24 Hours Series

24 Hours in New York

Huawei P20 Pro in the Big Apple

Published

June 8, 2018

Marvin Velasco

I’m a fan of both Huawei’s flagship P20 Pro and some sweet irony, so I thought, why not join these two together?

That’s right: I brought the P20 Pro to a country that has no plans of selling it and has the disapproval of the government. It’s a complicated story with many takes and twists, but all that doesn’t really matter to me. I simply wanted to tour New York with the best set of cameras ever equipped on a phone.

Before entering the Big Apple, I was fortunate enough to take a scenic route over the North Pole. Endless layers of ice and water filled my window view, making me glad I didn’t settle for the roomier aisle seat this time.

And here I was, right at the center of New York City! This wasn’t my first time on this side of the east coast, but each visit has been a memorable one — this being no exception.

Yes, more buildings. Rows and rows of skyscrapers and commercial establishments organized in the blockiest of blocks. There are less intimidating sides to NY, but I had work to do.

Here I am taking a break and enjoying the portrait mode of the P20 Pro. When you’re in a big city like this, it’s a good idea to make use of the geometry in the background to add emphasis to your subject. Intersecting lines guide a viewer’s eyes to whatever they point to.

That’s the famous Empire State Building to the far end. While I didn’t get a chance to include the iconic site in my short itinerary, it was always in the background, looming over every shot I took in that direction.

What I was able to get close to, however, was the moon. Yep, with the 10X zoom of the P20 Pro’s triple-camera system, anything’s possible! (That sounded a lot like a paid advertisement but I swear it’s that good!)

Like during my tour through Venice Beach, these green vendors were floating around. Again, I couldn’t figure out exactly what they were selling, but they (and the customers) seemed overjoyed.

Panorama time! And what better spot than at the center of Times Square. Billboards are everywhere here, screaming consumerism and lights bright enough to make it feel like a morning market.

This is perhaps the best spot to take a touristy shot of Times Square. You get a clear look of the George M. Cohen statue with the famous red steps filled with people in the background.

A little-known fact about me: I love visiting churches and appreciating their architecture firsthand, no matter what religion or era. This particular Catholic church has a standout interior, but it’s the exterior that you’ll want to see…

… through a reflection! I couldn’t fit the entire structure on cam, but this shiny building nearby did the trick.

But that’s enough of glass and cement. It’s time to find a different time of green — this time in the solace of Central Park. This is the place to visit if you’re tired of building after building (even though they’re still visible in the background).

This is more like it! Central Park is the ideal spot for both relaxation and getting work done, thanks to the tranquility and friendly neighborhood critters adding life to the scenery.

What’s a park without a picturesque fountain placed at the center? This is me once again taking a break because walking is hard. New York is, without a doubt, a walking city. Sidewalks are abundant and taxi fares are expensive, so it’s best to bring along comfy sneakers to keep your feet from dying. Remember: You only have two of them!

To the side, you might find a street performer if you’re lucky. This man played one of the best covers of Eric Clapton’s “Layla” I’ve ever heard.

But of course, I couldn’t get away from the essence of New York, which are the structures that surround the massive park. Behind every tree is a building ten times as tall.

On my way out, I found Argosy, which is New York’s oldest independent book store, having been around since 1925. It’s filled with books, prints, maps, and paintings both new and old — but mostly old. Going inside for that library-like smell alone is worth the long walk!

When the sun goes down and people begin going home from work, the bright lights of the Big Apple turn on. But while the view from below is grand and all, it takes a rise to the top of the city for a more eyegasmic experience. There are two choices for this: the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock.

For this particular trip to NY, I chose the latter, and what a sight it was! The P20 Pro’s night mode got to show off its full potential here, bringing out the beauty of the big city and its array of lights. It’s debatable which of the two skyscrapers has the better view from above, but from what I’ve been told, Top of the Rock is the place to be when capping off a tour around New York City.

24 Hours is a series on GadgetMatch.com where we showcase our travels through a smartphone camera’s perspective. It’s also a documented guide on things to see and do in a city in case you happen to plan a trip there.

24 Hours Series

vivo V27: Studio lights in your pocket

Meet the new Aura Light Portrait System

Published

April 14, 2023

Chay Lazaro

It’s spring 2023 and vivo is back with the V series. The vivo V27 comes with a new feature called Aura Light Portrait System, which takes its main camera to another level. Like its predecessor it’s got a color-changing back, making it a fashionable choice for different users.

Stylish color-changing design

We have the V27 in Emerald Green, which starts off with a lighter tint that looks like jade. When exposed to UV light, it changes into a darker shade of green. This is achieved thanks to the Emerald Glass processing technique. The phone also comes in Magic Blue, Flowing Gold, and Noble Black.

Chay is wearing light colors so the Emerald Green model matches her outfit better. It makes a nice, subtle pop of color, and goes with her pastel-y mint green purse and boots.

It’s also worth pointing out the 3D curved screen and this curved back on the V27 make it feel extremely thin and light.

Studio lights in your pocket

As mentioned earlier, the vivo V27 features the Aura Light Portrait System for great portraits even in low light. It’s a combination of the IMX677V sensor, which Sony designed with vivo specifically for this phone, algorithm optimizations, and the Aura Light. Its outer ring is matte and sandblasted, softening the light coming out of it.

The Aura Light, combined with the large sensor, and algorithm optimizations work together to take great portraits even in low light.

Lunch and coffee

The day before was a very long day so we figured we should get food and coffee. We found this dimly lit restaurant in Soho called Cafe Select. I think it’s a German restaurant because we had some schnitzel and there’s German decor everywhere.

We also specifically asked for the corner booth to test out the V27’s low light capabilities. Despite the lack of light sources, it’s impressive that the V27 managed to produce an accurate cutout of me even when I kept moving with the Bokeh Portrait video mode on.

There’s no natural light in this restaurant so it’s also the perfect place to take portraits and test out the Aura Light Portrait System. It’s like a portable ring light that you can use to take clearer portraits. Take a look at some examples.

On video mode, you can also use LUTs. We had fun using the Nostalgia filter to film a short video in the restaurant, which perfectly matches the vintage vibe of its interiors.

High definition selfies

The vivo V27 would not be a V-series smartphone if it didn’t have an amazing selfie camera. On the V27, we got a 50MP HD selfie camera with autofocus.

It’s worth noting that the phone feels so light in the hand. It’s so easy to take one-handed selfies. I also love how subtle the color change is on the Emerald Green model.

The V27 offers three levels of selfie filters that help hide blemishes and enhance your features — None, Natural, and Classic.

The 50MP front camera means clear selfie details. Most other smartphones have inferior selfie cameras compared to its rear counterparts, but not the V27. As you can see in the example below, zooming in on my eyes show that you can clearly see the strands of my eyebrows.

Walking the High Line & shopping

To test its video stabilization and macro camera, we continued to walk the High Line. Both features produced very impressive results.

Another feature we tried is MicroMovie. It’s perfect for creators like me. It comes with a whole bunch of templates that you can use for TikTok or Instagram Reels. I filmed a daily vlog with it and had so much fun.

While we were shopping, I noticed too that the V27 changed colors after being indoors for a bit. It turned into a beautiful white marble-like finish that fades into mint green at the bottom.

After the sun has set, it’s time to take more low-light portraits and OOTD. Our friends Alex and Leslie even joined us for a quick photo shoot. New York City comes to life at night, and with a 1/1.56-inch sensor and Super Night Mode, the vivo V27 can easily capture the hustle and bustle of the city streets.

More than just a camera smartphone

The vivo V27 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 and comes with either an 8GB or 12GB of RAM.

With Extended RAM the phone borrows memory from your internal storage and gives you an additional 8GB RAM. This way you get either 16GB or 20GB available RAM.