vivo X60 Pro+ is a distinctive flagship product at the beginning of 2021. In this detailed test of a large number of samples, I would like to take advantage of the two products jointly developed by Zeiss, X60Pro+ and X60Pro, to discuss with you the development direction of mobile phone imaging, the temptations, challenges, and the end of the computational photography era we will face. What kind of mobile phone image is acceptable to people.
Let me start with a conclusion: "Through the actual measurement of massive portraits and death scenes, Zeiss has played a key role in this strategic cooperation. It has indeed played a key role in the miniaturization, glare suppression, and color accuracy of the outsole large aperture lens. In order to be able to objectively understand Zeiss’s role in the vivo X60Pro+ imaging system and the blue factory’s contribution to the entire set of modules, it has provided the blue factory with extremely valuable research and development support." The design effect of the Jiangsu Film Association's portrait master Lu Kas also participated in this evaluation. The old master uses the Zeiss fixed focus system and OPPO FindX2 Pro mobile phone for himself. His main focus on mobile phone images is: color accuracy, tolerance, and dark light performance. The color accuracy and low-light portrait of X60Pro+ left a deep impression on him. I asked Mr. Lu to give an objective and fair evaluation. His original words were: "This is probably not one of the strongest portrait phones I have used so far, and the intervention of Zeiss is not a gimmick, it is very important."
I hope Speak with pictures. All marketing gimmicks, in the end, still have to talk with pictures. And each proof must be carefully thought out, with a clear evaluation purpose.
"Image from the heart!" This is my creed, and it is also the guiding idea that runs through this review.
Generation difference rolling: a reborn three-camera design, starting with Zeiss intervention and development
vivo X60Pro+ is a flagship machine based on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform,Its main design idea is mobile phone images. On the premise of ensuring that the imaging capabilities reach the design level, everything must make way for this core selling point. So I won't go into too much detail beyond the shadow system.
Under the design specifications of Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens group, the lens group of the X60 series has undergone a complete transformation. X60Pro’s IMX598 micro-head Tessar lens group is very outstanding in low light. This gives a new design idea for small and medium-sized mobile phone image modules: the bottom is large and the first level is crushed. If the bottom is not big enough, the manufacturer can still pass High-quality mirror group to crush people.
And X60 Pro+ is based on the outsole photoreceptor, and optimizes the quality of the lens group to the degree of generation difference. Let me put it this way, the Samsung GN1 1/1.3-inch photoreceptor has been used three times, namely X50Pro+, iQOO5 Pro and X60 Pro+. Only this GN1, which was opened by Zeiss, showed amazing performance. performance.
X60 Pro+'s Vario-Tessar three main lens design, called the devil configuration:
1. wide-angle main camera : Samsung GN1 1/1.3 inch 50 million pixel CMOS, Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens group Under the blessing of, this 23mm lens achieves a large aperture of F 1.57 and Zeiss T* anti-glare coating. It needs to be pointed out that this is the first time in the industry that such a huge aperture value has been achieved on such a huge module assembly. Previously, this specification can only achieve F1.85-F1.9.
2. Strong6strong ultra-wide-angle main camera: 1/2 inch, 48 million pixel Sony IMX598 micro-head, 14mm F2.2, with the assistance of Zeiss, this lens is very thin, but the effect is amazing. This lens combines the distortion correction algorithm, and the overall edge distortion control is somewhat similar to the effect of the 23mm main lens.
3. Strong6strong Mid-focus portrait main camera: 32 million pixel GD1,50mm F2.0. This lens first appeared on X30Pro. At that time, neither the optical imaging quality nor the portrait algorithm was very mature. After three generations of optimization, the performance on X60Pro+ has matured day by day.
4. telephoto lens: 8 million pixel small bottom periscope. In fact, from my personal point of view, the mobile phone can focus on a few focal lengths to achieve the ultimate, unless the volume and thickness are not considered for the full focal length. Actually, the performance of this telephoto lens is very boring, and it doesn't hurt to cut it off. Because I am not very interested in this telephoto lens, and the actual performance is also very average, so this time I will not release the proofs.
According to the actual measurement results, Zeiss has achieved at least several key goals for vivo in this cooperation:
1. Miniaturize the outsole GN1 module assembly and make the micro-head The IMX598 module assembly is miniaturized; the direct result of this work is that the weight of the X60Pro+ is only 190 grams, and with the blessing of plain leather, the thickness is 9.1mm. (If you change to AG glass, the thickness is up to 8.8mm)
2. Optimized the color performance at all focal lengths. What is Zeiss color? I don't think there is much Zeiss color. It is enough to make the color at all focal lengths and white balance as consistent as possible, so that the colors at key focal lengths can be accurate. I mentioned the problem of the color temperature shift of the X50Pro+ and iQOO5 Pro's main camera in many scenes before, and this time it has been completely resolved. I am a person who values color performance very much. The color accuracy and white balance performance of X60Pro+ is satisfactory.
3. X60Pro+ uses Zeiss's iconic T* coating. In order to achieve the optical standard of Zeiss T* coating, vivo uses the ALD process to achieve an average reflectivity of 0.25% in the center area and edge area of the lens, which is equivalent to a 50% reduction in light reflectivity in the center area (on the surface of the lens). The reflectivity is reduced by 87.5%. The decrease in reflectivity means that the light transmittance is increased. The reflectivity brought by the conventional coating process is 0.5%,The use of ALD coating technology can reduce the reflectivity to 0.25%, and the reflectivity is reduced by 50%, which means that more light can enter the lens. This is the key factor in the improvement of the optical performance of the X60Pro+.
X60Pro+ and X60 Pro imaging system actual test: portrait test in a complex environment
Compared with the complex and boring standardized test in the past, this time for the imaging system jointly developed by vivo and Zeiss, I used a portrait test. The test involves daily working conditions, super-backlight working conditions, low light working conditions, and multiple complex color light working conditions. Both phones have accomplished the task very well. Among them, the X60Pro has achieved leapfrog performance with a 1/2-inch medium and small bottom.
In this evaluation, the imaging system used for reference is Sony A7M4 with Zeiss 28/35/58/85 mm fixed focal length lens. All four fixed focal length lenses have T* coating.
The first set of portrait samples: high-light ratio, super-backlit portrait display
Sony A7M4+ Zeiss 35mm prime lens sample
In a large backlight environment, Zeiss 35mm prime lens Reference proofs. The resolution of the original Zeiss lens, the latitude of the camera itself, and the precise expression of the color of the afternoon sun are still benchmarks.
The super-backlit portrait performance of vivo X60 Pro+ is remarkable, the picture is clear and sharp, and the HDR performance is just right. It will not be out of balance due to the blessing of computational photography. The metering accuracy under backlight is also good, and the face exposure is more appropriate. The natural glare under the backlight is also very artistic.
Super backlight death conditions, X60 Pro+'s exposure, color and white balance are all just right. Although the glare performance and the original Zeiss lens have some interference and some gaps, the overall performance is very good. Of course, because of the focal length and the size of the bottom, the mobile phone still has a certain gap with the camera in the perspective of the picture.
Zeiss 35mm great light ratio proofs
Zeiss 35mm great light ratio proofs for reference.
Below is the human pixel quality display of the main camera of X60Pro+ in the same environment. I added a Liu Wen filter to this picture of X60 Pro+. Liu Wen and vivo have been jointly producing filter styles for several years, and it has reached a high level close to standardized film. The main camera of X60Pro+ has a large light ratio proof, which is very prominent in exposure control and white balance performance. And there is no problem of HDR imbalance caused by overshooting. The picture is clean and the HDR intensity is reasonable.
More indoor main shots and ultra-wide-angle portrait samples are displayed:
The main camera and ultra-wide-angle performance of X60Pro+ can be evaluated in complex indoor light environments. Excellent color accuracy, extremely restrained HDR expression, and dark noise reduction processing are all very good in the field of mobile phones.
The second group of portrait samples: outdoor normal environment full focal length portrait sample display
outdoor portraits involve ultra-wide-angle, main 2span and 50mm span _1span Liu Wen filter and Xiao Quan black and white filter. The biggest bright spot is obviously that the performance of this 50mm GD1 is much more stable, and there will be no problem that the depth of field calculation often fails when I use the X30Pro in the United States in early 2020. This generation of GD1 produces more natural films, and the edge imaging is clearer and sharper. Of course, the problem with this portrait lens also exists, that is, the bottom is really small.The performance in low light is average, and the smearing feeling and resolution are obviously different from the dual main camera.
In order to fully demonstrate the effect of this mid-focus lens, I took it out separately for sample analysis:
The third group of portrait samples: X60 Pro+ 50mm F2.0 mid-focus lens special
this It is a mid-focus lens that has been used for three generations. On the X30Pro, this lens achieves a shallow depth of field and a strong perspective relationship, but there are many problems: the edge of the subject is not clear, there are more out-of-focus imaging errors, the color deviation is large, and the low-light environment has more noise. On the X50Pro+, it has improved, but out-of-focus imaging errors and edge imaging problems have always existed. After Zeiss intervened in research and development, the GD1 50mm F2.0 on X60Pro+ basically solved all the above problems.
In direct PK with Zeiss 35mm fixed focus lens, this small base 50mm GD1 has been optimized for the lens group and algorithmic support, which can well solve the problem of blurry edge imaging and even errors, especially It is the hair part of the model. This was basically difficult to do a year ago. In addition, Zeiss's iconic rotating focus round spot, this 50mm lens also reflects very well.
Actually, before the evaluation, I was very clear about the past performance of this GD1, and I was not very interested. After real shooting, I found that vivo has indeed solved many flaws on this lens in this year or so, and the edge imaging and color optimization are quite good, so I want to focus on the interpretation.
Below is a set of portraits with a mid-focus lens, including dark-light portraits. This small-bottom portrait lens performs well in dark light. In a bar environment with extremely low illumination, this small-bottom portrait The picture of the lens is very clean, the edges are maintained well, and the colors are also very good. The effect is better with Liu Wen filter.
The fourth group of portrait samples: a special display of dark-light portrait samples
As Zeiss assisted vivo to comprehensively improve the sensitivity of the module,And the aperture value of the GN1 main camera has been increased to F1.57, and the ultra-wide-angle micro-head F2.2. The actual measurement found that both the ultra-wide-angle IMX598 and the micro-head IMX598 on the X60Pro can achieve a handheld safety shutter in 1/10 second. In this group of proofs, not only X60Pro+ photos, but also X60Pro micro-cloud proofs will be displayed.
The highlight of this set of proofs that scared the old masters is this super wide-angle proof of IMX598. Under the high sense of ISO3300, the film is released in 1/14 second, and the picture is clean and transparent. The safety shutter created by the micro-panel plays a key role. This work was shot by Teacher Lu from the Jiangsu Film Association. After the filming, he told me that he really didn't expect the optical system on the mobile phone to achieve this achievement. It was really difficult.
talked about the performance of X60Pro+, let’s take a look at the excellent performance of the IMX598 F1.47 micro-head main camera, which is one level larger than it in the dark-light portrait test. This is the X60Pro's dark-light portrait Sample:
In fact, a dynamic conclusion can be made: "There is nothing wrong with the sentence "The bottom-level first-level crushes the person, but the lens group, optical quality and shutter compensation system are extremely optimized." In the face of the medium-sized bottom of the slate, the advantage of the large bottom may not be obvious." This IMX598 uses the ability of the micro gimbal at the ultra-wide angle and the main camera to prove that the large bottom does not necessarily kill people. The smaller GD1 also proved this point. Under this low light death condition, the performance of this GD1 even exceeded most mature products with 1/2 and 1/1.7 specifications.
image system stage summary: the clear stream of the computing photography era, a high-quality system that is easy to produce
Using the evaluation of the old masters: "X60Pro+ and X60Pro image systems are the clear stream that is popular in the era of computing photography".It is undeniable that the ISP and NPU of Snapdragon 888 and Samsung Exynos1080 have played a key role in the X60 series, but the overall performance can be described as restraint. In my opinion, an important concept that Zeiss instilled in vivo is to follow the origin of light. Technology and algorithms are used to make up for the serious lack of optical performance of the mobile phone imaging system, rather than interfering with the actual creation of the picture.
However, judging from the analysis of a large number of proofs, in the low light and high light ratio scenes of the X60 series, computational photography is still excessively intervened, not as natural as the camera. Many dark spaces that do not need to be brightened are brightened by the multi-frame synthesis algorithm, which makes the whole picture appear uncoordinated. This is the sadness of the era of computing photography.
I like to follow the style of traditional photography creation concepts and norms. I also hope that computational photography must always understand where my boundaries are. The proofs of the X60 series let everyone understand that it is not that difficult to follow the traditional image concept on mobile phones. Mobile phone production is purely based on calculation. This idea has the mark of the times, but in the long run, it is still necessary to reach a reconciliation with optical effects.
X60 series mobile phones are a system that is easy to produce movies. There are almost no extreme scenes that require the presence of an old master to shoot a blockbuster. Vivo and Zeiss have solved many obstacles in use, and ordinary consumers can also get satisfactory results. Zeiss style, Liu Wen filter, Xiao Quan filter are all exclusive features, suitable for ordinary people.
If there are any problems with this imaging system, a brief summary is as follows:
1. An 8-megapixel periscope is optional. With the blessing of three excellent main cameras, this telephoto lens is of average quality. It looks awkward and redundant. As a flagship camera that focuses on imaging systems, no lens can be improvised. Either cut off the periscope and reduce the burden on the phone to create a golden focal length of 14mm-65mm; or don’t worry about the thickness and use a large-bottom periscope to directly solve the problem. Only professional is valuable. This periscope is a relatively unprofessional part of the X60 system. We are not afraid that the mobile phone will not have a telephoto, but we are afraid that a certain focal length cannot be done well.
2. The GN1 main camera has quite high imaging quality,In terms of focal length switching and hybrid zoom integration with GD1 50mm mid-focus, further logic is needed. I have always felt that the main camera of this specification can already achieve excellent results with a 50mm focal length through cropping. At this time, using a small bottom 50mm sandwiched in the middle will cause the system to make a mistake in choosing the lens in some scenes. The 50mm on the IMX689 system is cut with the main camera, and even the macro function is implemented along the way. This is a strategy that the X60 imaging system should refer to.
3. There are still some problems with the UI interaction, such as switching to portrait mode, and you can’t zoom if you set a good style or filter. This is not in line with your usage habits anyway. I hope to improve.
Other comments: the appearance of the flagship machine, the battery life that needs attention
This machine has a very short time in my hands, only three or four days. It is quite difficult for me to get familiar with the imaging system. There is nothing to say about the other parts, let me just next comment:
1. The weight is well controlled and the thickness is acceptable. If the glass back cover is used, it is estimated to be thinner.
2. This generation uses a plain leather back cover, which is not friendly to Snapdragon 888. If you expect this machine to accompany you every day, it might be a bit difficult, but if you eat a chicken or something, it’s not too Big problem.
3. Regarding battery life, a 4200 mAh battery has a mediocre performance. I went out at 10 in the morning to start shooting, more than 800 photos, full 120hz refresh rate, at about 6 pm, the phone shuts down without power, this is still the situation without the card. This battery life still needs to be optimized, if you can't optimize it, you can only endure it. Fortunately, the 55W wired fast charging speed is okay, not a big deal.
4. Z-axis linear motor, the tuning force is not as good as iQOO7, but it is not bad.
If the machine imaging system scores 90 points, the configuration and design of the whole machine can score 75 points, which is relatively partial, but it is also a fully developed product.
From the perspective of product positioning, before the next-generation NEX is released, this product will be responsible for returning vivo to the status of mobile imaging. From the measured performance,Except for the telephoto lens, which is a sub-item, most of the other items are a rolling advantage to similar products in the industry. I believe this product will make the positioning of the X series clearer, and the Pro+ model will be the flagship of the image in the future. However, from the perspective of competition intensity, at the price of 4000-6000 yuan, there are already at least two series of products from friends who focus on imaging. These two successful series are both persistent classic products. For vivo, if you look for this path, you must stick to it. Late-competition, burying cause and effect are the old culture of backgammon. In this new competitive environment, this rule of survival is especially precious.
I am very satisfied with the products. I just hope that vivo can stick to it and become a real mobile phone imaging manufacturer.
.
