ASUS ZenFone 5 vs OPPO F7 vs Huawei P20 Lite vs Vivo V9 – 4-Way Camera Showdown

We recently made a 3-way camera comparison of the OPPO F7, Huawei P20 Lite, and the Vivo V9. Now that we finally got our hands on the newly launched ASUS Zenfone 5, we’ve received tons of request to add this smartphone to an ultimate camera comparison. Which “notched” smartphone of 2018 has the best cameras? Let’s find out!

• ASUS ZenFone 5 Unboxing and First Impressions
• Oppo F7 vs Huawei P20 Lite vs Vivo V9 – Midrange Camera Battle

Our first set of sample shots were taken under broad daylight, highlighting the buildings right outside of our veranda. At a first glance, the Oppo and Vivo shot on this one almost has the same color representation. But when you take a closer look, the buildings on the Vivo shot looks darker than the Oppo. Meanwhile, the sky on the ASUS shot looks similar to the OPPO and Vivo, the buildings leaned on to a more bluish look.

On the other hand, the Huawei’s color representation looks different from the three – with a slightly darker look. All shots are sharp in details.

For this shot, ASUS’ photo contrast level seem to be the highest among the rest, you can notice it because it has the bluest sky compared to the three. While Oppo is the complete opposite of ASUS’ shot. It has the highest exposure level among the rest. Details were sharp as you can clearly see tree’s trunk. For Vivo, it has a fair amount of lighting and darkness on it. The details can be seen on some parts but mostly it wasn’t clear because some shaded areas aren’t exposed. Same with Huawei’s. All shots were fine however, Oppo did well on this leaving us clear photo.

They say that good lighting is the key to a good photo. Well I guess on this part that is true, all photos gave us good quality shot. The color vibrancy of Asus is the highest among the rest, while Huawei is lightest. Colors on Asus stood out with sky being the bluest. Another thing I noticed is that it captured a lot of details even the bricks. Huawei on the other hand gave us the most natural photo but still manage to deliver crisp details.

Oppo and Vivo is on a close competition here. They look almost the same on a first glance but if you noticed the Oppo’s color hues are more vibrant than Vivo. Both smartphone shows good details. Choosing among these are very subjective. But on my part, I’ll go for Oppo here. Maybe because it’s not too vibrant, not too dull. And doesn’t look like it’s post-processed.

These sample shots were taken outside during day time. At first glance, there’s not much difference on the four shots. All four were able to produce good outside shots with clear details and accurate colors. But looking closely, OPPO F7 was the one that produced the brightest output. The greenery is more vibrant in the OPPO F7 shot.

Each photo gives a different feel. On ASUS, there’s a subtle green hue that makes it appealing to the eye. Huawei has a faded subtle purple while Oppo and Vivo has almost the same except that Oppo is a bit darker compared to Vivo. But in terms of accuracy, I’ll definitely go to Vivo on this one. The first two looked like it was post-processed. As for the details, all are fine but Vivo caught my attention. The parts that are shaded has a good light exposure hence, showing clearer details.

We also tried takings pictures indoors. Out of the four shots, the Asus ZenFone 5 has the darkest output. The colors are a bit washed out, giving it a dull look. The details are also a little fuzzy. As for the OPPO F7 and the Vivo V9, the walls looked a bit yellow instead of white although OPPO F7’s shot had sharp details. The one with the most accurate-looking shot was the Huawei P20 Lite. The wall stayed true to its color and the details also remained sharp.

Out of all the four shots, the OPPO F7 was the most different one. It had the brightest looking shot and the details can clearly be seen. The shot also included a bokeh effect. The Huawei P20 Lite shot was darker but it also had sharp details. Personally, I think this shot was closest to the real-life subject. The Asus ZenFone 5 shot looked okay but some parts looked blurry. On the other hand, the subject on the Vivo V9 shot looked the most blurry. Color-wise, it did okay.

These sample shots are a closer version of the previous shot. Once again, the OPPO F7 shot was the one that differed from the other three.  The shot was bright and some parts of the black looked gray. It still had the bokeh effect as well. The other three shots looked similar to each other unlike in the previous shot. All of the three produced sharp details and the color was accurate.

Unlike the previous two shots, the bokeh effect on the OPPO F7 shot isn’t noticeable in this one. Although it still had sharp details. The shot with the most noticeable bokeh effect is the Asus ZenFone 5. However, some of the colors in this one was washed out. The Huawei P20 Lite’s bokeh effect can be seen slightly although it isn’t as noticeable as the ZenFone 5 shot. The Vivo V9 shot also had a little bokeh effect but it also had really sharp details and the color was accurate.

The brightest and most vibrant shot goes to the OPPO F7, followed by the Asus Zenfone 5. While the Vivo and Huawei almost have the same feel, the V9 sample photo looked a bit brighter than the latter. However, the Huawei shot is the most realistic one.

Moreover, we turned on the portrait mode on these shots. The ASUS and OPPO delivered a nice looking bokeh effect, while the Huawei P20 Lite’s bokeh is almost non-existent. The Vivo V9 bokeh effect looks decent on this one.

The Zenfone 5 and F7 made the kimchi looked fresh and enticing because of the vibrant output. On the other hand, the dark result from the Huawei and Vivo handsets made the kimchi look boring and dull. Well, that’s our observation. What about you?

These night-time sample shots were taken at the Mall of Asia. the Huawei, Asus, and OPPO shots looked similar to each other. But when you look at the street lights, there are no visible flares on the OPPO shot. The Vivo V9 shot, however, turned into a dark photo overall – losing the details of the park.

For portrait selfie, I noticed that Asus has most blurry background. It really did its job for portrait, Asus did well on reading subject because if you noticed the edges are crisp and aren’t blurred however, subject’s skin looked pale. Some may like it, some may don’t. For Huawei, it still impresses me how natural the subject looks on this selfie but for the portrait mode, it’s a bit off because some edges are blurred especially some strands of the hair.

The ‘Selfie Expert’ smartphone also did well on this, it may not as natural as Huawei but subject looked fresh. There is a very subtle blur on the edges while Vivo’s shot happened to be windy capturing an obvious blurry hair strand.

Among these four night-time selfies, the brightest shot goes to ASUS. It made the face of the subject look really white but it was still able to balance the whiteness of the face down to the neck. The Oppo selfie looks good, also was able to maintain the color balance of the face to neck down to the chest area without losing much facial details. Also, the violet hair looks the brightest here.

The Huawei P20 Lite has the most natural looking selfie and the Vivo with a soft looking selfie with blurry edges.

Both the ASUS Zenfone 5 and OPPO F7 gives stellar selfie shots. If you’re more into bright and vibrant selfies, we recommend these handsets. But if you love a more natural looking selfie, go for the Huawei P20 Lite. Go for the Vivo V9 if you like your selfies to look soft and dreamy.

These four handsets have different characteristics with their rear camera shots. Based on our sample shots, photos from Asus, OPPO, and Huawei looks stunning in daylit shots. But the OPPO F7 with a huge advantage because of its Vivid mode. Meanwhile, the Vivo V9 gave dark-looking results when compared to the other three. It even made the night-lit shots look like it has been post-processed already. For more night-lt assisted shots from the V9 and P20 Lite, check out our full comparison of the two.

We’re done with our comparison of the four powerful smartphones of 2018. Now, it’s time to ask you: Which smartphone has the best cameras for you? Comment down below!

Comparison review by: Reyn Marie, CJ Salao, and Danielle Galacan