The X300 Ultra is the best camera phone I have used, and six months have only made that clearer. It takes photos that look like they came out of a DSLR, and its video now sits comfortably in the territory we used to reserve for iPhones.
The 35mm main camera is why I stopped carrying anything else
Most phones shoot at 24mm by default. The X300 Ultra’s main camera sits at 35mm, a focal length a lot of street and portrait photographers choose on real cameras. On paper it sounds like a small change. In practice, faces stop stretching at the edges, buildings stop leaning and every frame looks more deliberate.
Behind that lens is Sony’s 200MP LYT-901 sensor. At 1/1.12-inch, it is among the largest 200MP sensors in any phone, and Vivo pairs it with gimbal-style OIS rated at CIPA 6.5. What that means for you is natural background blur, highlights that roll off gently instead of clipping, and enough detail to crop hard without the photo falling apart.
I don’t use the DSLR comparison lightly. For the kind of photos most of us take on trips, at family functions or around the city, the X300 Ultra gives me results I would have needed a mirrorless camera and a prime lens for a few years ago.
One tip from six months of use: switch the default Vivid colour profile to Natural. Vivid pushes saturation hard. Natural keeps skin tones honest and still has punch. Vivo also lets you build your own colour profile by tuning 12 settings, including exposure, highlights, shadows, grain and sharpness, and you can share that recipe with friends through a QR code.
The main and telephoto cameras can shoot full 200MP photos, and in good light it is worth turning that on. There is also a 25MP mode across all three rear cameras, which is my sweet spot between detail and file size.
The 85mm telephoto still has no real rival
The telephoto is a 200MP Samsung HP0 sensor behind an 85mm lens with 3.7x optical zoom. It is my favourite lens on the phone. Portraits get a lovely compression, the background melts away, and 10x shots remain genuinely usable. It also doubles as a macro camera, so you don’t need a separate lens for close-ups of food or flowers.
The one trade-off is its f/2.7 aperture, which is dimmer than the f/2.3 lens on the X200 Ultra. At night, telephoto shots stay bright but lose some fine detail. It is still better than what I get at the same zoom from rivals.
The ultrawide is the weakest of the three, and it’s still good
The 50MP ultrawide uses Sony’s 1/1.28-inch LYT-818 sensor at 14mm. That sensor is larger than the main camera on many flagships. Colours match the main camera well and night shots are surprisingly bright. The catch is visible distortion at the edges and more noise in mixed lighting.
Video is where it finally matches the iPhone
For years, the honest advice to Android-using creators was to borrow an iPhone for video. The X300 Ultra ends that. It records 4K at 120fps in 10-bit Log across focal lengths, shoots Dolby Vision, and does 4K 60fps on all three rear cameras, so the footage does not change character when you switch lenses mid-shot. There is 8K at 30fps too, though I rarely use it.
The creator extras are what make this a powerhouse if you use them properly:
- Film Style mode shoots 4K 24fps in a 2.4:1 frame that looks cinematic straight out of the camera. It’s a show-stealer and everyone who saw it couldn’t believe their eyes.
- APV codec support gives you higher-quality files that hold up better in the edit.
- Wireless mic support lets you connect mics from brands like DJI directly.
- Custom audio profiles and a redesigned pro video mode give you real control.
- Horizon Lock came back through a software update, which helps for walking shots.
The Snapdragon chip completes the loop. I can shoot 4K footage, trim it, grade it and export it on the phone itself without stutters. That is the part that makes it a genuine content creator tool and not just a camera with good specs.
In fairness, some reviewers found 4K sharpness on certain lenses a step below the best, and Portrait mode photos can come out a little soft. In my use, those are small asterisks on an otherwise excellent system.
The Photography Kit turns it into a real camera, at a price
Vivo sells optional add-ons that clip on through a dedicated case. The ZEISS Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra gives you a 400mm equivalent reach and costs Rs 27,999. The 200mm Gen 2 extender costs Rs 15,999, and the Imaging Grip Kit, with its own 2,300mAh battery and shutter controls, costs Rs 11,999. The full Photographer Kit sells for Rs 2,09,999 with the phone.
You don’t need any of this to enjoy the X300 Ultra. But if you shoot wildlife, sports or concerts, it makes the phone a credible replacement for a compact camera.
