Carl Zeiss was a visionary; his construction of microscopes on a scientific foundation is the basis of today’s ZEISS, a global manufacturer of optical lenses, medical technology, semiconductors and of course, camera lenses. In December 2020, vivo and ZEISS announced a long-term strategic partnership, with the two brands co-engineering the camera systems on vivo flagship phones — the latest being the vivo V40 series.
Above: the vivo v40 pro in white, with a camera system created in collaboration with zeiss.
The vivo V40 has just been revealed in Singapore, with a focus on its ZEISS professional portrait camera system. On the vivo V40 Pro that we have for review, there’s a 50MP ZEISS Telephoto Portrait Camera, a 50MP ZEISS OIS Main Camera, and a 50MP ZEISS Ultra Wide-Angle Camera. This triple camera system is supported by an innovative ring light with dual colour temperature; it provides sufficient fill light for portrait taking in low light situations, and results in natural, pleasing-looking pictures.
To discover more about the camera lens behind the new vivo V40 series, we visited the ZEISS headquarters in Oberkochen, Germany, and walked around the city centre of Munich and Aalen to capture stunning photos with the smartphone.
Above: spot me taking pics of the vivo v40 pro phone.
photo courtesy vivo.
Above: the facade of the zeiss headquarters in oberkochen.
Above: view from the zeiss headquarters.
Portraits taken on the vivo V40 Pro have the “ZEISS look”, which is about portraying true colour, sharpness (high micro contrasts and clear visuals), and what the brand calls, “3D pop” (a clear separation from the foreground and background). The ZEISS bokeh is beautiful and natural too, plus it’s not overly processed by software.
These portraits were all shot on the vivo V40 Pro.
[Click on the images to enlarge.]
While the V series focuses on portraits, it’s a joy shooting street shots with the ZEISS lens; the photos are given a cinematic feel, with clarity and punchy filters. The vivo V series has a more discreet camera system than the brand’s X100 Ultra, so taking it to the streets doesn’t look intimidating. We set the volume button to trigger the shutter for the camera, so it’s even more convenient to hold and capture quick photos while walking through crowds.
Above: somewhere in the centre of munich.
These street shots were taken on the vivo V40 Pro.
[Click on the images to enlarge.]
During the press conference, ZEISS mentioned that it’s not their business model to have many collaborations, so this partnership with vivo is really a coming together of the same values and vision for both companies. With all their expertise in crafting the best lenses, ZEISS understands that the vast majority of the future of photography is mobile, hence the partnership with a mobile brand, and in this case — vivo.
For the vivo V series, fitting in a ZEISS lens system truly brings back the joy of photography.
vivo will be launching the V40 in Singapore. For more information on the vivo V40 series, visit the official website at WWW.VIVO.COM/EN/PRODUCTS/V40.
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