Undeniably, the Vivo X90 Pro is the company’s best camera phone to date. However, is it really good when compared to its peers in the same range? I have been using the Vivo X90 Pro for the last few days, and here are my thoughts on the smartphone’s camera equipped with the 1-inch mega sensor.

The device has a triple camera setup with two 50 MP sensors and a 12 MP ultra-wide angle camera. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Let’s look at the camera specs.

Before I get into the actual camera performance of the Vivo X90 Pro, let me introduce the camera hardware of this device. The phone has a 1-inch Sony IMX 989 primary sensor with an f/1.75 aperture. Similarly, the device has a 50MP telephoto lens with an f/1.6 aperture – the widest aperture that we have seen on a smartphone telephoto lens – and then there is a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.0 aperture.

All three camera sensors are housed inside the circular camera island, and the main lens, along with all seven lens elements, has a Zeiss T* coating to maximize light intensity and decrease lens flare. Lastly, there is a 32MP selfie camera at the front – more on that in the actual review. The Vivo X90 Pro also has one of the biggest (in terms of height) camera bumps I have ever seen on a modern smartphone. The camera island can be used to rest your fingers while clicking pictures.

Apart from the ISP (image signal processor) on the MediaTek Dimensity 9200, Vivo is also using an in-house V2 chip, which improves the camera performance and also helps with gaming. Lastly, the display has been colour calibrated by Zeiss, ensuring that users will look at images via a colour-calibrated display.

The device has a colour-calibrated 120Hz curved display. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Vivo X90 Pro boasts exceptional camera hardware, and it works.

From the dedicated V2 chip to the large 1-inch sensor, everything works in favour of the Vivo X90 when it comes to camera performance. While it does miss out on gimbal stabilisation, according to Vivo, the X90 Pro comes with improved built-in image stabilisation technology. During the test run, I noticed that the X90 Pro takes stable videos even in low-light situations.

Here are some of the camera samples from the Vivo X90 Pro under various lighting conditions. These are unedited images, straight from the camera app. However, they have been resized for the web.

This picture was snapped from the primary camera. I really liked how the phone retained the details even in the shadow area. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
A landscape photo, again, shot via the primary camera. Even in the gloomy environment, the device has managed to capture a lot of details. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
Photo of the hotel, captured using the primary camera. Again, excellent details preservation. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
X90 Pro uses the primary camera to take macro shots, and it produces excellent details. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
A demo of the macro shot using Vietnam currency note. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
The device has a dedicated food mode, which slightly amps up the contrast to make the pictures social media-ready. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
The device has managed to capture all the colours accurately (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This was captured when the subject was on the move and I just had a few seconds to open my phone, frame, and capture. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This was not a portrait shot, but due to the wider aperture, it has a naturally blurred background while keeping the subject in focus. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
The green leaves behind the flowers highlight the capabilities of the HDR performance. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
Puppy, whose eye is perfectly in focus along with the hair and it also has a Zeiss lens flare effect. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This was a pitch-dark place, and the night mode has managed to make it visible. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
Another night mode shot from the Vivo X90 Pro. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
The foreground is completely in focus while the background is naturally blurred in this picture due to the wider aperture. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This was clicked after sunset. Despite that, the image has plenty of details (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This image was taken by digitally zooming into the subject. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
Another excellent landscape shot from the Vivo X90 Pro’s primary camera. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
This photo also has a lot of details with excellent dynamic range. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)
Finally, a selfie from the Vivo X90 Pro. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Is Vivo X90 Pro the perfect camera phone?

While there is nothing such as a perfect camera phone and the X90 Pro is no different. The device does lack in a few departments. One such aspect is the absence of a periscope zoom lens (which is available on the China-exclusive X90 Pro+), and another drawback is the video recording capabilities of the selfie camera, which are limited to 1080p with up to 60fps. Coming from the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I definitely missed the 10x optical zoom lens and the 4K selfie video recording capabilities.

While the 50MP telephoto lens with a large aperture of f/1.6 does take some great shots in almost every lighting condition, the optical zooming capabilities of this phone are limited to 2x, which is a bit disappointing given that the X80 Pro had a dedicated periscope zoom lens with up to 5x optical zoom.

This is definitely the most premium smartphone that Vivo has launched to date in India. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Verdict: The only camera phone that most of us will ever need

Barring the drawbacks, the Vivo X90 Pro is an excellent flagship smartphone with an emphasis on camera performance. This phone has the fastest shutter speed (in sports mode) that I have ever used on a phone. On top of that, it also offers plenty of modes to play around with, allowing users to capture a photo in their style.

While I prefer Vivo’s colour science, the Zeiss natural colour 2.0 mode does offer true-to-life-looking pictures, which can be further edited as per the requirement. On top of that, it also has a handheld astro mode and night sports mode, which allows users to capture stable pictures of moving subjects even in low-light situations.

To summarize, the Vivo X90 Pro has both hardware and software and even the Zeiss T* lens coating, making it the perfect phone for shutterbugs. If you are looking for a camera-first flagship smartphone in 2023, the Vivo X90 Pro is an easy pick.