The Infinix GT 30 Pro was launched in the Philippines on Monday for an attractive asking price. The latest affordable gaming smartphone from one of the Transsion brands can be owned for as low as just PhP 11,999.

As of writing, I have yet to exhaust the device for various mobile games. But initial sessions have gone well. I can tell that the phone is already worthy of consideration.

But one thing is for sure: the Infinix GT 30 Pro’s camera system is likewise reliable. Nowadays, it’s difficult to attract customers if the smartphone you’re offering is one-dimensional.

Fortunately, the GT 30 Pro has a camera system which produces good sharpness, detail, and color. I am fond of the third aspect in particular. The processing is not overdone. Shots come out lively.

I took the device earlier this month to TOYCON PH 2025, which is the biggest mid-year celebration not just for toy enthusiasts but hobbyists in general.

Here are some samples:

There’s just something for everyone at this three-day convention. From different kinds of collectibles, figures, statues, and exclusive drops to various merch, the event is filled with pleasant surprises.

More anime

Custom pieces, exclusive collectibles

There were also a ton of special guests. Moreover, the event empowered local artists as the 2025 edition had plenty of room for them to showcase their creations.

What’s great about TOYCON is that there are likewise exclusive collectibles you’ll be able to see or buy only during the event.

The Infinix GT 30 Pro’s main camera can capture decent detail at up to about 3X or 4X zoom, which came in handy when I was taking photos of the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Marvel and DC

John Cena

Predator vs. Dutch

At the gallery section, I saw a display of multiple Predator figures arranged in a way where it’s them against Dutch (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger).

The way it was arranged already painted a story. Depending on the angle and focus, the captured photo can tell a different meaning.

More snaps

Food in between

For snaps of food, the Infinix GT 30 Pro’s main camera is also able to produce above results a cut above most phones of a similar price point.

Color is great. There’s just a bit more contrast and sometimes, the subject appears warmer than intended, but overall, they sure look appetizing.

Some selfies

Decent for filming

As for filming, I would say the Infinix GT 30 Pro still does a decent job. It does feel a bit stutter-y with different camera movements, especially for reels. But there still some smoothness to it.

I filmed most of the TOYCON 2025-related content that I uploaded on my socials using the phone. The camera was set to 1080@60 and I had steady mode turned on. Again, detail and color are alright.

@manilaconnoisseur

Also at TOYCON PH 2025: Combatron Bust Series na collab between Tido Dojo and Berlin Manalaysay! Limited to 50 pieces tapos may exclusive version rin na limited to 10 pieces naman! #combatron #combatronbustseries #toycon #toyconph2025 #toyconph #customtoys #pinoycomics #comicartist

♬ original sound – Manila Connoisseur – Manila Connoisseur

Reliable shooters

Overall, the cameras are something you can definitely utilize whenever you’re not playing mobile games on the device. Hardware wise, the device sports a 108MP main camera. In front, there’s also a 13MP selfie camera.

Most of the shots of toys I took were in portrait mode. Granted, the results aren’t perfect each time. There are moments where the phone struggles with focus and identifying the background, subject, and foreground.

But it’s also challenging to capture just what you want sometimes at the event as it’s just overwhelming and crowded. And for the device’s asking price, I can’t complain. You can still pull off smooth and creamy bokehs, and impressive captures in general with good color, depth, and detail.

That’s why it also pays to have a good camera phone. When you’re on a budget, having an album’s worth of memories should suffice. Just replay or view them back to remind you you’ve been to somewhere nice.

For the second year in a row, I decided to use the latest HONOR flagship smartphone — the HONOR Magic7 Pro — to take photos of tall, sweaty men bouncing a ball and banging against each other. Last time was just a scrimmage. This time around, I attended an actual basketball game where the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel matched up against Northport Batang Pier in a regular season game of the PBA or Philippine Basketball Association.

What are we trying to accomplish here? To once against test HONOR’s Motion Sensing Capture along with the additional feature called HD Super Burst. We already discussed many of these in our Magic7 Pro review. We’re just adding more information and photos this time around.

Time for tip-off!

Motion Sensing Capture

Motion Sensing Capture is a feature that automatically captures motion when turned on. But it does more than that. It also optimizes the camera settings to be able to take shots as fast as possible given your shooting and lighting conditions.

It is as good as I remember it to be. The shutter speed is incredible letting me freeze certain moments of the action on the basketball court.

I tried turning off Motion Sensing Capture to see if it makes any difference at all, and it does. With the feature turned off, the shutter speed isn’t as fast and it’s so much tougher to capture the action on the court. 

Turned on, it’s so fast that I’m even able to produce GIFs of NorthPort Batang Pier import Kadeem Jack throwing down a one-handed slam. 

I captured the action on the other end with Former MVP Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra scoring on a lay-up against multiple defenders. 

HD Super Burst

HD Super Burst captures even more movement. So much so that you can piece the photos together and it almost looks like a smooth, stop-motion video. 

Here’s one where Jack’s drive to the basket was thwarted by Ginebra big man Japeth Aguilar.

Here’s another example where Ginebra import Justin Brownlee tried to score on a contested one hander just inside the freethrow line. He misses but Thompson is there for the follow attempt that still ultimately missed.

Lastly, here’s another play where Thompson attacks the paint then dishes out to teammate Stephen Holt for a good three-point look.

Like a special ability in games, HD Super Burst requires a cool down after a few shots. That’s the reason why I couldn’t capture sequences that ended in made baskets.

Still, it’s a fantastic tool for capturing anything in emotion and can make for a creative output.

Create button on the Gallery

You can turn the burst shots into gifs directly on the Gallery app. On the bottom part of the Gallery you’ll see the Create icon. Tap that and you’ll be prompted to choose among three options: Instant Movie, Video Creation, and Collage.

The options are pretty straightforward. My advice is to stay away from Instant Movie for now. It just isn’t the best at generating a quick clip for sharing. Choose Video Creation and it will take you into a video editing interface. Collage is, well, for making collages.

The built-in video editor has a fair amount of features. We haven’t had the chance to fully explore, but if you’re just making quick cut-to-cut videos or in our case, piecing together images to make a stop-motion like clip, it’s pretty easy to use.

You also have the option to choose the quality of the exported final output which can in either video or gif form.

Courtside-like experience

Having the HONOR Magic7 Pro means being able to shoot closer. I got pretty good seats which is the closest spot on the Lower Box area. With Motion Sensing Capture enabled, the smartphone lets me zoom in up to 6X. That means being to capture moments and scenes you won’t always see during broadcasts. Check out some of them below:

Capping off this quick feature with another batch of on-the-court action shots.

Bonus: Video performance

In case you’re curious what video quality looks like. Below is clip that we agains stitched together on the built-in video editor and exported to 4K 60fps.

GadgetMatch is never a stranger when it comes to taking smartphones to concerts.

Throughout the years, we’ve held numerous smartphones with dedicated zoom lenses just to snap shots of prominent figures we desire to see and cherish even at the farthest distance.

As a matter of fact, the vivo V40 Pro was the last one to have this type of camera treatment.

But, with the birth of the Chinese company’s latest and greatest flagship, it’s the best opportunity to bring it out in the wild and see how capable its new set of camera hardware and software are when it comes to concerts.

Truly X-emplary

ICYMI, I gave huge praises to the camera prowess offered by the vanilla variant of the X200. Still, the Pro model deserves a spotlight of its own — especially with its zooming capabilities.

One thing that stands out in the newest vivo X200 Pro is none other than its 200MP ZEISS APO Telephoto camera module.

For camera geeks (like yours truly), it has a 3.7x optical zoom range (85mm equivalent), and an aperture of f/2.67 based on a bigger 1/1.4-inch Samsung ISOCELL HP9 sensor. All that with floating lens design in mind.

Those technicalities are enough to prove the huge disparity between the two X200 siblings.

Stills? Gotcha!

The usual suspect we all witness when shooting in dark environments using our smartphones is image noise.

To compensate for that, most manufacturers, together with their AI scene detection, tend to automatically activate the night mode feature that fires up for 2 to 3 seconds — all that at the expense of motion blur.

But, vivo dares to differ. They have created a separate and dedicated section for all things on-stage.

Although the X200 duo both feature the all-new Landscape Mode, the X200 Pro exclusively has the Stage Mode.

This mode is specifically made for restrictive venues such as concerts, chorale, conferences, theatrical plays, weddings, and more. The possibilities are limitless.

With the snappy 200MP periscope telephoto performer, you won’t miss a beat done by these performers!

It’s not just that, vivo has also implemented several algorithms to make the image quality as pro-grade as possible.

These are all possible not just with its 200MP periscope telephoto camera and other software shenanigans, but also through vivo’s in-house V3+ imaging chip.

Thus, these time-frozen shots that are not just post-worthy online, but can also be considered as valuable mementos that you can show to the singers / musicians / artists / idols for another fine time.

While it has the same interface as what you get in Auto Mode, what makes it so special are the camera processing techniques and software algorithms that make up an unpredictable yet very desirable image output.

To make it sound less complicated, the hardware and software that vivo has formulated resulted into photos that are far more incredible than what other smartphone brands have done in their latest flagships.

Videos? Betcha!

With the competition getting fiercer every release, one thing that vivo has promised in its latest X-flagship are the strengths it offers when it comes to video shooting.

For one, it supports up several codecs in 4K such as Dolby Vision and Cinematic Portrait Video, as well as 10-bit color depth. There’s also 120fps slow-motion support, making it one of the newer and fewer flagships to do so.

But we’re all here for its zooming power — and the vivo X200 Pro doesn’t fail even when it comes to shooting footages.

As seen and heard in the video sample above, zooming in and out is smooth and seamless. More so, the audio it picks up depends on what focal length you choose.

Speaking of, the X200 Pro picks up audio coming from the band without frills. You can barely hear the background noise made by the crowd especially because of its fantastic mic array paired with its smart chipset and other AI algorithms.

Also, just look at how stabilized everything is regardless if its shot in a wider FoV or a zoomed perspective.

Lastly, notice how there isn’t any glare nor light reflection present that most of us encounter in other flagship smartphones? Well, that’s all thanks to the superior ZEISS T* coating.

Pro-tography power in your palms

Most (if not all) concert organizers don’t allow professional cameras and video recording devices inside the venue. That’s because they have their own photographers and videographers to take care of everything.

But, I truly get the sentiment of wanting to capture these concert moments from our POV. We want to take and keep great concert shots as much as possible up to our heart’s desire. After all, we are all just fans who rely on concert photos as souvenirs we can keep eternally.

But, with the vivo X200 Pro’s terrific host of hardware and software feats, it makes one of (if not the) best and most pocketable device to bring to concerts.

It doesn’t stop there! The all-around flexibility the smartphone offers with its powerful trio of cameras doesn’t limit any future user from using the phone past its limits of “just” great at taking concert photos.

Did I mention how power-packed the phone is? There’s the ultra-rich 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display, more than sufficient 6000mAh Si/C battery, speedy 90W charging, and MediaTek’s all-new Dimensity 9400 SoC based on a very efficient 3nm process. What more can you ever ask for?

Pricing and Availability

The vivo X200 Pro retails in several markets including the Philippines, Malaysia, and India with a price tag of PhP 69,999 / MYR 4699 / INR 94,999 in a lone 16 + 512GB configuration.

Depending on your region, it will be available in several colorways:  Blue, Titanium, and Black.