Zeiss may be a familiar and an unfamiliar name. When Vivo announced the global strategic cooperation with Zeiss and completed the joint imaging laboratory, the attention from the mobile phone circle and the image circle, in addition to the emotional level, is even more interesting is what kind of sparks Zeiss and Vivo can create.
In fact, Zeiss is also an old player in the mobile phone circle. In 2005, the Nokia N90 has equipped with Zeiss Tessar (note this keyword) lens. The “Carl Zeiss Optics Tessar” logo represented the highest specifications of mobile phone lenses at that time. Until Nokia’s last glory, the 808 PureView, many classic camera phones have been created in 7 years.
But unlike Nokia’s Zeiss certification, Vivo and Zeiss have deeper cooperation. Prior to this, Huawei and Leica had in-depth cooperation with major optical manufacturers.
So, why do mobile phone manufacturers want to cooperate with the big players in the camera circle? The inherent thinking is that in this way, the popularity and brand image can be increased, just like naming an advertisement. It is true that there is something in this respect, but by exploring the field of professional optics and promoting the innovation of mobile imaging technology, I believe this is the key to the cooperation between Vivo and Zeiss.
Although mobile phones and cameras are not the same categories at all, the principles of imaging are the same. That is to use electronic sensors to convert optical images into electronic data, which are finally stored after processing by an image engine. In the photoelectric conversion process, the lens structure, lens material, coating process, photosensitive element size, etc., will all have an impact on imaging. Like the camera, there are too many details that can be optimized.
And when I got the Vivo X60 Pro this time, Zeiss provided expertise in imaging system design, optical engineering and quality standards. Including the optical debugging of the final imaging algorithm, this should be the deepest cooperation between Zeiss and mobile phone manufacturers in history. 
Aiming at the sun above the head through the gap of the leaves, this is a simple, crude and extreme scene. Here is a Huawei Mate 40 Pro as a reference for comparison. It is not difficult to find that after the optimization of the lens structure, the aberration of the Vivo/ X60 Pro is improved, and a large part of the light refraction and diffraction is eliminated.
If you zoom in on the screen, you can see that the Vivo X60 Pro is really good at controlling glare and ghosting. However, because the HDR effect is brighter, the Vivo X60 Pro can also be optimized for purple fringing, which is basically to slightly reduce the number of EV compensation files in the photo.
The above situation is more extreme, and the general backlight shooting does not appear such a significant difference. In the picture below, side light comes in from the edge of the screen when framing. Generally, the edge of the lens is prone to problems, so you can see the difference by comparing it.
The experience of this aspect is more interesting when shooting at night. The performance of the two phones is similar when shooting horizontally, and the coma of Huawei Mate 40 Pro drags a little longer.
But when the two phones are shot vertically, the Vivo X60 Pro screen will become cleaner, and I look forward to the oversized cup with T* coating. In fact, as long as it is an optical lens, the problem of lens reflection and refraction will definitely exist, and the key is whether it will affect the shooting. Phenomenon such as glare, friends who can shoot can also be used as elements of picture composition.
Vivo X60 Pro is not just a simple upgrade of Zeiss technology. The exclusive anti-shake structure of the micro-head has also been upgraded to the second-generation “super stable micro-head”, and the anti-shake effect is still good. Compared with ordinary OIS anti-shake, the micro-head can not only compensate the X-axis translation and Y-axis translation but also offset the jitter in the YAW and PITCH directions. After the video shooting is turned on, the anti-shake in the ROLL axis direction can be increased according to the algorithm.
In the new imaging system of Vivo X60 Pro, the function of video anti-shake is also subdivided. Standard anti-shake supports up to 4K/60 frames, and at this time mainly depends on the anti-shake performance of the micro-head. After turning on the super video anti-shake, the video specification is locked at 1080P/60 frames, and the picture of electronic anti-shake intervention will become more stable.
Different camera bodies are matched with different brands of lenses, and the images obtained can be described as different in style, which is often referred to as the “taste” of photos. Among them, the German flavor led by Zeiss and Leica will be sought after by more fans. The vivo X60 Pro is equipped with the “Vivo Zeiss Joint Imaging System”. I believe many friends are curious: Can you take a German taste?
In fact, the sense of German taste is quite metaphysical, and the popular description is that the photos are oily and delicate, the temperature is moderate, the focus is sharp inside, and the focus outside is soft. In this regard, vivo does not clearly emphasize the German flavour, so we still look at it by comparison.
The first is its own big brother X50 Pro+. The Vivo X60 Pro looks transparent as a whole, the scene exposure is moderate, and the colour expression is richer. Although the main camera of the new machine has been upgraded to f/1.48 aperture, the X50 Pro+ is also a 1/1.3-inch outsole. Therefore, the optimization of the lens structure and the upgrade of the algorithm can bring this effect. Zeiss is worthy of being a century-old optical manufacturer.
In addition to the colour brightness, this improvement also drives the layering of the entire photo frame. Compared with the slight whitening of the X50 Pro+, the contrast of light and dark makes the Vivo X60 Pro look stronger. Although we can’t define this as German flavour, it is an indisputable fact that the new machine has its own image style with the support of Zeiss’s optical technology and rendering algorithm.
Having said that, is the cooperation between Vivo and Zeiss similar in output to that of Huawei and Leica? With this question in mind, we might as well compare it with the Leica Huawei Mate 40 Pro to see how it goes.
In addition to the optical hardware part, Zeiss and Leica are involved in the algorithm optimization of vivo and Huawei respectively. In the actual shooting, we also found that whether it is the vivo X60 Pro or Huawei Mate 40 Pro, after the shooting is completed, as long as your hand is fast enough, you can see that the photo has a moment of calculation optimization in the album.
Similar to indoor scenes, the imaging of the Vivo X60 Pro shows a higher degree of saturation, of course, the reproduction of the two phones is close to the real scene. Huawei Mate 40 Pro has a 1/1.28 outsole, so the blur will be noticeable when shooting close up.
Huawei has always emphasized high resolution in the research and development of its own images. Huawei Mate 40 Pro has large pixels on the outsole, theoretically, the sharpness of the photo will be higher. But from the perspective of 100% of the photos, the fineness of the imaging of the Vivo X60 Pro will not suffer too much.
When it comes to night scenes, the performance of Vivo X60 Pro and Huawei Mate 40 Pro are remarkable. Of course, the usual practice is to shoot first and then calculate, and the calculation speed of Huawei Mate 40 Pro is faster.
Not to mention who is pressing against who, Vivo, which cooperates with a major optical manufacturer for the first time, can be said to be on the same starting line as Huawei. The night scene photos emphasize the sense of atmosphere. The slightly richer Vivo X60 Pro highlights the red and blue reflections on the ground. In addition, the X60 Pro is also very effective in calendering various billboards. In this regard, no brand can compete with Huawei.
However, in photos with larger scenes, Huawei Mate 40 Pro shows the style of image flagship, and the photo exposure control is more in place. The main focus here is the highlighted part. Although the Vivo X60 Pro also suppresses the overflow of light, it is brighter overall. This is a bit like adding 1/3 more to the HDR of the backlight scene. The follow-up feel can be optimized, too bright will reduce the sense of hierarchy.
Although the blur of the portrait of the mobile phone is achieved by algorithm, the Vivo X series with a dedicated portrait lens has just made this weakness of the mobile phone its own signature function. In this collaboration with Zeiss, the Vivo X60 Pro also created a Biotar portrait style based on Zeiss’s algorithm. So what is Biotar style?
In image shooting, in addition to different styles of imaging colours, different lenses will also have unique blurring. In addition to highlighting the theme, blur is also an important compositional element in photography. And like the Zeiss Biotar lens, and the imitation of the former Soviet Union “Eight Feather Monster”, there is a unique vortex blur.
In portrait mode, the system automatically switches to an equivalent 50mm portrait lens. Under the human-scene separation processing technology, the portrait part and the background are processed separately, which has the advantage of better facial skin texture. But unlike previous products, the Zeiss Biotar style is to perform image calculations after shooting.
The Zeiss Biotar style is centred on the human figure, and the background is like rotating and stretching, which is tenser than a conventional blur. As a reminder, this mode needs to use the f2.0 aperture gear by default, and this effect cannot be obtained by adjusting other apertures.
If the change of the simple background does not make a difference, then the light spot stretched from a circle to an ellipse is very effective. In fact, the Zeiss Biotar lens also reflects the vortex blur effect when there are light spots in the background.
In portrait mode, the system will recognize the point light source in the viewfinder. Normally this point light will be blurred into a circular spot. In the Zeiss Biotar style, this circular spot stretches and rotates around the portrait. Therefore, when shooting portraits at night, use the Vivo X60 Pro Zeiss Biotar style more to get more fun effects.
It is worth noting that the Zeiss Biotar style has certain requirements for the light of the portrait. If the ambient light is relatively dark, you may need to use a fill light stick. Here you need to pay special attention to the light of the hair part. After highlighting the hair, the imaging effect will be better.
After seeing the video part of the highlight, let’s experience another key upgrade of the Vivo X60 Pro. As the world’s first new machine with the Samsung Exynos 1080 chip, the Vivo X60 Pro with UFS3.1 flash memory is naturally among the high-performance series. Judging from AnTuTu’s 620,000+ running points, Samsung Exynos 1080 has even surpassed Snapdragon 865.
Under the premise that the hardware performance and imaging system are fully upgraded, and the 4200mAh battery remains unchanged, the Vivo X60 Pro has dropped to 7.59 mm in thickness and reduced in weight to 178 grams. For reference, X50 Pro with the same screen size is 8.04mm and 181.5g respectively.
Vivo X60 Pro is also equipped with OriginOS 1.0 for the first time in the world. Driven by the 2.8GHz frequency and 12GB memory, it fully demonstrates the smooth operation and smooth dynamics of the new system. To match it, the Vivo X60 Pro uses a 6.56-inch 3D curved AMOLED screen that supports 120Hz refresh rate + 240Hz touch sampling rate, and the display effect is smooth and touch-sensitive.
In terms of display effect, the typical brightness of 500nit, the peak brightness of 1300nit, the contrast ratio of 6000000:1, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. The screen of Vivo X60 Pro is also in line with the first echelon level in terms of visual experience.
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In the summer of 6 years ago, Vivo released the Xshot, its first mobile phone for photographers. The f1.8 aperture and OIS image stabilization are still the mainstream specifications. Follow-up with Sony’s technical innovations such as customizing photosensitive components and launching an exclusive micro-head, Vivo has taken one step at a time on the imaging road.
The strategic cooperation between Vivo and Zeiss is also inseparable from the accumulation of technology over the years. At present, the Vivo R&D team has more than 500 people, has R&D centres in many places around the world, and has established a joint imaging laboratory with Zeiss. Spreading a lot of resources on research and development also shows the sincerity of Vivo in promoting the development of mobile imaging.
From the results, as the first finished product of Vivo and Zeiss, the performance of Vivo X60 Pro is also remarkable. In particular, the “Vivo Zeiss Joint Imaging System” is equipped to bring a rich and transparent imaging effect. Of course, this is just the beginning. With the continuous development of cooperation between the two parties, I believe that Vivo Zeiss will continue to promote mobile imaging technology to go further.