Vivo X Fold 5 Camera and Video Quality
- Muhammad Rehman
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
The X Fold5 needs to live up to its impressive camera legacy. The X Fold3 Pro is one of the phones that prove the foldable form factor does not require major camera sacrifices. The X Fold5 takes camera hardware just as seriously.
Despite being slightly smaller overall than the OmniVision OV50H found in the vivo X Fold3 Pro, the main camera is still quite large. Having said that, it has a CIPA4.5 OIS stabilization rating and VCS 2.0 noise reduction technology. It has a brighter f/1.57 lens behind it than last year. The ultrawide camera comes straight from the X Fold3 Pro from last year.
It has phase detection autofocus and is based on the 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor, making it a dual-purpose macro camera. Having said that, you will probably want to take macro shots with the telephoto because it can focus close up (15 cm). This year, the telephoto has definitely been improved. A 50MP Sony IMX882 has replaced the 64MP OmniVision OV64B. It has a slightly larger diagonal of 1/1.95", but more importantly, each individual pixel measures 0.8 micrometers. Theoretically, a 33% increase in total light intake corresponds to larger pixels and a brighter f/2.55 lens aperture.
The X Fold5's new telephoto, on the other hand, has full-pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF) support. The telephoto lens, according to Vivo, uses AIGC-generated textures to significantly improve clarity at high zoom ratios. The X Fold5 offers most, if not all, of the benefits of the bendy form factor when it comes to camera functionality. You can now take selfies with the rear cameras while using the cover screen as a viewfinder - something that wasn't possible last year.
You are able to take shots from waist-level and overhead due to the adaptability of the two hinged parts. Only the Smart Screen Shift feature will be used by default to intervene. For shots with the phone above your head and the cameras facing away, towards a stage, for example, it will switch to the cover display, and the foldable screen will black out. You can start using Smart screen shift without any problems. The main camera on the X Fold5 captures binned photos at a default resolution of just over 12.5MP. These aren't particularly impressive, but they look okay. Frankly, vivo seems to have downgraded the main camera compared to last year's Pro model.
The colors and detail are good, but the dynamic range is very limited. The sky and large, uniform areas like white patches are frequently clipped, while darker areas are frequently crushed. You can force the main camera to capture in its full 50MP resolution, but don't expect any major differences in quality. Yes, there is a slight increase in fine detail and a reduction in pixel-level processing and sharpening, but nothing significant. The dynamic range remains an issue.
Portraits can be taken with the vivo X Fold5's main and telephoto cameras. Because portrait mode uses mm designation and none of the mm toggles actually match any of the toggles in the main photo mode, you can never be completely sure which camera produces which shots just by looking at them. For the record, the main camera takes 35mm and 50mm portraits, while the telephoto lens takes 85mm and 100mm portraits.
Quality tends to fluctuate significantly from one portrait shot to the next. We definitely prefer the telephoto shots more. These typically exhibit a greater skin texture. Certainly, this could be a result of their tendency to photograph the subject from a greater distance. Again, we wish the cameras handled dynamic range better.
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