Around this time last year, I was in China. The moment I’m typing this part, an unsolicited memory then appeared in my head: those promotional materials of the vivo X100 almost everywhere in Shanghai and Guangzhou — subways, malls, even the airport’s concourse.

For me, the X100 series was vivo’s biggest leap forward in their smartphone-folio. The massive overhaul in camera hardware, software, and overall aesthetics made its predecessors look like they were produced as a result of an unforgiving trial and error.

vivo X100 Ultra | May 2024

Those countless camera reviews I’ve watched on YouTube made me want to own one — the X100 Pro and the much anticipated X100 Ultra to be very exact. Although some countries were able to sell it, vivo never made them available in the region where I reside.

vivo X80 Pro | April 2022

This also reminded me that the last X-series phone I’ve held was the vivo X80 Pro from two years ago — which I still think was one of 2022’s underrated smartphone camera.

Finally, a year since the launch of the X100 series and two years after the X80, vivo has launched the X200 series not just here in the Philippines, but pretty much every major market they handle.

Barely Base

While this isn’t the Pro version I was hoping for, I’ve still decided to give it a try.

After all, it only has some minuscule differences compared to its Pro sibling.

Interestingly, the X200 shares the same 50MP Sony IMX921 sensor found on the V40 Pro. But, that easily gets crushed by the Sony LYT-818 50MP sensor that’s closer to the 1-inch mark.

The biggest disparity? It’s none other than the massive 200MP periscope telephoto of the X200 Pro with its ZEISS APO floating design. Not only that, it also features a bigger and badder Samsung HP9 sensor, farther optical zoom length at 3.7x, and even a multi-directional PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) in tow.

Ultra-wide and selfies barely differ. I suppose they’re also very similar to those found on both the vivo V40 duo.

Flexible Focal Length

With all that out of the table, let’s dive deeper into the camera prowess offered by the vivo X200.

One thing I love about vivo’s new flagship camera phone is its plethora of focal length options — especially for the frustrated photographer in me.

Although the X200 wasn’t the first one to do so, I love how they also adapted this feature as it makes more sense in a camera-centric flagship like this.

Here’s a detailed list of X200’s flexible focal length range:

One fine use of this was when I tried shooting this Christmas-studded decoration inside a mall.

I just thought that the default 23mm focal length looks a little bit too wide. But, with an easy tap of a finger, it gave me a better 35mm framing. Manually pinching in and out of the zoom range on most smartphones made me miss some subjects I’ve tried capturing.

More Room for Zoom

While we’re already on the topic, its worthy to point out that vivo decided to pack a periscope telephoto camera in the vanilla variant of the X200.

And I’m not speaking solely because of numbers. Hardware-wise, it’s already very capable especially because it packs a 3x shooter. I’ll just let some of these shots do the talking.

It’s given that shots taken below 3x are still clear and crisp since they were just digitally-cropped based on the phone’s 50MP sensor. But, what surprised me are those shots taken farther than 10x. The vivo X200 clearly captured shots with ample amount of detail.

Let alone the fact that most of these samples I took were taken during the night — where there’s barely any presence of natural light around.

Just look at how consistent the colors are regardless of what type of mode or specific focal length you choose.

In times where the night sky is pitch dark, vivo’s Scene Detection in Auto Mode will fire up that Night Mode algorithm for 1 to 2 seconds.

Heck, even the earth’s moon isn’t an exemption to its periscope superiority — from 20x all the way to 100x HyperZoom (2333mm equivalent).

BONUS: You can toggle Super Macro Mode and zoom as far as you desire.

This mode simply lets you capture macro shots without going the extra mile of getting super duper close to your subject — which I honestly find stupid among phones that rely on ultra-wide angle lenses for their macro mode feature.

Color Galore

If you’re a long-time vivo user, this isn’t a new info to you.

But, if you’re clueless yet enticed to switch to a vivo camera phone (regardless if it’s the X200 series or the V40 series), there are three color profiles to choose from.

The default one is none other than the ZEISS Natural — which is based on the color calibration made by the aforementioned German optics maker.

Meanwhile, Textured color profile tones down some shadows and highlights while bumping up a li’l bit of contrast altogether.

Lastly, there’s Vivid that’s suitable for subjects that require those much needed pop of colors.

If the description isn’t clear enough for all profiles, there’s a GIF below for you to see and compare.

Personally, I just use either the ZEISS Natural and Textured which highly (and likely) depends on what subject I shoot. The least used one is obviously Vivid as I find the overall saturation and exposure a bit too much for my taste.

Portraits à la ZEISS

I’ve said this before in my vivo V30 Pro review and I’ll say it again: What I missed the most on vivo’s X-series (specifically when I used the vivo X80 Pro) are the special ZEISS Style Portraits.

It would be a huge miss not to include this in this in-depth write-up.

Aside from the default Natural, there are also more lens bokeh imitations such as B-Speed, Sonnar, Planar, Distagon, and my all-time fave, Biotar — which are all, then again, actual imitations of ZEISS classic lenses.

There are also additional Cinematic and Cine-flare choices for an even subdued look and feel.

If you’re in for some retouching, vivo gives you the right to activate it and adjust several levels of appearance gratification — just like how it works when taking front-camera selfies.

Mirror selfies? Not an exception!

It can also be toggled on and off for groufies — depending on your circle’s liking.

To make this more Pro-inclined, vivo X200 provides more portrait mode choices with the Portrait Lens Kit found at the lower right of the interface.

There are several choices including 23mm Landscape Portrait, 35mm Street Portrait, 50mm Classic Portrait, 50mm Natural Portrait, 85mm Cultural portrait, as well as 85mm Figure. Lastly, 100mm Close-up.

If ever you forgot to set the right aperture setting of the photo you’ve just captured, vivo enables you to adjust it after the fact.

f/4.0 Aperture vs f/2.0 Aperture

Classic or Humanistic?

The vivo X200 gives you another round of flexibility. This time, in terms of camera app look.

Classic vs Humanistic Camera UI

If you want to apply the existing color profiles whenever you want to take shots in Portrait Mode, the Humanistic Street Snap Camera User Interface is made for you. The classic Portrait Mode doesn’t allow you to apply those three color profiles.

Humanistic + ZEISS Natural vs Classic Portrait Mode

But, the exclusive thing when using this mode that you cannot ever use in the classic interface is none other than the B/W profile.

If you’re eager for that dramatic, monochrome shot with a touch of bokeh around, this special interface simply makes it possible for you.

Just take good note that you are limited between the five default prime camera lens-like focal lengths: 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 100mm.

From Sheets to Streets

It’s high time to take the camera out of its spec sheet all the way to the streets — especially with a challenging low-light environment paired with the X200’s portrait mode supremacy.

It might just be me but it shocked me how the 100mm photograph above has turned out.

The fact that we can now use Portrait Mode even in low-light zoomed shots simply made me question how far can we ever go in terms of smartphone photography.

Again, notice how accurate and consistent the shots are regardless of what focal length you choose.

To put this part concisely, portrait mode works best day and night regardless if your subject involves inanimate objects, static or moving humans, speeding cars (and bump cars), bicycles, horse carriages, and more.

Feast for the Eyes

Just like choosing color profiles and desired focal length, our food tastes are also preferential. But sometimes, even with the best hardware, the color reproduction breaks the actual performance of a smartphone’s camera.

Fortunately, the vivo X200 produced mouthwatering shots regardless of what mode or focal length you choose.

However, upon my initial testing, photos taken in Portrait Mode tend to be less vibrant.

Auto Mode vs Portrait Mode

Nonetheless, I sometimes crave for bokeh in my shots and the only way to achieve that is through Portrait Mode or the more intrinsic Humanistic interface — just without the more appetizing touch of Food mode.

Battle that Razzle-Dazzle

A noteworthy flagship is not just about having the best in class camera hardware, it also means it can keep up with the fastest subjects around — animals notwithstanding.

Although my original plan was to take a quick visit to the zoo, my sensitive heart won’t make me handle the guilt and sorrow I feel for the animals locked in cages and other unsanitary and inhumane premises.

Instead, I just focused on taking plentiful photos of cats since they’re the most related subjects for the shoot I’ve first envisioned — obviously tigers and lions.

Maybe you can skip this part if you don’t want them (but, how dare you, though?).

While the stray cats above are playful to me, my cats at home are of the opposite.

Judging by their faces, they’re less hyped and grateful to be with me.

Regardless, the vivo X200 just proved the point of its presence and existence.

It’s the only phone I can say I enjoy using a lot when taking photos of cats (maybe dogs, and even other furry friends) simply because of its fast camera performance plus commendable background blur segmentation.

Moreover, the amount of detail I get regardless if I use the default 1x or 2x modes or zoom all the way I want — as long as I get unscathed from their bites and scratches.

Escape to Landscape

Another camera mode I’ve discovered is none other than the Landscape mode.

This doesn’t mean that shots in this mode restricts you to shoot in the landscape orientation. It’s all about enhancing sceneries through the harmony of a better color calibration paired with better AI algorithms and other software knick-knacks formulated by vivo.

Floating clouds/flowing water, flow of traffic, fireworks, star trails, night graffiti, and mysterious mist

Seen in the photo above, there are six presets for you to pick based on what type of subject you wanted to shoot.

Enabling the flow of traffic feature imitates those hyperlapse-like shots taken usually in professional cameras with manual settings.

But the vivo X200 makes it a lot easier for users. This doesn’t even require any tripod or a stable surface whatsoever as I was able to take these just handheld.

Auto Mode vs Landscape Mode

I also tried using the floating cloud/flowing water option on a pretty fountain I found at the city’s plaza.

Auto Mode vs Landscape Mode

This mimics those seamlessly smooth waterfall shots achieved with a slower shutter speed.

If you’re also a photographer who takes a lot of perspective photographs, the ZEISS Perspective Control might come in very handy in guiding you.

Lastly, I tried taking more moon shots using this particular mode.

As much as I love how these shots have turned out, vivo’s AI trickery simply made ’em less authentic. Albeit, it was able to detect the right moon phase.

AI-bracadabra

With vivo’s AI magic already out in the wild, its AI mastery is also notable to mention.

While the Magic Eraser tool isn’t, in any way, a brand new feature for smartphones, the continuous technological evolution and innovation have truly paid off and were able to make this AI-based feature faster and more accurate.

For instance, I wanted to remove the bag and coffee cup beside this wide shot of me. I then opened the native Gallery app of the vivo X200 and with some few taps and circling, its AI magic did all the trick flawlessly.

I can’t easily say this is the best AI eraser tool. Simply put, in comparison to Xiaomi 13 Pro, TECNO’s PHANTOM V Fold2/Flip2, and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s AI eraser tools, the vivo X200 simply beats them to the core.

Either of those just hits or misses all the human subjects I badly wanted to remove. If manually-erased, it’s barely effective and just distinguishable.

I even tried using the X200’s eraser feature on a shot of my friend I’ve taken with the V40 Pro.

Unlike my Xiaomi 13 Pro that limits itself on photos taken with the device itself, the X200 was able to do it without frills.

Most (if not all) of us know that vivo and OPPO are both under one parent company. Purely out of fun, me and my colleague, MJ, have tried using each phone’s AI eraser feature.

First, shot taken with the X200 itself…

Another, a shot taken with his aging iPhone 13.

Notice how different these brands/phones are when it comes to AI eraser algorithms?

OPPO’s approach is all about adding more elements to the scene. Meanwhile, vivo’s implementation is removing as much artifacts as possible and replace it with less intrusive object/s.

What about video?!

Deny it or not, Android smartphones still have a long way to go when it comes to better video output.

But for the sake of this camera review, it’s also worth mentioning that the vivo X200 can shoot up to 4K/60fps — the video resolution I use the most.

Albeit, that comes with a “compromise” as Ultra Stabilization maxes out at 2.8K / 60fps.

Honestly, standard stabilization seems fine for me.

This may be a result of me having more stable hands than the rest of the population but still, other phones tend to warp and jitter even when I have these fine hands with me.

Mind you, these were all shot during the night. And this is where I can confidently say that vivo has exceeded my expectations and managed to make the X200 a proper device for video shooting.

The Camera Verdict

With all the utmost abundance of samples I’ve provided in this camera review, there’s no doubt that the vivo X200 is one of the best smartphones you can purchase right now.

That’s more likely if you’re like me who heavily focuses on professional photography when trying to look for a shiny, new smartphone.

Even though it’s somewhat stuck between the X200 Pro and V40 Pro as it shares some similar hardware between the two, it’s also often overlooked at how the base flagship can still offer more than what meets the eye.

The vivo X200 is an overall worthy smartphone at this point. 2025 hasn’t even started yet I can definitely and firmly say that this is already one of 2025’s best smartphones dedicated to smartphone-tography.

Not to mention, it’s beefed up with great internals such as the all-new MediaTek Dimensity 9400 based on the 3nm process, a 5800mAh Si/C battery, a speedy 90W FlashCharge support, and even a brilliant 6.67-inch AMOLED display.

X-traordinary cameras within pocket’s reach

Smartphone brands have slowly veered away their main focus of delivering the best of the best internals in lieu of professional photography within the reach of one’s pocket.

This also means that moving forward, brands are giving the best camera hardware, software, as well as imaging partnership they could ever provide for their next-gen flagships.

Still, we have to give props to vivo for being one of those pioneers in this segment.

Their steadfast relationship with ZEISS ever since the release of the X60 series makes existing users and prospective buyers enjoy the benefits of the German optics brand’s revolutionary T* coating, its naturalistic ZEISS Natural color profile, as well as all the lens imitations via ZEISS Style Portraits — that I always say I personally love over anyone else’s implementation.

Pricing and Availability

The vivo X200 in the Philippines has a competitive price of PhP 57,999. Meanwhile, its Pro sibling is pricier at PhP 69,999. Both models are only available in a lone 16+512GB configuration with only one colorway available for each: Aurora Green and Titanium Grey respectively.

Both phones are currently available in both Shopee as well as Lazada.

SEE ALSO: vivo X200 review: A beast in the shadows