I took the Vivo X300 Ultra to Hong Kong, and it convinced me that teleconverter lenses are worth the money

Vivo has proven its mobile photography prowess time and again over the years. It set the bar with the X100 Pro’s 1-inch-type main sensor in 2024 and has kept raising it ever since. The new Vivo X300 Ultra is no different.

The phone adds two 200MP sensors to the camera system and brings an all-new 400mm teleconverter lens, as well as an upgraded second-gen 200mm lens. Many might argue, “What’s the point of adding an external lens to a phone?” After all, phone cameras are meant to be more pocketable than dedicated cameras. So I took the Vivo X300 Ultra and its camera kit to Hong Kong to find out.

I forced myself to carry the phone through Ocean Park like a camera hanging over my neck with a lanyard (it’s part of the camera kit). And I’m glad I did.

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I wouldn’t have gotten the same panda shots with digital processing or stabilized footage without the camera grip. After shooting hundreds of photos and videos, I’m left impressed. I don’t want to travel without these lenses and a camera grip anymore.

The hardware: more polished and more capable

Vivo is building an accessories ecosystem for its Ultra phone. Last year, it announced a 200mm teleconverter add-on lens for the X200 series, and this year, it’s taking things to the next level with a dedicated camera kit. It consists of:

• A case to mount external lenses
• A lanyard
• Two televonvertor lenses (200mm and 400mm) with protective lens caps
• A protective filter for the phone’s camera lens in two colors
• A camera grip with a built-in battery to double as a power bank
• Two-piece tripod collars, including an Arca-Swiss tripod mounting plate

Starting with the camera grip, it has more controls than its predecessor. You get a video record button, a scroll wheel, a zoom lever, a flash button, a shutter button, and an additional customizable function button. It’s more grippy, and you can further fine-tune your experience using software. For instance, you can make it so a double-press on the shutter button opens the Street Photography mode and takes the shot instantly.

I found myself using this grip all the time because it allows for more stabilized video footage. I have a neurological condition where my hands tremble 24×7, so I’m not fond of taking videos without turning on the Action mode. But this camera grip allowed me to shoot some wonderful videos with better stability.

As for the lenses, the new Vivo X300 Ultra is backwards compatible with the last-gen 200mm add-on lens. However, the 2nd-gen version of this 2.35x 200mm lens is smaller and slimmer.

Vivo says it has re-engineered the glass and lens structure inside to allow for a smaller form factor without losing image quality. It attaches to the 85mm focal length telephoto sensor and converts it to 200mm. On the other hand, the new 400mm add-on lens is comparatively big and hefty. It can go up to (a very capable) 3200mm with digital zoom.

Of course, you will need to carry a sling bag if you want to take these lenses with you all day long. They fit securely and safely in my Orbitkey sling bag.

The output: pleasing bokeh, rich details, and new compositions

The two lenses mount easily on the Vivo X300 Ultra with a rotate-and-lock system. Once attached, you need to toggle the Telephoto Extender mode in the Camera app. It’ll show a pop-up for you to select the lens you’re using (200mm or 400mm). Select one, and you’re ready to shoot!

I used the new 400mm lens to zoom in on a playful panda (see slide 6 in the above image gallery). It helped me get natural-looking bokeh and more details than you’d expect from a regular phone camera for a subject that far away. You can see individual hair strands on this panda’s fur as he bites his food!

I switched to the 200mm lens when the panda was moving. It was hard for me to focus at first, but the shutter button’s ‘half-press to lock focus and exposure’ feature helped make things easier.

For reference, here’s what you can expect to get out of the 400mm add-on lens:

Vivo has also improved LOG video recording with a higher bitrate. Even without the add-on teleconvertor lenses, you can shoot 10-bit LOG across all three lenses with smoother lens switching. You also get one-tap access to color-grading with two built-in filters and a new “pro video” mode with a camera UI that resembles a cinema camera. All of this makes editing your footage easier than before.

Check out more video samples below:

You can’t get this level of quality out of a phone camera without an add-on lens, nor from AI-based artificial processing. All the photos I took have a more natural look because of Vivo’s new image processing pipeline, which reduces digital oversharpening.

I thought it’d be tedious to carry two teleconvertor lenses on my day out, but they were totally worth it. I had a lot of fun, thanks to Vivo’s mindful implementation on both the hardware and software fronts.

I used to limit myself to photography with the best cameras, but after seeing the output achieved by the Vivo X300 Ultra, I now want to go out and shoot more videos with this amazing camera phone.

Right now, the Vivo X300 Ultra is only available in China, but it just goes to show how far Chinese-made flagship phones have come in recent years. Thankfully, the similarly-specced Oppo Find X9 Ultra is being released ‘globally’ on April 21, so here’s hoping we’ll be able to put the two phones through a proper camera shootout in the coming months.

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Prakhar Khanna is an independent consumer tech journalist. He contributes to TechRadar with features focusing on the intersection of tech and life. He also contributes to Forbes, ZDNET, and CNET, and was part of the judges’ jury for the prestigious CES 2025 Innovation Awards. You can reach out to him at parkydoesstuff (at) gmail.com.