OPPO Find X9 Ultra vs Vivo X300 Ultra: Camera Shootout

Two highly anticipated ‘Ultra’ smartphones have arrived recently. The global version of the Vivo X300 Ultra less than a week ago, and the OPPO Find X9 Ultra became official today. With that being said, both our Vivo X300 Ultra review and OPPO Find X9 Ultra review are out already.

You can find more information about both phones in those articles. We’re here to focus on their cameras. As many of you know, both of these phones are camera-centric devices. They’re amongst the best camera phones on the market at the moment, if not the best.

We’ve spent weeks with both of these devices at this point, and have actually taken a bunch of pictures side-by-side for this purpose… a camera comparison, aka a camera shootout. Both smartphones have very compelling camera hardware and processing, but they do provide different results.

The Vivo X300 Ultra has three cameras on the back with Sony’s new flagship sensor leading the pack

Before we get to the images themselves, let’s first talk about the camera hardware, starting with the Vivo X300 Ultra. This handset has three cameras on the back. Details follow.

A 200-megapixel main camera (Sony’s LYT-901 sensor, 1/1.12-inch sensor size, gimbal OIS, PDAF, 0.7mm pixel size, 35mm) is backed by a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (ISOCELL HPB sensor, 1/1.4-inch sensor size, 3.7x optical zoom, telemacro, OIS, multi-directional PDAF, 0.56um pixel size, 85mm).

The third camera on the back is a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (Sony LYT-818 sensor, 1/1.28-inch sensor size, 116-degree FoV, OIS, dual pixel PDAF, 1.22um pixel size, 14mm). There is also a 5MP multispectral sensor.

The OPPO Find X9 Ultra includes four cameras, including two periscope telephoto units

The OPPO Find X9 Ultra, on the other hand, has four cameras on the back. The main camera sensor is the same, a 200-megapixel unit by Sony, the LYT-901. It is a 1/1.12-inch sensor, though OPPO offers a wider f/1.5 aperture here, and a 23mm focal length equivalent. OIS and PDAF are supported.

OPPO also uses a 200-megapixel pericope telephoto camera, one of the two. That is a 3x telephoto camera, and it uses the OmniVision OV52A sensor. It is a 1/1.28-inch sensor, while you’re getting an f/2.2 aperture here. It’s a 70mm equivalent. OIS and PDAF are supported here.

The second periscope telephoto camera is a 50-megapixel unit, the ISOCELL JNL unit. It’s a 1/2.75-inch sensor size, and an f/3.5 aperture lens is used here. The fourth camera is a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit by Sony, the LYT-600. It’s a 1/1.95-inch camera sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens (14mm). OPPO also has a color spectrum sensor on the back.

We have a bunch of camera samples to share with you

Now that we’ve got the hardware details out of the way, let’s jump to the photo samples themselves. You’ll see two galleries below, one for the OPPO Find X9 Ultra and the other for the Vivo X300 Ultra. The same image has been taken with both phones, so just flip an image in one gallery, and then in the other to see the same image one above the other.

Do note that these camera samples have been taken with default settings (almost all of them). That means that the focal lengths on two phones are not the same, which is visible in the images. Vivo uses 35mm by default on the main shooter, while OPPO uses 23mm. You can, of course, jump between different focal lengths in their respective cameras, but we wanted to keep things default. So each camera is using its default focal length. The Vivo X300 Ultra is set to ‘Vivid’ camera style, while the OPPO Find X9 Ultra is using ‘Original’ one, as those are the default settings. Do note that while we did base our opinion on these shots, we also took into account many more, which are not included here. We can only include so many of them.

OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera samples:

Vivo X300 Ultra camera samples:

As you scroll through these camera samples, you’ll realize that both of these phones are absolute beasts when it comes to photo quality. There are quite a few differences, though, so let’s talk about those.

You’ll notice that the Vivo X300 Ultra does use more sharpening than the OPPO Find X9 Ultra. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing, as Vivo does not overdo it; in fact, it actually benefits pictures in quite a few scenarios.

Images from Vivo are warmer in some scenarios, colder in others. That’s also not surprising, though, as the default setting on the phone is ‘Vivid’, and that’s one that most people will prefer. ZEISS Natural has its benefits too, though, of course, especially for street photography and various other scenarios.

Both are outstanding when it comes to daylight shots, albeit different

Now, when it comes to daylight shots, it’s all a matter of preference, really. Both phones do a great job, especially when it comes to the main camera. They use the same sensor, but provide different photos, both of which are great. In some of them, Vivo won, in others, OPPO. It actually surprised me that color temperatures varied quite a bit depending on the scene.

Ultrawide shots during the day are usually always better from the Vivo X300 Ultra, especially if you pixel peep. That’s not surprising considering that the Vivo X300 Ultra has a vastly superior ultrawide camera sensor. It simply offers more details, and the images are usually better in terms of overall balance. The same goes for dynamic range.

At around 3x, the two phones are essentially on the same level when there’s light around, which goes for both indoor and outdoor shots. There’s plenty of detail, and the images are vivid and well-balanced. When there’s plenty of light around, we often preferred 10x shots from the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, though that changes in low light. Also, Vivo does win some of those in good lighting too; they’re not that far apart in terms of quality.

The Vivo X300 Ultra wins the low-light comparison overall, but both are great

Things drastically change in low light, though. That’s where the Vivo X300 Ultra shines. As far as the main camera is concerned, indoor low-light shots are often a bit warmer, which reflects the scene a bit better. Both provide plenty of detail, though, and overall, those photos look great from both phones. Outdoor shots, on the other hand, are a matter of preference. OPPO will often leave things a bit brighter, but once again, we mostly preferred photos from the Vivo X300 Ultra. There’s seemingly more detail in such shots, the while balance was better, and they often reflected the actual scene a bit better.

Ultrawide camera shots in low light are kind of one-sided. The Vivo X300 Ultra simply wins. You can’t really fight the optical prowess here, as the Vivo X300 Ultra has a much larger ultrawide camera sensor, which allows for more light to enter the scene. It also offers better balance overall and has better control of street lights. The images overall look better, not that the ones from the OPPO Find X9 Ultra are bad or anything.

The sensor size difference between OPPO’s two periscope telephoto cameras is quite noticeable

When it comes to 3x shots in low light, both are very good. They often provide similar-looking images, though the Vivo X300 Ultra keeps things a bit cooler here, but only by a little bit. Things change at 10x, though, as that’s where the OPPO Find X9 Ultra goes a bit cooler in terms of color temperature, but that can vary from one shot to the next. Both phones provide plenty of details in such shots, though we mostly preferred photos from the Vivo X300 Ultra. More often than not, they offered more detail.

So, to sum up. Overall, the Vivo X300 Ultra kind of has the edge here. It has three outstanding cameras on the back, which cover basically all your photography needs: The OPPO Find X9 Ultra cannot compete in the ultrawide department, even though its ultrawide shots are very, very good. Both of these phones are excellent camera phones, and your preference will play a significant role in which one you’ll go for.

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