When it comes to travel, a great phone is a must to help you navigate and capture sights — the vivo V29 is a great partner for this as proven in my recent trip.
Recently, vivo launched the V29 in the Philippines, the brand’s latest mid-ranger that packs premium features at a price tag that won’t break the bank. Specifically, the phone has a triple rear shooter setup with a 50MP main camera and an eye-catching Aura Light Module — you can think of this as a mini ring light for even better portrait photos. The phone is also powered by a Snapdragon 778G 5G processor and has a 4600mAh battery.
Ahead of its launch though, I got to test the phone out. Aside from putting it through its paces for a full review, I was also able to do something a bit different. I brought it with me during a recent trip to Japan.
We all have our own preferences when traveling. Personally, I don’t really take photos of myself, so the key with any phone for me is to have a great camera for landscape photos, both in daytime and at night. I also need a phone that can last for a day of use with ease, all with a copious amount of Google Maps use (an indispensable tool when exploring).
All-Around Triple Rear Camera Setup
My recent trip was a bit different as instead of going to Tokyo or Osaka, I was able to visit Sapporo, Japan’s northern capital. While it’s more of a winter destination for many, Sapporo is quite nice to visit even at the tail-end of summer as it’s not as hot as Tokyo and other parts of Japan south of Hokkaido.
Given that it’s my first time there, my goal was to get great photos of the sights, from the Sapporo downtown area to the lovely city of Otaru which is a city just less than an hour away from Sapporo with a lot of well-preserved Western-style buildings.
Here’s a sample of the photos that I was able to capture with the V29’s main camera:
As you can see, the photos are bright, detailed, and have vibrant colors. Even on their own, these are great for social media sharing as they’ll definitely pop out in the feed. So, if you’re like me and enjoy taking photos of sights, the vivo V29 will be a good partner in the daytime.
But what about at night? Well, the phone also delivered. Here are some more samples:
Thanks to the phone’s Night Mode, I was able to take low-light photos with a lot of detail and with even highlights. This is perfect at night given how difficult it is to capture photos like this with something like a point-and-shoot which typically doesn’t have a Night Mode.
The vivo V29 in my latest trip proved to be excellent for low-light situations. I especially appreciated it when I went to the JR Tower viewing deck in Sapporo Station as the night view was excellent and the V29 was able to capture it incredibly well.
If you like landscape photos, chances are that you’ll also appreciate the V29’s ultrawide camera. Here are some samples:
Again, the cameras on the vivo V29 don’t disappoint if your travel style is like mine, meaning you love taking photos of various sights from multiple angles.
Definitely a Reliable Daily Driver
Cameras are one thing, but a phone is also a key device for traveling as it is your main communication and navigation device.
I didn’t really play games on the vivo V29 during my travel days as most of my downtime was spent watching videos with my SO instead. With that said, the vivo V29’s AMOLED screen is an excellent display for watching videos while on a flight. This proved handy in my trip as I had to take a domestic flight to and from Sapporo (there were no Manila to Sapporo direct flights during my trip), meaning I used the vivo V29 to watch videos while on the plane to keep me and my SO entertained during the flight.
Aside from its great display, the vivo V29 also lasted easily for a day of use. Given my heavy use of Google Maps to navigate, look for restaurants, and search for general information about the sights, I used the V29 heavily in my travel days. I did bring a power bank with me, though I didn’t have to use it as the V29 handled the busy days with some charge to spare.
Plus, the Snapdragon 778G 5G proved to be a capable processor for general use as the phone did not slow down at any point during our trip. As we discovered in our review, if you’re someone who likes to play games in travel downtime, the V29 should have enough power for today’s popular titles.
Aura Light 2.0 For Great Portraits
Again, I don’t really take photos of myself much when traveling, though I was intrigued by the vivo V29’s Aura Light module which is not only bigger than its predecessor but also has a nifty new feature. Specifically, the Aura Light module can change color temperature from warm to cool.
I was curious about how well it would work, and how good it is for portraits in general. I was not disappointed with the results as you can check in these samples:
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- Aura Light – Warm
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- Aura Light – Cool
In daytime, the portrait shot quality is great as you’d expect. At night, the Aura Light Module also helps make the scene brighter and more detailed even if there’s not a lot of light. The second and third samples may seem bright, but it was quite dark where we took the photos — almost all of that light is from the nifty Aura Light module flash.
Plus, you can also clearly see how dramatic the color change is depending on the temperature setting. These two are the extremes though, so you can definitely tweak the color temperature to your liking. This should make for eye-catching portraits that are perfect for your travel photos.
vivo V29: Price and Availability in the Philippines
Overall, the vivo V29 is a great travel partner thanks to its combination of great cameras, long battery life, eye-catching display, and reliable performance. Best of all, even with its premium features, the vivo V29 does not have a flagship-level price tag as it starts at PHP 24,999.
vivo V29 specs:
- 6.78-inch (1260 x 2800) AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP macro triple rear camera setup (with Ring-LED flash)
- Front camera: 50MP
- 5G, LTE
- Under Display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.2
- 4600mAh battery with 80W wired Fast charging
- Android 13 with Funtouch 13
- Price
- 12GB RAM + 512GB ROM variant – PHP 26,999
- 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM variant – PHP 24,999
Interested in getting your own V29? The vivo V29 is available now at the brand’s official website, and in e-stores such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok, Plus, you can also get it at physical vivo stores nationwide.