Toby Shapshak unboxes the newly announced vivo X50 Pro, the world’s first smartphone fitted with a Gimbal Camera System for increased stabilisation. The X50 series has finally launched, in the form of the Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro, and Vivo X50 Pro+, alongside the Vivo TWS Earphone Neo buds.
The X50 Pro features a versatile camera setup with one 32MP front camera and four cameras on the rear (48MP Main, 8MP Super Wide-Angle, 13MP Professional Portrait, and 8MP 5x Telescopic). X50 Pro’s 5x Telescopic lens also supports 60x Hyper Zoom, which is impressive in its own right.
But how did Vivo manage to build a functioning gimbal into a smartphone? That’s the big question. The whole concept seems like something out of a science fiction movie. The gimbal system is exclusive to the X50 Pro and is modelled after a full-sized professional gimbal — you know, the ones previously only found in high-end filming equipment and drones? The gimbal keeps the camera module still in the event of a shake or a bump, increasing the stability of the main camera.
And that’s not even half of it. Vivo also built a Gimbal Radar into the UI of the phone itself. As the user, you can view the gimbal as an animated ball that reflects the gimbal’s movement. It’s almost like a spirit level meter on your display. There are other neat tricks at play too, like motion-deblur algorithms and continuous focus tracking to enhance image and video clarity.
The vivo X50 series officially launches in South Africa next week, after which we’ll have local pricing for the whole range. In the meantime, you can head to the local vivo site for more information.
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