The vivo V23 5G is one among 2022’s latest midrange smartphone offerings — well at least in several countries like India and the Philippines.

Some of you might remember the phone’s quick unboxing with some #PhotoDump. This time, we’re only focusing on the vivo V23 5G’s camera capabilities and how its software magic can do more than just relying solely on its less-exciting camera hardware.

Going beyond camera hardware

As a refresher, the vivo V23 5G has a total of five cameras with three in the back:

• 64MP f/1.9 wide (main)
• 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
• 2MP f/2.4 macro

And two selfie cameras: a 50MP f/2.0 wide and a wider 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide lens.

Admit it or not, the vivo V23 5G doesn’t have the best cameras in any midranger right now. If I’ll list down, one of you (or more) would probably argue that there are better midrange offerings with better cameras of the same price tag.

With a certain amount of light, the lens will start showing flares and glares — which is actually a pretty-looking effect just like how it did on my cat.

When the sun sets and everything gets dark outside, the night mode actually helps.

But most of the time, it just amplifies the highlights and shadows a little bit.

The story doesn’t end here. In fact, night mode shots can still look better — more on that after you read this section.

The subtle photo processing adjustments also occur in food. Some of you might already look contented with how the vivo V23 5G produced these lasagna photos.

When turned on, its AI feature can automatically detect if a subject is a food, pet, scenery, sunset, and more — just like most Android smartphones do nowadays.

But sometimes, the AI doesn’t do its job to make the photos stand out — such as these ice cream photos.

And even in subjects that don’t have food in it, I think the vivo V23 5G could produce better shots than the usual.

This is where its brilliant camera software enters the scene. Its host of camera software features offer more than meets the eye.

Using photo filters isn’t a crime

Don’t listen to #NoFilter apologists. Your shots, your rules! Even if a lot of people brag about their shots being taken “without filters”, there’s already some post-processing algorithm happening in the background the moment you click the shutter button.

And speaking as a multimedia creative, professionals do tend to play with colors for a lot of photographs and video output. So no, you’re never alone in applying filters on your shots.

See your life to the fullest

The term ‘vivo’ in Latin means “within the living”. And the better way to actually make the most out of your daytime shots is to slap on some filters curated by the vivo team.

Daylight photos shot with the vivo V23 5G with HDR and AI turned look fine on most occasions, but just in case you’ll own one and you want to go the extra mile, the in-app filters will make them a lot better.

While I’m not the biggest fan of oversaturated photos, you just need to make some photos livelier.

Honestly, the vivo V23 5G took blander photos than what I see in reality. Thankfully, the Night Breeze filter I often use does the trick in making the shots true to life.

The filters may vary depending on your taste. Some filters are inclined towards saturation and contrast boosting, others are subtle with some adjustments in overall tint and temperature.

Luckily, these built-in camera filters are here to save the day. And yes, they work in ultra-wide angle mode, too!

Regardless of what subject or object you shoot, the filters will look good. It’s just a matter of preference which you will use.

Warmer and more saturated ones, or the faded and less saturated filter, it’s all up to your creative freedom to choose.

Can you even imagine a dramatic shot get even more dramatic just because of these camera bonuses?

If you don’t like the “too colorful” processing vibe of the vivo V23 5G itself, there are filters that could (somehow) patch things up such as desaturated and faded out filters.

But in other aspects, the darker and cooler filters bring justice to the subject.

And in some situations, tinkering with these filters add drama to your boring day-to-day photos (since some of you crave for that anyway).

Food for the hungry eyes

We love taking food photos. Whether that may be flat-lays, angled shots, or just the typical focused ones with some depth segmentation happening in the background. But the first thing that worried me is how the vivo V23 5G lacks a 2x lens since its more flexible to take food photos for your Gram.

My go-to filter for most of my food shots taken with the vivo V23 5G is the Macarons filter since it brings out better shadows and tones down the saturation.

While it brings down some of the needed highlights, I still prefer this filter over the original one that favors contrast more.

Even in this spicy 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon) I ate, the filtered one (using my other fave) looks something I would directly post on my social media. Even the color of the 소주 (soju) is favorable in my opinion.

That said, there are still other filters you can play around with.

My favorite filter doesn’t do well on this halo-halo so I had to peek and select other options in the filter list.

And in this late night indoor shot of the tempura and tonkotsu, the original one looked too dark for my taste.

But with the existence of vivo V23 5G’s camera filters, one of them brings out the better food photo that you can directly post in your socials.

The better night mode

While regular night mode does the trick of making night-time photos brighter, filters actually do take part in making such shots more appealing and convincing (sometimes even exceptional).

Unlike filters in the regular photo mode, shooting with night mode brings you a different set of filters to choose from.

From filters such as Cyberpunk to silver and orange, most of these filters will look good as long as you have the right exposure, framing, and environment.

Some even complement the architecture or scenery itself. Take these Venetian-styled buildings and bridge as a reference.

Or if that’s not enough, here are some retro-looking interior decor without and with vivo’s in-app filters.

These night mode shots actually looked better when I tried choosing a filter over the original shot.

Not only did the filters add more color, it also gave the extra “oompfh” I’m looking for shots that the regular HDR, AI, and Night Mode processing of the vivo V23 5G failed to achieve.

And just like in the day, these filters also look nice in the dark via its ultra-wide lens.

In your next café or restaurant visit with a lot of neon signs on it, the vivo V23 5G’s built-in camera filters saves that extra energy you’ll use for manual photo adjustments.

Open that hidden treasure chest

I’m not saying you should open the treasure chest with THAT gold that’s been missing for decades 👀. There are a lot of users who simply don’t take full advantage of the extended features of a camera app. And if you’re a new V23 5G user, don’t hesitate to try them out instead of leaving them alone.

Other than the regular portrait, photo, video, and night modes, there are several more hidden under “More” tab. Those modes include:

• High Resolution taken in full 64 megapixels
• Panorama for that scenic wide-long views
• Live Photo which captures both stills and a super-short clip
• Slo-mo for well, you’ve guessed it
• Time-lapse for that artsy rundown of a long video recording
• Pro mode for those who dare (I’m not talking about you, ROG)
• AR stickers for Gen Zs (or maybe boomers) who want to look cute(r)
• Documents, well no-brainer
• Double exposure for conjoining the base photo with an opaque image preset by vivo; and
• Dual view for simultaneous recording via the front and rear cameras

These AR stickers a la Snapchat and SNOW are too cute for my liking. If you’re a fan, more can be downloaded right through the camera mode itself.

I even tried taking a “double-exposure” shot but I guess there’s a better use for that in a different scenario.

Two front cameras for many uses

Other than the color-changing glass back of the vivo V23 5G, its dual front cameras with both a wide and ultra-wide lenses are what makes the vivo V23 5G stand out from the rest of the crowd. Forget bringing that ring light! There’s also a dual Spotlight flash — which is also another first in this phone.

For OOTDs (and maybe TikToks?)

These were the first few samples I’ve taken with the ultra-wide front camera of the vivo V23 5G just right after I received it.

With that wider selfie lens plus turning on the timer and putting it on a stable tripod (or any other surface), this handy-dandy feature is very useful for those who want to see their full OOTD look without ever worrying about framing that most users do when using rear cameras.

This is beneficial for bloggers (or influencers) who flaunt their latest look or even for those who sell their garments online. Moreover, this wider view is an advantage for those who shoot a lot of TikTok dance trends — just don’t ask me about the video quality as I don’t use one 🥴.

For pandemic groufies

Bulky monopods no more! If you’re tasked to take a selfie and you have a short hand (like my friend), you might have a hard time taking groufies.

But thanks to the extra ultra-wide lens of the vivo V23 5G, you’ll get better photo souvenirs with your friends.

And in tight spaces like a small car interior, having the option to switch between these two selfie cameras helps a lot.

The new selfie expert?

If you’re one among those aging tech nerds like yours truly, you’d know that the tagline belongs to OPPO. But upon testing — even if I’m not the biggest selfie expert in this team (that title probably goes to either of the two MJs — one from New York and one from the Philippines), the vivo V23 5G actually takes some good selfies with the right amount of beauty effects and filters applied.

Just like how you’ve seen it in groufies, taking a selfie between ultra-wide (0.6x) and wide (1x) lenses are noticeable.

It took some guts to actually take cringe-y selfie samples like these at 3AM.

Another one of the same pose but this time, it shows how bad the selfie is without opening the fill-in and dual Spotlight flash modes of the vivo V23 5G.

Beauty filters and effects are preferential. I just tried comparing three beautified selfies against one without it.

And if the smoothing effect doesn’t look clear enough, here’s a closer look.

Using beauty mode shouldn’t be frowned upon. Not only does it show the right amount of skin texture, the skin also isn’t as smeared the way other Android phones do it.

Too much software magic? No problem!

Just in case you do and you properly know what’s good for the eyes (well tbh you should still learn and understand the basics first before you break ’em), give the built-in adjustment settings in vivo’s Albums (Gallery) app a try.

In my experience, adjusting was a total breeze. I have access to most of the stuff I play around with like exposure, contrast, temperature, highlights, shadows, and more. If you don’t know how to tinker around, the Auto-Enhance might come in handy but it might not work most of the time.

There are photo filters that can be applied as well so if you’re not satisfied with the first filter you have, you have the ability to change it afterwards.

Not for everyone — but good for anyone

If you’re a budding enthusiast with a keen eye on photography or a casual user who just wants to take a lot of photos but has a limited budget, the V23 5G should be in your radar.

Its built-in filters, camera modes, plus the in-app adjustments you’ll find in its Albums (or Gallery) app are some of the reasons why the vivo V23 5G can still take social media photos that are worthy to post.

And in all honesty, the vivo V23 5G cameras aren’t the worst. We’re just surrounded with a lot of smartphones lately that take the best-in-class phonetography experience. But with the existence of these software novelties, I think it’s time for people to make full use of them that would totally make phone shots a lot better than what’s taken straight out of the camera app.

SEE ALSO: vivo V23 5G: A lost Android soul in an iPhone’s body?