In the era of inclusive technology, how can we enable everyone to have a "professional camera" at hand?

In recent years, with the booming rise of social media, from short - videos to graphic notes, content creation has broken through the niche circle. On the same social platform, it seems that regardless of one's background, everyone can pick up a mobile phone to shoot "works" comparable to those of past magazine editors, elites, and photography artists.

This democratic content ecosystem has given more people the right to express themselves. Whether it's the natural wonders in the distance, the urban scenery nearby, or the daily life of individuals, the infrastructure for the era of mass creation is not only these decentralized platforms but also an indispensable creation tool: smartphones.

Although traditional optical giants have reached the efficiency boundary of physical innovation, people's pursuit of preserving a good life is embedded in our cells like DNA. As the American photographer Nan Goldin said, "Photographs, however, just make me see what I'm constantly losing."

Images are so important for preserving human memories. As the logic that hardware determines image quality is overturned, while the hardware parameter involution script ends and software algorithms take the stage of innovation, comprehensively reconstructing the imaging experience has become the key for mobile phones to subvert professional photography.

On April 21st, vivo's professional imaging flagships, the X200 Ultra and X200s, were launched together. One is the "mobile imaging flagship" designed with a professional imaging concept, and the other is the "fashionable and trendy flagship" that breaks through the ecological barriers of Apple devices. When mobile imaging embraces professionalism, how will vivo promote the further evolution of imaging flagships?

Zeiss Three - Lens System: Compensating for the Experience Gap between the Main and Secondary Cameras through Reverse Innovation

It's more appropriate to say that the vivo X200 Ultra is a "professional imaging creation tool" that everyone can easily master rather than just a mobile phone with powerful imaging capabilities.

Its uniqueness lies in that this product, known as the "V - SLR", is designed entirely according to the concept of professional cameras. It not only achieves a hardware reconstruction of "full - focal - length, all - main - camera" but also brings a software innovation with the "dual imaging chips".

In the imaging system of conventional multi - camera smartphones, there has always been a distinction between the main and secondary cameras. Manufacturers usually use the lens with the best configuration as the main camera. They meet most of the users' shooting scenarios with higher pixels, larger apertures, and larger - sized sensors. However, they often make certain compromises on ultra - wide - angle and telephoto lenses. When users use these lenses, they may encounter problems such as image quality jumps different from the main camera and color fragmentation when switching focal lengths, resulting in an experience gap.

For some time, the telephoto lens has become the "technological high - ground" that manufacturers in the industry are competing to develop - from 200 - megapixel to 100x zoom, and then to the one - inch large - sized sensor... As a sub - track in imaging, the telephoto lens has become extremely competitive. Since the X100 series, vivo has launched the Zeiss APO Super Telephoto lens, which brings precise chromatic aberration control and excellent image quality performance at the telephoto end through Zeiss' patented apochromatic technology, providing users with a professional - level telephoto imaging shooting experience that outshines the competition.

With the vivo X200 Ultra, vivo has put forward the slogan of "full - focal - length, all - main - camera" and created three Zeiss prime master lenses. In addition to the newly upgraded second - generation Zeiss APO Super Telephoto lens, special attention has also been paid to the ultra - wide - angle and main cameras. Breaking the distinction between the "main and secondary cameras" in the mobile imaging industry and enabling each lens to independently output high - quality images is where vivo's reverse innovation lies.

First, there is the 14mm Zeiss ultra - wide - angle lens.

This ultra - wide - angle lens, known as the "eagle eye", is equipped with the same sensor as the main camera - the Blueprint × Sony LYT - 818 sensor, which has the industry's largest 1/1.28 - inch size, directly increasing the amount of light entering by 181% and solving the problem of the picture becoming blurry and dark when switching to ultra - wide - angle video on previous mobile phones. At the same time, with the CIPA 5.0 - level anti - shake function, the anti - shake performance of the vivo X200 Ultra is comparable to that of a gimbal.

With its large - sized sensor, ultra - wide - angle, and super anti - shake capabilities, this 14mm Zeiss ultra - wide - angle lens can reshape the spatial proportion to display grand scenes. For example, when shooting the night sky, users can even shoot romantic and dazzling starry skies handheld without the need for a cumbersome tripod.

At the same time, whether it's recording the scenery along the way during a self - driving trip or capturing the entire view of skyscrapers during a city walk, the vivo X200 Ultra equipped with the 14mm Zeiss ultra - wide - angle lens can handle it all.

Second, there is the 35mm Zeiss humanistic documentary lens, known as the "humanistic eye".

In the "arms race" where smartphones are getting thinner and lens sensors are getting larger, the focal length of the main camera on mobile phones has been continuously compressed, dropping from the classic 35mm at the beginning to 28mm, 24mm, or 23mm. The "wide - angling" trend of the main camera has increased the difficulty for ordinary users to achieve the desired shooting results. This time, the vivo X200 Ultra has chosen to return to the classic and customized a 35mm native optical lens similar to the human eye's perspective.

This humanistic lens is not only equipped with the Blueprint × Sony LYT - 818 sensor but also uses a customized GLC2.0 coating, reducing the reflectance in backlit scenes to 0.1%. It not only solves the problems of chromatic dispersion and "ghosting" but also improves the brightness and clarity of the image.

From shooting static objects to urban exploration during a street citywalk, the vivo X200 Ultra equipped with the 35mm Zeiss humanistic documentary lens has also upgraded the humanistic street photography to version 2.0. By cooperating with the vMotion algorithm, the shutter freezing speed has been increased by 300%, accurately capturing every touching moment on the street.

Finally, there is the second - generation 85mm Zeiss APO Super Telephoto lens.

It can be said that vivo's advantage in the portrait field mainly comes from the support of this lens. Its F/2.27 large aperture increases the amount of light entering by 38% compared to the previous generation, and with the support of the APO apochromatic technology, its imaging color can reach the level of a professional camera.

At the same time, this telephoto lens using the 1/1.4 - inch HP9 sensor also has an ultra - high resolution of 200 megapixels. Through the 3.4:1 equivalent magnification telephoto macro, the texture of flowers, the wings of insects, and the surface of water droplets in the world can all be clearly seen.

In portrait shooting, the vivo X200 Ultra has also taken night - flash portrait photography to a new level, bringing night - flash portrait photography across all focal lengths. Through the zoom flash on the hardware level and the flash portrait algorithm on the software level, it can achieve an effect comparable to that of a professional DSLR camera using a hot - shoe flash for night portrait shooting.

Whether it's the 14mm "eagle eye" ultra - wide - angle lens, the 35mm main camera lens known as the "humanistic eye", or the second - generation 85mm Zeiss APO 200 - megapixel Super Telephoto lens, it can be seen that the vivo X200 Ultra has broken the experience gap between the main and secondary cameras through the reverse innovation of "full - focal - length, all - main - camera", making mobile imaging further approach professional imaging under the promotion of "full - focal - length democratization".

When users can freely switch between ultra - wide - angle, medium - focal - length, and telephoto lenses and continuously expand their imaging creation territory, the path for professional imaging to become more accessible to the public is also laid under the Zeiss three - lens system of the vivo X200 Ultra.

Blueprint Dual - Chip System: Creating Freedom in Mobile Imaging Creation with Hardware - Software Integration

If optical lenses, sensors, and other hardware determine the physical benchmark of imaging, then enhancing through AI algorithms to break through hardware limitations determines the upper limit of imaging. Beyond the three Zeiss prime lenses, the reverse innovation of the vivo X200 Ultra also lies in its having the industry's only "dual imaging chips".

One is the pre - processing VS1. This is also vivo's first pre - processing AI ISP imaging chip, with a computing power of up to 81 TOPS.

For the professional imaging flagship vivo X200 Ultra equipped with a large - sized sensor, a large amount of data will definitely be generated during the shooting process. To avoid problems such as frame drops or freezes, this requires the mobile phone to have greater computing power and bandwidth to handle it.

Through a special distributed dedicated high - speed cache architecture and image streaming slicing technology, as a pre - processing chip, the VS1 can solve the data congestion caused by the large amount of data generated during shooting by increasing the data reading speed.

The other is the post - processing V3+. This imaging chip using a 6nm process is equipped with the FIT second - generation interconnection system, with its efficiency increased by 30% compared to the previous generation, making it suitable for high - performance scenarios such as 4K movie - level video shooting and games requiring ultra - high resolution.

It can be seen that from V1 to V3+ and then to VS1, in the current situation where mobile imaging develops with both optical and computational aspects, vivo uses more chips to drive larger optical hardware. By forming the optimal overall ISP architecture of "RAW - domain pre - processing + YUV post - processing", the VS1 and V3+ also perform their respective duties.

Vivo, which has launched the industry's only "Blueprint Dual - Chip System", is also currently the only mobile phone manufacturer still insisting on self - developing imaging chips. While jointly researching sensors with industrial partners to lay a physical foundation for high - quality imaging, it also further breaks through the ceiling of image quality through self - developed algorithms and high - computing - power imaging chips.

However, although image quality is the core, it is not the whole of mobile imaging. What vivo wants to do is to reshape the entire creation process of mobile imaging according to the standards of professional cameras. This is also why vivo, with its reverse innovation, has also built a "camera - like" interaction and ecological system for mobile imaging.

On the one hand, there is interaction. The vivo X200 Ultra has redesigned the shutter button and introduced a pressure - sensitive shutter with ten - thousand - level pressure precise recognition. Its features such as light - pressing for focusing, heavy - pressing for shooting, and sliding for adjusting parameters have made the feel of the shutter button on the vivo X200 Ultra infinitely close to the dial of a traditional camera.

At the same time, in the specially launched photographer's kit, vivo has also launched a 2.35x teleconverter, a lens adapter ring, and a professional handle, enabling the mobile phone to connect external hardware just like a professional camera and continuously expanding the creation boundaries of the mobile phone with the idea of hardware - software collaboration.

On the other hand, there is the ecosystem. For vivo, it is obviously unrealistic to create a new ecosystem outside of iOS and Android. However, in the face of the needs of countless users for ecological migration and using two mobile phones simultaneously, vivo, which always puts users at the center, has chosen to break through the ecological barriers of Apple devices in an embedded way.

With the launch of the vivo X200 Ultra and X200s this time, vivo has taken the lead in achieving cross - device and cross - ecological transfer services for phone calls, text messages, notifications, and verification codes with iPhones in the industry. It is also compatible with all series of AirPods for cross - device seamless listening and supports functions such as searching and locating various cross - ecological devices.

Through "vivo Transfer", users can transfer photos, videos, and files between vivo and Apple devices with a single touch and even share contacts, calendars, and memos. By greatly reducing the information barriers between different ecosystems, it brings a smoother mobile phone - using experience for cross - ecological users.

Approaching professional imaging is not about blindly returning to the past but about the extension and popularization of professionalism on mass - market terminals. Compared with patching up performance parameters, the vivo X200 Ultra and X200s have proved that a bold reshaping with hardware - software integration is the core of initiating a revolution in the mobile imaging experience.

From optical reconstruction to dual imaging chips, from video creation to interaction and ecosystem, vivo's innovation in the high - end flagship X series has gone beyond the performance paradigm of the traditional smartphone industry. By continuously collaborating with upstream and downstream industrial partners around the long - term mobile imaging track, it has built a new imaging system.

With users as the main axis of innovation, how will vivo achieve the "re - ascent" in mobile imaging?

Imaging stems from humans' eternal desire to express themselves