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Why I put the Vivo X500 Pro Max up against the iPhone 18 Pro

After shooting both side by side, the Vivo X500 Pro Max is the better camera phone, hands down. It wins on skin tone, slow motion, low light and usability, while the iPhone 18 Pro holds its own in good light.

The X500 Pro Max isn't officially sold in the US, so I bought mine for around $1,300 on eBay. I wanted to know if a phone you have to import could really beat the iPhone I use every day. So I took both to car shows, a soccer field, my studio and my backyard and shot them side by side.

This isn't a spec sheet review. It's what I actually noticed as a filmmaker while shooting video and photos with both cameras.

Price, availability and camera specs

Both phones have three rear cameras, but the X500 Pro Max leans harder into zoom and video, while the iPhone 18 Pro adds a variable aperture.

Specs from Amateur Photographer, Apple and MacRumors.

Slow motion: 4K 240fps vs 1080p 240fps

Slow motion is the biggest difference between these two cameras. The X500 Pro Max shoots 4K at up to 240 frames per second, while the iPhone 18 Pro drops to 1080p at 240fps.

I first noticed it on a mushroom shot under controlled lighting. The X500 Pro Max footage was so much clearer. On the iPhone, I can shoot 4K at 120fps, but that's only half as slow.

Outside on a soccer field, the X500 Pro Max was much crisper and sharper on the ball. The one catch is that its white balance shifted a little in 4K 240 in uncontrolled light. I'd still rather have that and a sharper image than a softer, noisier 1080p shot. My tip: lock your white balance for slow motion on the Vivo. On the iPhone, I'd switch to 4K 120 and give up the extra slow-mo.

Color science and skin tone

The X500 Pro Max gives more natural skin tones, and that's the main reason I prefer it for talking-head videos.

In the standard color profile, which is what most people shoot when they start out, the iPhone 18 Pro gives me a strawberry skin tone that's almost oversaturated. In one car show talking head, the background also turned more orange, like the white balance was off. The X500 Pro Max brings that saturation back down. I noticed the same thing when I compared it with the Osmo Pocket 4P.

Color isn't one-sided, though:

• Golden hour: the X500 Pro Max has a warmer orange cast, with a nice gradient across the sky. The iPhone looked plainer and less saturated than I expected.
• Indoor reds: under car show lighting, the Vivo's reds are deeper and more contrasty, while the iPhone's reds pop more.
• Macro, front lit: the X500 Pro Max ran a little more saturated, and the iPhone held onto the colors better. I was surprised, but I liked the iPhone here.

Shooting log and using the right LUTs

If you want great skin tones from any smartphone camera, shoot in log and add a LUT in post. Both cameras shoot log: Vivo's 10-bit log on the X500 Pro Max and Apple Log 2 on the iPhone 18 Pro.

Log is a flat profile that holds onto more detail, so you choose the color later instead of the phone choosing it for you. At the same 0.0 exposure, the X500 Pro Max came out a little darker and moodier, while the iPhone came out a little brighter and showed more of the sky.

Be careful about adding just any random LUT, though. A Sony LUT on iPhone footage won't look right. That's why I made film look LUTs built specifically for the X500 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro sensors.

Photography: megapixels, usability and variable aperture

For photos, the X500 Pro Max wins on detail, usability and color, while the iPhone 18 Pro wins on background blur control.

• Megapixels: the X500 Pro Max has a 50MP main camera and a 200MP telephoto. The iPhone 18 Pro has 48MP across all three cameras.
• Usability: this is huge. The Vivo's pro mode shows everything I need right on the display with fewer taps. You can even import LUTs to see what your shot will look like, which on the iPhone means getting a third-party app like Blackmagic Camera.
• Variable aperture: the iPhone 18 Pro's aperture goes from f/1.48 to f/4, so I can choose how blurry the background is right in the camera app. The X500 Pro Max's aperture is fixed.
• Manual controls: both have them, but each leaves one thing out. You can't adjust the aperture on the Vivo, and you can't set ISO manually in the iPhone's built-in camera app.
• Color: I like the Vivo's photos better. On a red car's headlight, the paint looks rich and deep and the chrome looks crisp. The iPhone's version looks a little washed out and gray.

Stabilization and low light

In good light, I couldn't tell much difference in stabilization, but in low light the X500 Pro Max is clearly better.

On paper, the Vivo should win. Its main camera has gimbal-grade stabilization with a CIPA 7.0 rating, while the iPhone uses sensor-shift stabilization. But in my handheld, walking and inverted tripod shots in daylight, both looked excellent. Even at a dim indoor car show, the difference was small. The iPhone just lifted the midtones and turned things a little more yellow.

Once it got really dark, the gap was obvious, and it wasn't only about stabilization. The X500 Pro Max held together better with less processing. On the iPhone, the image started to fall apart, and a ghost flare from a streetlight jumped all around the frame. Vivo kept its ghost flare far more subtle, which shows the technology exists. I'm not sure why Apple hasn't fixed this yet.

One thing neither does well is the front-facing camera in low light. I wouldn't use the selfie camera on either one unless I was somewhere well lit.

Telephoto close-ups and background blur

The X500 Pro Max's telephoto blew me away for close-up detail, and its background blur looks more natural.

I shot a mushroom stem fully zoomed in on the telephoto lens of both cameras. The X500 Pro Max (200MP telephoto) was so crisp and clear that I was honestly shocked. I'm used to the iPhone looking soft like this when I get that close, so it was a wow moment. Part of the reason is that the iPhone 18 Pro's telephoto still can't focus up close, according to GSMArena's review.

Filming a bunny in the grass, the X500 Pro Max's blurry background looked more realistic, closer to what I'd get from a mirrorless camera. The iPhone's blur looked a little more digital to me.

My verdict: Vivo X500 Pro Max vs iPhone 18 Pro

The Vivo X500 Pro Max has the better cameras, no doubt. It wins on skin tone, 4K 240fps slow motion, low light and usability, and it doesn't lift the midtones or make the image look as processed as the iPhone.

If Apple could bring this kind of technology to the iPhone, like keeping ghost flares under control, I think the iPhone would be unstoppable. For now, the iPhone 18 Pro still makes a solid BTS camera as long as you're not shooting in low light. And if you want the most professional skin tones on it, shoot in log.

If you pick up either of these phones, I created a comprehensive smartphone course on how to set it up from scratch and go out and get amazing cinematic shots with it. I also made film look LUTs for both the X500 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro. You'll find links to both below.

• Smartphone course
• Film look LUTs for the X500 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro

FAQ

Is the Vivo X500 Pro Max better than the iPhone 18 Pro for video? Yes, in my testing. It shoots 4K at 240fps, handles low light better and gives more natural skin tones in the standard profile.

Can you buy the Vivo X500 Pro Max in the US? Not officially. I bought mine on eBay for around $1,300.

How much does the iPhone 18 Pro cost? It starts at $1,199 in the US.

Can the iPhone 18 Pro shoot 4K at 240fps? No. Its slow motion tops out at 1080p 240fps, or 4K at 120fps.

Do both phones shoot log? Yes. The X500 Pro Max has 10-bit log, and the iPhone 18 Pro shoots Apple Log 2.

Which phone has better stabilization? In good light, I saw very little difference. In low light, the X500 Pro Max looked better, mostly because the iPhone's image fell apart and showed ghost flares.