Lenovo Vibe Shot, OIS, 16 mega-pixel camera and 3 X LED for $289

Those guys over in China get all the luck! First it was the release of the Meizu MX4 Ubuntu edition and now it is the Lenovo Vibe Shot at a cracking low-price!

The Lenovo Vibe Shot shouldn’t be news to anyone who has followed Chinese tech this year. The smartphone was on display at MWC and there has been plenty of news about this camera centric phone, but until today no firm pricing details.

Packing a 16 mega-pixel rear camera, 3 X LED flash and OIS the camera hardware certainly ticks all the right boxes, and at 1799 Yuan its a phone hard to pass up on at the price!

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The 7.6mm Vibe Shot also sports an alloy chassis, 5-inch 1080 display, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory, support for 128GB SD cards and an octacore Snapdragon 615 chipset.

As usual the phone is currently only officially available in China but watch reseller sites for unofficial international availability.

[ Cngdgt ]

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About the author
Andi

very good price

Marius Cirsta
May 18, 2015
Now this looks like a nice phone. Even without the very nice camera it’s a pretty good phone for the money.
I do like the compact form ( 5 inch screen, nice ) and the fact that it has a 2900 mAh battery.
The SOC while not everwhelming is more than enough if you’re not a power user ( games or something ? )
jolu
May 18, 2015
Would love tot give this one a shot. Especially since summer is closing in. Great time for letting that shooter do its job.
joe
May 18, 2015
I think the lenovo vibe z2 pro has the same camera, better specs, bigger battery and a 2k screen for an extra $50.
- balcobomber25
  May 18, 2015
  - AdM
    May 18, 2015
    Still a marketing gimmick for me since I never use flash. I would rather have a camera sensor that performs good in low light situations.
- Marius Cirsta
  May 18, 2015
  And it’s a much bigger phone, I’d rather have this one but it’s good that Lenovo offers a wide range of choices.
  Btw keep in mind that the much larger screen + 2K res will result in more power usage so even though the battery is larger you can end up with less or around the same battery life.

eliHd
May 18, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 18, 2015
  What makes you think that? It is most likely either from Omnivision or Sony and both of them have excellent 16mp sensors.
  - eliHd
    May 18, 2015
    what about the image processing software? its like putting v12 engine in a fiat punto! lol Hopefully this phone is a game changer as I really like the looks of it ?
    - balcobomber25
      May 18, 2015
      You mean Lenovo Super Camera? They have perhaps the best camera software of any phone. Keep trying…
      - Bruce S
        May 20, 2015
        Absolutely right there. I was using OPEN camera on my Kingzone Z1 thinking it was great; then I tried Lenovo Super Camera and it really is brilliant!
        
        balcobomber25
        May 20, 2015
        Open camera is actually one of my favorites along with FV-5 but Super Camera is amazing.
Muhammad Yasir
May 18, 2015
for a TRUE 16 mp , 3 leds , OIS and a phone that looks like an ACTUAL digi-cam , 290 is pretty good !
Cpaun
May 18, 2015
Heey! What happened with the infrared focus? Nobody mentioned it…
Dr Solom
May 18, 2015

May 18, 2015
With Lenovo, you generally get what you pay for.
I’ve had one of their flagships, which looked great on paper, but never really worked right. Poor reception, constantly dropped calls, frequent FCs….
Lenovo had one minor update and nothing ever got fixed. The phone was barely usable as a phone and the camera grossly over-processed. Photos looked great on the phone, but viewing them on a large screen had a “velvet painting” effect.
I finally dropped the phone and the screen broke, too easily, IMO. But I got to see how it was put together, and it was really cheaply done.
So I am not touching another Lenovo phone.
- joe man
  May 18, 2015

Marius Cirsta
May 18, 2015
Now this looks like a nice phone. Even without the very nice camera it’s a pretty good phone for the money.
I do like the compact form ( 5 inch screen, nice ) and the fact that it has a 2900 mAh battery.
The SOC while not everwhelming is more than enough if you’re not a power user ( games or something ? )

jolu
May 18, 2015
Would love tot give this one a shot. Especially since summer is closing in. Great time for letting that shooter do its job.
Guest
May 18, 2015
I think the lenovo vibe z2 pro has the same camera, better specs, bigger battery and a 2k screen for an extra $50.
- balcobomber25
  May 18, 2015
  The Z2 Pro has dual LED Flash this has triple.
- Marius Cirsta
  May 18, 2015
  And it’s a much bigger phone, I’d rather have this one but it’s good that Lenovo offers a wide range of choices.
  Btw keep in mind that the much larger screen + 2K res will result in more power usage so even though the battery is larger you can end up with less or around the same battery life.
- AdM
  May 19, 2015
  Still a marketing gimmick for me since I never use flash. I would rather have a camera sensor that performs good in low light situations.

eliHd
May 18, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 18, 2015
  What makes you think that? It is most likely either from Omnivision or Sony and both of them have excellent 16mp sensors.
- eliHd
  May 18, 2015
  what about the image processing software? its like putting v12 engine in a fiat punto! lol Hopefully this phone is a game changer as I really like the looks of it 😁
- balcobomber25
  May 18, 2015
  You mean Lenovo Super Camera? They have perhaps the best camera software of any phone. Keep trying…
- Bruce S
  May 20, 2015
  Absolutely right there. I was using OPEN camera on my Kingzone Z1 thinking it was great; then I tried Lenovo Super Camera and it really is brilliant!
- balcobomber25
  May 20, 2015
  Open camera is actually one of my favorites along with FV-5 but Super Camera is amazing.
James
May 18, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  - Chris
    May 19, 2015
    Antutu is like flooring the pedal in your car in neutral gear and listening to the loudness of the engine to determine the horsepower.
    Then again SD615 exists to satisfy the need for “octacore”. Quallcomm forgot that people who “need” a 64 bit octacore also use antutu for comparing performance.
    - balcobomber25
      May 19, 2015
      Antutu can be useful if it is taken in context. People use it as the be all end all of performance for phones. Your comparison is similar to mine I often say it’s like 0-60 times for cars.
    - Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
      May 19, 2015
      I like this comparison (y)

Guest
May 18, 2015
for a TRUE 16 mp , 3 leds , OIS and a phone that looks like an ACTUAL digi-cam , 290 is pretty good !
Cpaun
May 18, 2015
Heey! What happened with the infrared focus? Nobody mentioned it…

EvolvedApe
May 18, 2015
With Lenovo, you generally get what you pay for.
I’ve had one of their flagships, which looked great on paper, but never really worked right. Poor reception, constantly dropped calls, frequent FCs….
Lenovo had one minor update and nothing ever got fixed. The phone was barely usable as a phone and the camera grossly over-processed. Photos looked great on the phone, but viewing them on a large screen had a “velvet painting” effect.
I finally dropped the phone and the screen broke, too easily, IMO. But I got to see how it was put together, and it was really cheaply done.
So I am not touching another Lenovo phone.
- joe man
  May 19, 2015

kutrgmap
May 18, 2015
The phone recalls Sony Cybershot T series which I still don’t understand why Sony drops that design trend.
Guest
May 18, 2015
Lol @ SD615. Less than 33,000 AnTuTu, ha ha.
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  Lol @ people who quote Antutu scores like they really mean anything.
- Tjabbe
  May 19, 2015
  Antutu is like flooring the pedal in your car in neutral gear and listening to the loudness of the engine to determine the horsepower.
  Then again SD615 exists to satisfy the need for “octacore”. Quallcomm forgot that people who “need” a 64 bit octacore also use antutu for comparing performance.
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  Antutu can be useful if it is taken in context. People use it as the be all end all of performance for phones. Your comparison is similar to mine I often say it’s like 0-60 times for cars.
- Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
  May 19, 2015
Ash Horse
May 18, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  615 is a mid range SoC, it’s not as good as the latest Mediatek chips but it is more than capable for general multitasking. It’s not great for extreme performance or gaming as it tends to overheat. But for daily activities (camera, social media, calling, light gaming etc) it is good.

Frank Wu
May 18, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  - Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
    May 19, 2015
kutrgmap
May 19, 2015
The phone recalls Sony Cybershot T series which I still don’t understand why Sony drops that design trend.
balcobomber25
May 19, 2015
I have never been a huge phone of Lenovo’s styling but I am in love with this design. It’s classy and retro looking at the same time. And that camera sounds like it is going to be amazing, can’t wait to see some hands on/reviews with this bad boy.

Ash Horse
May 19, 2015
615 is gud proceesor for mutitasking?
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  615 is a mid range SoC, it’s not as good as the latest Mediatek chips but it is more than capable for general multitasking. It’s not great for extreme performance or gaming as it tends to overheat. But for daily activities (camera, social media, calling, light gaming etc) it is good.
Frank Wu
May 19, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  I believe it is 2.2, but don’t quote me.
- Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
  May 19, 2015
  “I believe it is 2.2” – Balcobomber25

asciscin
May 19, 2015
It’s a f2.2
I’ve seen a Russian review of the prerelease unit and with light it is superb; in low light however is a shit, seems in focus but too much digital noise to struggle with.
I don’t think that software could improve in this situation, that’s why I discarded what would have been the perfect smartphone for me: beautiful, compact, and with good camera
- jauling
  May 19, 2015
  ugh. a phone that is marketed as a camera, with a f2.2 dop lens? should be 2.0 at least, 1.8 would be better! 🙁
- molfetamina
  May 19, 2015
  are you totally sure of that? 🙁
- Fly agaric
  May 19, 2015
  Can you link it? My bit rusty Russian should still be enough to view the thing.
  - asciscin
    May 19, 2015
    http://vido.com.ua/article/11978/obzor-kamierafona-lenovo-vibe-shot-udachnyi-vystriel/
    Here is one preview. There is a review on cnmo.com (Chinese website, always use Google chrome).
    It’s not bad, but a 2.0 or 1.9 would have made the perfect cameraphone
    - Fly agaric
      May 19, 2015
balcobomber25
May 19, 2015
I have never been a huge phone of Lenovo’s styling but I am in love with this design. It’s classy and retro looking at the same time. And that camera sounds like it is going to be amazing, can’t wait to see some hands on/reviews with this bad boy.

asciscin
May 19, 2015
It’s a f2.2
I’ve seen a Russian review of the prerelease unit and with light it is superb; in low light however is a shit, seems in focus but too much digital noise to struggle with.
I don’t think that software could improve in this situation, that’s why I discarded what would have been the perfect smartphone for me: beautiful, compact, and with good camera
- jauling
  May 19, 2015
  ugh. a phone that is marketed as a camera, with a f2.2 dop lens? should be 2.0 at least, 1.8 would be better! 🙁
- molfetamina
  May 19, 2015
  are you totally sure of that? 🙁
- Fly agaric
  May 19, 2015
  Can you link it? My bit rusty Russian should still be enough to view the thing.
- asciscin
  May 19, 2015
  http://vido.com.ua/article/11978/obzor-kamierafona-lenovo-vibe-shot-udachnyi-vystriel/
  Here is one preview. There is a review on cnmo.com (Chinese website, always use Google chrome).
  It’s not bad, but a 2.0 or 1.9 would have made the perfect cameraphone
- Fly agaric
  May 19, 2015
Angry Mobile Nerd
May 19, 2015
Skeptical because when it comes to the cameras in phones notice how all the most expensive phones (regardless of megapixels, just look at the iphone is still using a 8mp sensor) also tend to take the best photos?
It’s no coincidence. And I don’t expect Lenovo to break this mold.

Fly agaric
May 19, 2015
Looks great on paper – very good price, too. Yet still, if what asciscin syas is true, the phone is not worth getting it. I’d love to have a compact like this with good specs, and camera comparable to current tops (SGS6, iP6, etc), without paying for top other components. F2.2 does kind of imples it will perform worse inside … Pitty.
I keep thinking about getting back to old, already verified solution: Iuni U2, for a much better price.
- RRRobert
  May 19, 2015
  I think the IUNI U2 is really nice too, especially with its given screen / body size, but lacking any 4G support instantly knocks it off my wanted list.

Rick
May 19, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  If it is an Omnivision sensor they all have RAW support.
- Bruce S
  May 20, 2015
  The new “Camera v2 API” in Android Lollipop 5.0 already supports raw. I see the Lenovo Vibe Shot is shipping with Android 5.0 so you should be good to go with raw.

Angry Mobile Nerd
May 19, 2015
Skeptical because when it comes to the cameras in phones notice how all the most expensive phones (regardless of megapixels, just look at the iphone is still using a 8mp sensor) also tend to take the best photos?
It’s no coincidence. And I don’t expect Lenovo to break this mold.

Fly agaric
May 19, 2015
Looks great on paper – very good price, too. Yet still, if what asciscin syas is true, the phone is not worth getting it. I’d love to have a compact like this with good specs, and camera comparable to current tops (SGS6, iP6, etc), without paying for top other components. F2.2 does kind of imples it will perform worse inside … Pitty.
I keep thinking about getting back to old, already verified solution: Iuni U2, for a much better price.
- Guest
  May 19, 2015
  I think the IUNI U2 is really nice too, especially with its given screen / body size, but lacking any 4G support instantly knocks it off my wanted list.
Raphael Rupp
May 19, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  The E7 is a good phone and the camera is superb. While it is cheaper there are some advantages to the Lenovo:
  1. The Vibe Shot is more compact than the E7. A lot of people don’t like bigger phones.
  2. Gionee is very slow with updates, it just recently got updated to Kit Kat. Lollipop might never come to it.
  3. No LTE on the E7
  4. E7 doesn’t support SD cards.
- Fly agaric
  May 20, 2015
  And the whole ado is about having even better camera than in E7, for a still reasonable price. This Lenovo can be a step in the right direction.
  Otherwise, I would still choose Iuni U2 which is practically E7 in a much compact and metal casing.

Fly agaric
May 19, 2015
1949deal shop do have it in their catalogue already. Not on the stock yet, but priced according to previous rumours – 350$, which is just to much for a Snap615.
http://www.1949deal.com/lenovo-vibe-shot-msm8939-1-7-ghz-octa-core-android-5-0-smartphone-3gb-ram-32gb-rom-5-0-inch-fhd-screen-4g-black.html
No sign of the 720p yet and I would be very interested to see the price on it, since only difference is the screen resolution, as was said in here.
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  - Fly agaric
    May 19, 2015
    Gizchina – use the search, that’s how I found it. Here is Czech one:
    http://gizchina.cz/2015/04/03/lenovo-vibe-shot-uspornejsi-varianta-spatrena-v-tenaa/ – but I swear tehre was one .com too. Can’t find it now.
    - balcobomber25
      May 19, 2015
      I wasn’t doubting you, I was curious because with a 720p display this is a much better phone for me. Should be a lot cheaper and the battery/performance will be better. I hope they do have a 720p version.
      - Fly agaric
        May 20, 2015
        Exactly same reason why I am interested in 720p version.
      - Fly agaric
        May 20, 2015
        Exactly same reason why I am interested in 720p version.
  - Fly agaric
    May 21, 2015
    Mor info for both of you: https://www.gizchina.com/2015/04/03/mid-range-lenovo-vibe-shot-gets-global-4g-lte/ – so it’s gonna be MTK instead of Snap615 – which isn’t a bad thing too.
- MatthiasSchuchard
  May 20, 2015
  Be careful with the Chinese market version. I heard a bird sing it will have different software and maybe lower storage than the international one. Not sure how big the difference is, just be sure to check carefully before you order.
  Really looking forward to some serious camera reviews!
  Cheers,
  Matthias
  - Ionut Bc
    June 23, 2015
    it does have a vibe ui chinese version, with loads of bloatware. 32 GB storage. Camera is ok, I was expecting better. Perhaps software improvements can be made. In low light it’s not that good though :/.
    I think with a custom ROM it could be very nice.
Rick
May 19, 2015
- balcobomber25
  May 19, 2015
  If it is an Omnivision sensor they all have RAW support.
- Bruce S
  May 20, 2015
  The new “Camera v2 API” in Android Lollipop 5.0 already supports raw. I see the Lenovo Vibe Shot is shipping with Android 5.0 so you should be good to go with raw.
RRRobert
May 19, 2015
I can only hope the tackled some of the (serious) software issues that were bothering the everyday use of the Vibe X2.
See https://www.gizchina.com/2015/01/04/lenovo-vibe-x2-review/

Andi

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