The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ( left ) and the Vivo X100 ProAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
TheSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultratook the telephotograph camera crownfrom the S23 Ultraand managed to take on andbeat the Google Pixel 8 Pro , too . Does that make it the unquestioned tv camera zoom champion ? To cite Yoda , there is another . The Vivo X100 Pro has a camera and crystalline lens system tune up by Zeiss , and we ’ve already seen howimpressive its portrait picture taking abilityis , but it also has a cunning telephotograph camera .
To find out if the Vivo X100 Pro can steal the crown away from the Galaxy S24 Ultra , I took picture with both , and the results are surprising .
The cameras
You may not have heard of the Vivo X100 Pro , as it ’s not formally sold in the U.S. , but we ’ve long been fans of Vivo ’s smartphones and cameras . Hidden inside the massive camera faculty on the back of the X100 Pro are three 50 - megapixel cameras : a 1 - column inch 50MP briny , a 50MP wide - slant , and a 50MP Zeiss APO Floating telephoto camera with a 4.3x optical rapid growth . Vivo promises high - character soar shooting from 10x to 100x , just like Samsung .
Behind the cameras is Vivo ’s own V3 image signal processor ( ISP ) and the newMediaTek Dimensity 9300processor , making the Vivo camera very different from the setup inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra .
For its phone , Samsung has tuned the package and its AI to aid fork over better photos than before and has figure out with Qualcomm to develop the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor to make the most out of its four photographic camera .
A 200MP main television camera is joined by a 12MP full - angle camera on Samsung ’s phone . There ’s also a 50MP telephoto camera delivering a 5x optic zoom , and a second 10MP telephoto camera for a 3x optical zoom . It ’s an impressive roster of hardware , and the two photographic camera systems are very different from each other , making this an challenging mental testing . All the photos you see were taken in auto mode and resized for easier on-line viewing .
Main and wide-angle camera test
Although this compare is mainly about the telephoto photographic camera , it is worth go through how the Vivo X100 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s main and wide - slant cameras liken , as they both inform us of the phones ’ single feature . By default option , the Vivo X100 Pro ’s television camera is set to a color profile named Vivid , but there ’s also a Textured and a Zeiss Natural fashion . However , it was left on the Vivid setting for this mental testing as it ’s how the headphone comes .
Vivid is emphatically an accurate name , as you may see from the first photo . The X100 Pro amps up the saturation in a very Samsung - of - old way , while the actual Samsung phone tones down the color for a more born look . I quite like the Vivo X100 Pro ’s photo , as it ’s surely striking and fun , while the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s photo could be accused of being a number disconsolate . There ’s nothing that could n’t be furbish up with an edit here , and the detail and acuity in both are spot - on .
There ’s consistence between the X100 Pro ’s independent and full - angle cameras , with the Vivo ’s bright colors scramble through again , while the S24 Ultra birth punchier smell than see in its master camera exposure . But the Samsung phone ’s wide - angle photo is superscript , with less smoothing , more particular , and less sharpness distortion . It ’s a more keep in line , balanced pic . I really like the way the X100 Pro has handled the sky , though .
force to opt a winner , the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s more born look and superior full - slant photo make it the good choice for main and wide - angle images , but the Vivo X100 Pro can still deliver some bully shots . There ’s also a sight of customization , including the option to tone down the colours with the Zeiss Natural setting . I ’d personally be felicitous taking photos with either smartphone .
Winner : Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The S24 Ultra’s 3x zoom camera is in trouble
The Vivo X100 Pro does not have a direct equivalent weight to the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s 3x optic , but it does have a 2x and a 2.2x cutoff in the camera app . I used the 2.2x zoom as a comparison to the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s 3x optic zoom , and while you may be expecting the Samsung phone to operate away with this category , that ’s not the caseful . The first mental image was shot indoors in normal unreal spark , and the Vivo earpiece does an astonishing occupation of retaining item . Take a looking at the Swiss Made school text at the bottom of the ticker ’s telephone dial , and how readable it is in the X100 Pro ’s photograph compare to the S24 Ultra ’s .
out of doors , the S24 Ultra performs better , but it has a disposition to underexpose with the 3x telephoto camera , and the photos appear a little wash - out next to the vibrant X100 Pro ’s photos . There is more particular in the S24 Ultra ’s photo when the lighting is more favorable , but the X100 Pro ’s picture is n’t lacking , and I doubt many people would directly be able to secern that one is an optical zoom pic and the other is not .
Most of the photos that I took at these rapid growth levels were quite similar and had strengths and weaknesses of their own , but the Vivo X100 Pro consistently impress where it perhaps should n’t have , whether that was a greater astuteness of field , undecomposed exposure , or more particular . It ’s the first of several blow in our trial , as the Galaxy S24 Ultra really should have won here .
success : Vivo X100 Pro
5x zoom photos are a closer comparison
The X100 Pro ’s 4.3x ocular zoom is tight enough to the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s 5x opthalmic zoom for them both to be straight compared , as we ’ll mostly be concentrating on quality , item , and overall balance . Sure , the S24 Ultra will get you somewhat closer to a matter , but I find the Vivo ’s optical zoom length to be very well - judged and extremely usable . Let ’s see how the two compare .
The Vivo X100 Pro ’s Vivid setting go on to give colors a boost , and while it was a pleasant twenty-four hour period when I take the photo , the tantrum was n’t as galvanising as the X100 Pro make out . There ’s no denying it ’s more eye - catching than the S24 Ultra ’s photo , though , if that ’s what you ’re looking for from your look-alike . There ’s a mint of detail in both picture ; the X100 Pro set apart it more effectively than the S24 Ultra , but it then lose points for the excessively processed look , which is almost distracting .
It ’s the same in the 2nd photograph , where both exposure are clear and defined , but the S24 Ultra ’s born tone will be preferable to many people due to the X100 Pro ’s aggressive sharpening . When you get in finale in the Vivo photo , the level of detail is slightly enhance , and while the Vivid color may not be to everyone ’s taste , it can be changed . That said , I can see a lot of multitude want to apportion the X100 Pro ’s picture .
On a technical level , there is n’t much to separate them , and I like pic from both cameras for different ground . Outside of the Vivid color profile , dissever them is unmanageable , so it ’s going to be a draw . Both take excellent telephotograph images at this range .
Winner : Draw
What about 10x zoom? It’s not even close
Neither television camera is capable of accept a 10x optical pic , and or else , they both rely on software to heighten photos taken at this zoom . We ’ve already seen how the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s visual quality 10x rapid growth is good than the S23 Ultra ’s optical 10x zoom , so certainly it ’s about to beat the Vivo X100 Pro ?
The above photos were take while panning to keep up with the swan ’s bm , and while they are at slightly dissimilar angles , it ’s the water you need to look at in decree to see the major differences here . The Vivo X100 Pro ’s water is sharp and natural , while there ’s obvious pixelization and racket in the Galaxy S24 Ultra photo . you may also more well spot edge enhancement around the swan ’s cervix in the S24 Ultra ’s photo .
What about a still image ? Again the photos are from slightly unlike angles , but the dispute between the two photo are so considerable that it ’s knockout to say this affected the result . The Vivo X100 Pro ’s photo is compact with shrewd detail , from the ripples in the water to the droplets on the swan ’s plumage . The S24 Ultra ’s exposure is muddy and lacks any such detail .
allow ’s go to a different location and a different subject that ’s not in move . The story of sharpness in the Vivo X100 Pro ’s exposure is obvious compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s photo , as is the improved white balance and mystifying blacks . There ’s small dissonance in the image , and it has cautiously avoided an too sharpened flavor . The Vivo X100 Pro takes superior 10x zoom photos compare to the S24 Ultra , and I have a feel that may surprise many people .
Vivo keeps winning with 30x zoom photos
The 5x and 10x zoom modes on both smartphones are usable every day and in most place , but what about the 30x musical mode ? It has improved a stack over the past few years , and although it ’s obvious that the images are digitally enhanced , they still have telling levels of detail . The first icon show this very well , with the sign ’s schoolbook being readable , but clearly enhance .
However , the Vivo X100 Pro again shows better handling of the image , with less blur and much less obvious enhancement around the letters . The colours are also more exact , there ’s considerably more detail visible on the inside of the construction , and there ’s less noise on the tumbler room access ’s surface too . I ’d say it ’s more useable than the S24 Ultra ’s photo .
The 2nd photo prove how the Vivo X100 Pro is better at sharpening the range of a function at 30x rapid climb without making it appear too artificial . The S24 Ultra introduces more noise in the water , and item is obscured on the geese . Neither photo count anything close to one of the 5x or 10x shots , but at a quick glimpse , the Vivo X100 Pro takes the less digital - expect image , even if it ’s still not cracking .
Just for fun, a 100x zoom test
The 100x rapid climb mode remains a gimmick , and although both can technically soar up in to this degree and take a photograph , it ’s not one you ’ll ever want to bet at or share — and sometimes it wo n’t even be obvious what the photo portrays . Above , you may see an case of a 100x zoom photo from both smartphones , neither of which is very salutary at all . Arguably , the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s photo is clearer and less blurred . However , we ca n’t imagine ever want to keep either pic .
Winner : No winner , only two failure
There’s a new zoom champion
While the two smartphones take with child picture using the master and wide - angle tv camera , the Vivo X100 Pro has beaten the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in the 3x , 10x , and 30x zoom category . It was difficult to choose between them in the 4.3x/5x family . It entail the Galaxy S24 Ultra has lost its crown as the best smartphone for zoom photography , which it latterly took from the Galaxy S23 Ultra . Not even the Google Pixel 8 Pro could slip it out , but the Vivo speech sound has accomplished just that .
Vivo has n’t come out of nowhere to win . It comes from the same unchanging as Oppo , Realme , and OnePlus , but it is the one make the most important steps forward in terms of camera ability through its extensive work with Zeiss and the creation of its own custom ISP . It ’s unfortunate the brand does not have wide availability , and its smartphones have to be personally imported if you require one in the U.S.
What does this mean for the Galaxy S24 Ultra ? It ’s still an unbelievable camera phone , and it is an betterment over the Galaxy S23 Ultra , but the Vivo X100 Pro shows Samsung still has employment to do for the S25 Ultra if it want to reform the crest of the best telephoto smartphone television camera you could get .
