Vivo X300 Pro camera review

Let’s get the verdict out of the way. The Vivo X300 Pro is the best camera phone Vivo has made so far, and there are many reasons why. With the phone in our hands for testing, we took it straight to one of Mumbai’s oldest and most visually chaotic locations, Sassoon Dock. And the phone’s cameras simply delivered. With its full potential unlocked courtesy of the Zeiss telephoto extender kit, here’s our Vivo X300 Pro camera review.

Vivo X300 Pro camera review: Skin tones and colours

Camera phones are usually tested in controlled environments, such as cafes with good lighting, clean streets, or predictable cityscapes. Sassoon Dock, however, is the polar opposite. It is crowded, messy, and fast-moving, and in our opinion, the best way to push a camera to its very limits.

The Vivo X300 Pro gets a triple-rear camera system with two 50MP sensors for wide and ultra-wide shots, and a 200MP telephoto unit for portraits. Let’s start with the telephoto lens.

Most flagship phones treat the telephoto camera as a supporting act. On the X300 Pro, it’s the star of the show. We ended up using the Zeiss telephoto lens for the majority of our shots, as it unlocks its full potential.

Faces look fairly natural, backgrounds fall away gently, and subjects stand out without looking artificially separated. Skin tones remain realistic even under harsh sunlight or shaded areas. Although you may see some softness when the subject is not exposed to a good amount of light.

Fishermen hauling nets, vendors negotiating, and small moments happening between the action were far easier to capture. Although you get OIS support, when you pair the telephoto extender kit, you lose out on any sort of stabilisation. Hence, you’ll have to be a steady when capturing images.

But when you are careful and have the right natural elements to tag along, it’s simply magic. What stands out is consistency. The telephoto shots retain colour accuracy and contrast that closely match the main camera.

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There’s minimal shift in colour science that you still see on many phones when switching lenses. This time around, the colour tuning done by Zeiss is a bit different. It’s still dreamy, but it’s now close to natural colour tones. In different lightings, though, you’d still see cinematic aesthetics.

Vivo X300 Pro camera review: Bokeh and edge detection

Zooming into telephoto shots reveals a strong balance between sharpness and texture. Fish scales, ropes, and nets are captured with excellent detail, but without that over-sharpened, crunchy look that some phones fall into.

Portrait mode on the telephoto lens is one of the highlights of the X300 Pro. Edge detection is reliable, even in complex scenes with busy backgrounds. Hair separation is handled well, and the depth fall-off looks gradual rather than aggressive.

For instance, the beak of the bird in the above photo is well separated from the background, and there are no soft edges. Same is the case with the picture on the right.

Vivo X300 Pro camera review: Low-light, videography

As the light went down, the X300 Pro’s camera continued to impress. Details remained intact, colours stayed fairly accurate, and noise was kept under control. Night shots around the dock, under artificial lighting, look usable and balanced.

The phone does not aggressively brighten scenes, which helps to maintain atmosphere. Night mode kicks in subtly rather than completely changing the character of the image. Although you may still have to play around with the brightness to get the best shot.

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While our focus was on photography, the video performance was good too. Stabilisation is reliable without the Zeiss telephoto extender kit, but when using it, you have to be steady, which is the same case with the photos.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the Vivo X300 Pro for its cameras?

The Vivo X300 Pro, along with its Zeiss telephoto extender kit, makes you forget DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for good. Especially when you consider the portability factor.

The colour science has been tweaked, the consistency has been improved, and the video performance has received a step-up.

So, if your idea of mobile photography goes beyond casual snapshots and leans into documenting places, people, and moments, the Vivo X300 Pro is easily Vivo’s strongest camera phone yet. For these reasons, we rate the Vivo X300 Pro’s cameras 4.5/5.

Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more such in-depth reviews, and everything tech.