A modern smartphone with a large display and a prominent rear camera module is shown from multiple angles, including front, back, sides, top and bottom, against a white background.

Vivo’s New X300 Ultra shows how seriously it takes photography

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Vivo has officially launched its latest smartphone, the X300 Ultra in China. Vivo says its new phone has Vivo’s best camera and photography features, and the company promises that the X300 Ultra redefines mobile photography and videography.

The company is coming out tight, saying the X300 Ultra is “designed for professional photography.” Like previous Vivo smartphones, the new X300 Ultra features Zeiss Optical technology, which is collectively called the “Zeiss Master Lenses Collection”.

Out of the box, the X300 Ultra has three rear cameras, which can be expanded with Zeiss lenses. PetaPixel previewed these additional lenses earlier this month after Vivo teased the X300 Ultra at MWC Barcelona 2026. At the time, the company was tight-lipped on specifics, but it showed the Vivo Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra, which offers the same 400mm focal length as the X300 Ultra. On a digital camera, a 200-megapixel camera and a 400mm auxiliary lens provide a 1600mm equivalent focal length. There’s also a 200mm extension, as the Zeiss telephoto extender released for last year’s X200 Ultra also works on the X300 Ultra.

A close-up view of a modern digital camera with a large silver lens, sitting on a dark frame with soft lighting highlighting its sleek metal frame.
Vivo showed off the addition of the X300 Ultra and a new Zeiss telephoto lens at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona earlier this month, but didn’t share many details.

Alongside the launch of the X300 Ultra, Vivo has also shared more details about its new 400mm lens. The Vivo Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra has 15 lens elements arranged across two groups. It also works with all the features of the X300 Ultra telephoto camera, including gimbal-grade stabilization and a fast autofocus system.

Aside from the extra lenses, there’s still a lot for photographers to like about the X300 Ultra. The Zeiss Ultra Wide-Angle camera has a large 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 818 sensor (Type 1/1.28) and a 14mm equivalent lens.

A person holding a bright green Vivo smartphone vertically, showing the back with a large black camera module and three lenses against a dark background.

The two light green Vivo smartphones are shown standing upright, back to front, displaying large circular modules with four lenses and the Zeiss logo on the top and "Vivo" logo in the lower left corner.

The main camera, officially called the Zeiss Documentary Camera, has a lens that is roughly 35mm long. The main camera has a new 200-megapixel Type 1/1.12 Sony Lytia 901 sensor and a 35mm f/1.9 Zeiss optic. Most smartphones have primary cameras around 24mm, so it seems that Vivo is hoping to tackle serious photos with its long lens, which is a popular spot among street photographers and photojournalists.

Rounding out the Vivo X300 Ultra’s rear cameras is a fifth-generation Zeiss 200-megapixel Telephoto camera. This camera uses a 1/1.4 Samsung HP0 image sensor, which, although smaller than ultra-wide and “Documentary Cameras”, is relatively large for a telephoto camera. In addition to capturing what Vivo describes as “amazing shots,” the new telephoto camera also includes improved CIPA-rated image stabilization up to seven stops, and Vivo says the autofocus system updates twice as fast as before, 60 times per second.

Next to the smartphone's four-lens camera module, the Zeiss logo, and lens specifications engraved on a metal ring, set against a smooth, matte surface.

Two smartphones are shown, one with a camera lens connector and photo settings on its screen, and the other with a bright green back and a large camera module. Both are shown on a white background.

The Vivo X300 Ultra also promises big improvements in video. The phone supports 4Kp120 10-bit Log recording with APV 422 encoding on all of its cameras, and Vivo Log is fully compatible with ACES professional post-production workflow. Sure, it supports wireless mics, but it also has improved quad-mic recording out of the box. The phone’s 6.8-inch 2K Zeiss Master Color Display supports Dolby Vision HDR.

There is also a new Multi-Focal 4K Master Color Video feature, which is Vivo’s new color video pipeline based on its famous color technology. This color tone pipe uses color adjustments before the image capture process and uses RAW data, which Vivo says provides smooth tonal adjustment and improved image quality. This ode supports full length 4Kp60 with Dolby Vision HDR.

There are also new presets inspired by cinema color, Film Style and Film Look, which the company says include halo and film-like grain. These presets work with a wide aspect ratio of 2.4:1 and offer “classic cinematic elegance.”

A man holding a smartphone above, taking a woman in a yellow dress sitting on the rocks of the sea, with the camera settings on the screen.

Other features include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a large 6600 mAh battery, 100-watt fast charging (wireless), 40-watt wireless charging, and OrigonOS 6 support.

Vivo X300 Ultra is first launched in China. Unlike previous Vivo Ultra smartphones, which were only available in China, Vivo says the X300 Ultra will have a global release sometime this year. The device starts at 6,999 yuan, or just over $1,000, in China, with Android Headlines. Devices with more RAM and storage cost 8,999 yuan, or $1,300. It is important to note that official world market prices may vary, and these adjusted prices should not be considered absolute stand-ins.

Image credits: Vivo

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