoderate built-in telephoto camera — and nary image-cropping perfunctory to do so. It intends you tin seizure wildlife shots and way moving objects and still often get pin-sharp results — particularly if you're consenting to tether each that solid and telephone to a tripod. Fortunately, nan teleconvertor kits travel pinch tripod convertors that connect to nan lens.
Video
Mat Smith for Engadget
Vivo has been framing its Ultra phones arsenic professional-grade video cameras. While I'm not a master cinematographer — much of a front-of-the-camera talent — connected insubstantial and during my testing, nan X300 Ultra would beryllium a beautiful tin secondary camera for smaller video shoots.
Immediately, nan X300 Ultra offers 4K/120 fps 10-bit log video seizure connected each 3 cameras, making it easier to usage nan device's afloat video capabilities during some seizure and production.
We've already established that nan X300 Ultra has awesome camera sensors, but it's nan post-production and pro camera interfaces that guidelines out. The telephone supports nan APV 422 codec. Without getting excessively acold into nan weeds, astir smartphones grounds successful 4:2:0, which discards half of nan colour accusation to prevention space. APV 422 records astatine 4:2:2 chroma subsampling. This offers a wider colour gamut and little compression than emblematic mobile video formats. It besides supports nan Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), meaning you tin driblet nan phone's video contented alongside master cinema camera footage pinch small fuss.
Mat Smith for Engadget
For me, nan astir notable and useful characteristic was civilization 3D LUT previews during recording. This meant that erstwhile capturing video successful RAW, alternatively of nan typically muted, grey view, you could get a amended approximation of really nan video would yet look. Does this matter for vertical video snippets aliases cool lil' happenings you're going to stock connected WhatsApp? No. But for much eager projects (or possibly moreover master video work), it's impressive.
Video seizure is besides nan champion showcase for Vivo's "gimbal-grade" image stabilization tech. Inside nan X300 Ultra, mini electromagnetic motors move nan full sensor-lens assembly, which Vivo says tin compensate for up to 7 stops of shake. This setup mostly intends little blur and nary jumpy integer stabilization that astir smartphones usage to stabilize video. The X300 Ultra's horizontal statement stabilization is simply a very cool mode that keeps nan sky locked, sloppy of really you contort nan instrumentality — it's much typically an action-cam feature.
The Find X9 Ultra, while supporting ACES, does not support astir of those features. There are immoderate Hasselblad-branded video filters, which propose an artistic guidance complete method flexibility. In debased ray aliases while moving, I'd often get a pixelated, pulsing effect arsenic it struggled to support things stable. In beautiful overmuch each mounting I tested it, nan X300 Ultra dominated erstwhile it came to video.
Hardware
Mat Smith for Engadget
Oppo's Find X9 Ultra is successful galore ways an upgrade from nan Find X9 Pro. Aside from 5 (not four) cameras, it besides has a existent flagship processor, nan Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 — a important betterment complete nan MediaTek Dimensity 9500 wrong nan X9 Pro. Despite weighing much and being thicker than nan Pro model, nan X9 Ultra has a smaller 7,050mAh battery, though I didn't announcement immoderate antagonistic battery-life differences compared to nan Pro. It's besides 10g (0.35 ounces) heavier.
Both Vivo's X300 Ultra and Oppo's Find X9 Ultra connection camera grips and fittings for attaching teleconvertor lenses. Oppo's Earth Explorer kit consists of a caller camera grip/case pinch a two-stage shutter button, zoom rocker and a 300mm teleconvertor lens. Only nan Find X9 Ultra supports it, however. There's nary reverse compatibility pinch older Oppo teleconvertors and nan caller 300mm lens won't activity pinch nan Find X9 Pro either, which will beryllium frustrating for those wanting to upgrade from older models.
Oppo's Ultra smartphone is ultra-sized, pinch a 6.8-inch LTPO AMOLED show (3,168 x 1,440) pinch adaptive refresh rates betwixt 1 and 120Hz. It tin besides crank up to 144Hz for supported games, including Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero.
The Find X9 Ultra's surface peaks astatine 3,600 nits of brightness successful HDR, and while Vivo's X300 Ultra has a mostly identical screen, it tin scope up to 4,500-nit highest brightness. While testing nan phones side-by-side, location wasn't arsenic overmuch quality arsenic you mightiness expect, pinch those higher brightness levels only really kicking successful pinch compatible HDR content.
The hardware creation is akin crossed some phones, pinch a ample information camera portion dominating nan designs. Vivo's camera noticeably protrudes a fewer millimeters much than Oppo's, though nan phones' thicknesses are mostly identical. The Find X9 Ultra has a capacitive camera button, for illustration nan iPhone 17 series, positioned astatine nan halfway of nan correct edge. Vivo's X300 has nary camera fastener astatine all, which seems for illustration a funny oversight.
There are different hardware differences: While Vivo's "Ultra" smartphone has nan aforesaid Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor arsenic nan Find X9 Ultra, it has a smaller 6,600 mAh battery. Both phones usage Silicon Carbon batteries, taking up little abstraction contempt their precocious capacity. Both phones support up to 100W charging, which is awesome erstwhile you're pushing them to their limits pinch video seizure and countless still shots.
In our artillery rundown test, Vivo's X300 Ultra managed to eke retired 36 hours of video, while nan Find X9 Ultra managed 39 hours. It's not a decisive consequence for either phone, but compared to nan S26 Ultra's 30 hours, it's a notable leap. It mightiness beryllium clip for Samsung (and everyone else) to get into Silicon Carbon batteries.
Wrap-up
Mat Smith for Engadget
Deciding betwixt nan Find X9 Ultra and nan X300 Ultra comes down to whether your priorities are photography aliases video, pinch aliases without nan telephoto accessories. Oppo's Find X9 Ultra excels successful stills, pinch a powerful 3x telephoto and existent 10x optical zoom built in, complemented by nan pure, AI-free shots of nan Hasselblad Master Mode.
Serious filmmakers will find nan Vivo X300 Ultra superior, pinch its professional-grade video features and existent best-in-class "gimbal-grade" stabilization. In fact, you mightiness moreover scope for it arsenic a secondary camera successful mini shoots. Vivo besides boasts a acold amended ultrawide camera, while Oppo offers nan much versatile zoom setup retired of nan box, pinch little reliance connected outer teleconverters.
Cameras aside, some are powerful smartphones that suffer from constricted readiness and confusing, adaptable pricing. While some companies are claiming world launches, that's unluckily not existent for either. But if you want either of them capable (and person nan money to spend), you'll beryllium impressed by what some phones are tin of. Ultimately, your prime betwixt them will dangle connected which characteristic you worth most.
The X300 Ultra, which won't officially spell connected waste present successful nan UK, is priced astatine 1,740 Euros (approximately $2,023). In contrast, nan camera kit, including nan telephone itself, camera grip case, adapters and 2 lenses, is priced astatine 2,323 Euros (roughly $2,700). It's flagship foldable pricing — and that's earlier nan top-of-the-range bundle that includes a camera cage, cooling fan, grips and more, which is 2759 Euros — complete $3,200.
Oppo's Find X9 Ultra is coming to nan UK, priced astatine £1,449 (roughly $1,673), while nan camera kit (including nan Hasselblad-inspired camera grip, adapters and teleconvertor) is priced astatine £499 (around $577). However, that isn't yet disposable to bid connected nan company's UK site.
Availability aside, it's a bully clip to cheque connected really Chinese telephone makers are evolving their biggest, astir costly smartphones. With a dogged attraction connected their cameras, some phones service a niche, but you shouldn't disregard that some devices are powerful Android phones, too.
