Who wins the selfie battle?
Earlier we gave you a lowdown on how the Vivo V5 Plus and the OPPO F3 Plus compared to each other regarding specs. In this article we’re going to go into the meat of both phone’s selfie performance. Does the Vivo V5 win out thanks to its bokeh-inducing dual-camera cam, or does the OPPO F3 Plus’ wide-angle selfie cam carry the day? Let’s begin:
OPPO F3 Plus Specifications
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor
- 4GB of RAM
- Adreno 510 GPU
- 6-inch Full HD IPS Display, 1920×1080 resolution, 361ppi
- 64GB of Expandable Storage
- 16-megapixel rear camera, PDAF, f/1.7 aperture, LED flash
- 16-megapixel main front camera, f/2.0 aperture
- 8-megapixel secondary front camera 120-degree wide-angle lens
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM (Hybrid Tray)
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint Scanner
- 4000mAh battery with VOOC Flash Charge
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ColorOS v.3
Vivo V5 Plus Specifications
- 2.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor
- 4GB of RAM
- Adreno 506 GPU
- 5.5-inch Full HD display; 1920×1080 resolution, 2.5D curved glass, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Protection
- 64GB of storage
- 16-megapixel rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, LED flash
- 20-megapixel front camera with 8-megapixel secondary camera, f/2.0 aperture, Sony IMX376 sensor
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint scanner
- 3160mAh battery with fast charging
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
First, let’s take a look at the cameras on paper: Vivo’s V5 Plus has a 20-megapixel front camera with an f/2.0 aperture, with a secondary 8-megapixel camera for depth information, while the OPPO F3 Plus has a 16-megapixel front camera with an f/2.0 aperture along with a secondary 8-megapixel camera for wide-angle shots. We haven’t confirmed yet what kind of sensor OPPO used on their F3 Plus, but Vivo’s offering has a Sony IMX376 sensor.
Vivo looks to win this one on paper, but remember a higher megapixel count don’t always mean a better camera. The integration of the camera is also important, as well as software tweaks – a nice camera sensor means nothing if it’s not integrated properly into the phone.
From what we can see both phones perform pretty well in terms of selfie performance in photos taken outside. That’s not really surprising, as even potatoes can take good photos given enough light. Let’s go inside, shall we?
Since most selfies take place indoors in less than ideal lighting, indoor shots are the perfect place to find out who really takes the crown of the selfie expert. Here, Vivo’s V5 Plus looks to have warmer colors at the cost of noise compared to the OPPO F3 Plus’ cooler colors but slightly better low-light performance.
Both phones also have beautify features thrown in, which in theory should remove the unflattering imperfections on your face via software. We took three photos with the low, medium and high preset of the beautify feature for both phones, which you can see below:
From the photos, OPPO’s F3 Plus has better implementation of the beauty feature since the removal of the blemishes and imperfections on Jamie’s face are more subtle and natural. Vivo’s implementation on the other hand, is a little too much for us – on the medium preset the software on the V5 Plus starts to remove natural facial features like creases and leaves a caricature of yourself on the highest setting.
Of course both phones have their own twist on the selfie concept – with Vivo going for blurred bokeh backgrounds and OPPO going for wide-angle selfie shots. Like we said in our earlier head-to-head, it all comes down to your preference if you want to blur out photobombers or if you want easier groufies.
It looks like OPPO wins this round with a slightly better performing camera and a more natural beautify setting, though Vivo’s V5 Plus might just be the ticket for people who want a slightly smaller, cheaper and handier device overall.