When it comes to choosing a smartphone with the best camera, most people instinctively look at the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or Google Pixel. But what if I told you that none of these brands currently sit at the very top of the smartphone camera hierarchy? The Vivo X300 Pro is a perfect example of why that assumption deserves a second look.
The recipe for a great smartphone camera
A truly great smartphone camera is built on the right balance of hardware and software — and the Vivo X300 Pro delivers on both fronts. Let’s start with the hardware.
If you’ve glanced at the spec sheets of the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and thought that’s as good as smartphone photography gets, the Vivo X300 Pro may just change your perspective.
The camera setup consists of a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and the undisputed star of the show: a 200MP periscope telephoto sensor offering 3.7x optical zoom. On paper, that already puts it in elite company.
Trust me bro, that photo came straight from the camera
Of course, specs only tell part of the story; the real test is image quality. Fortunately, the X300 Pro delivers where it matters most.
Thanks to Vivo’s collaboration with Zeiss, photos from the X300 Pro often look as if they’ve already gone through professional post-processing. Images are vibrant without being overdone, colours are rich yet controlled, and dynamic range is excellent. These are photos you can post straight to social media with little to no editing.
More importantly, the camera inspires confidence. It’s the kind of phone that makes you want to take more photos, because the results consistently impress. Zoom performance is another highlight. The 200MP telephoto camera handles distant subjects effortlessly, producing sharp and detailed images across a wide range of focal lengths.
For users who want to push things even further, Vivo offers an optional Photography Kit that includes a 2.35x teleconverter lens along with a camera grip with shutter, zoom, and exposure controls. Great for street photography, landscapes, and even birdwatching, the teleconverter stacks on top of the phone’s native 3.7x periscope lens, delivering roughly 8.7x total optical zoom. That’s equivalent to about a 200mm full-frame lens, before any digital zoom is applied.
A true “concert phone”
Vivo markets the X300 Pro as a “concert phone”. And of course, I had to put that claim to the test at a live concert.
For the most part, the phone handled low-light conditions and harsh, inconsistent stage lighting impressively well, thanks to its Stage Mode. Exposure was stable, colours remained accurate, and noise was kept under control.
That said, there are moments when the camera struggled — particularly with distant human faces under poor lighting. In these situations, the phone leans heavily on AI reconstruction, which can result in distorted or unnatural-looking details.
Thankfully, there’s an easy workaround. Switching on the Raw Lighting mode produces more natural-looking images by reducing the phone’s reliance on aggressive AI processing. The results may look slightly less dramatic, but they’re far more authentic.
The best camera phone for less money?
What makes the Vivo X300 Pro stand out even more is its pricing. It comes in significantly cheaper than its Apple and Samsung rivals, while still delivering flagship-level camera performance.
With a starting price of RM4,699 for the 512GB base model, the X300 Pro is RM1,000 cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and RM1,300 less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, while offering double the storage.
Even compared to its sibling from its sister brand, the Oppo Find X9 Pro, the Vivo X300 Pro undercuts it by more than RM600. That pricing advantage makes the X300 Pro extremely hard to ignore, especially if camera performance is your top priority.
The bottom line is, if you’re shopping for one of the best camera phones on the market, and you don’t want to pay Apple or Samsung prices, the Vivo X300 Pro deserves a very serious look.
