Vivo is leaning hard into mobile cinematography, revealing that the upcoming X300 Ultra will add a Film Style video option that mimics the wide, cinematic sweep fans know from OnePlus and OPPO’s XPan photo modes—only now, it’s for moving images. Announced by company executive Han Boxiao on Weibo, the mode captures in a 2.4:1 aspect ratio at 24fps with deliberately applied film grain and haloing, bringing a classic widescreen aesthetic straight into the camera app.
A Cinematic Take On XPan For Video, Explained
Where XPan-style shooting on phones has typically been limited to stills at a 2.7:1 crop, Vivo’s Film Style hews closer to the modern cinema standard of roughly 2.39:1. It records at 24fps—the cadence that defines most narrative filmmaking—and overlays a texture meant to recall celluloid, complete with subtle halos and grain. Vivo says the sample shared was shot in 4K using the ultrawide camera, suggesting the mode isn’t just a gimmicky overlay but a high-resolution pipeline with room to grade in post.
Practically speaking, a 2.4:1 crop from 4K UHD (3840×2160) yields a frame around 3840×1600, a format that immediately changes composition, headroom, and how motion plays across the frame. That’s been the appeal of XPan-style stills on rival phones; Vivo is betting creators want that same storytelling tool in video without resorting to manual letterboxing.
Another Preset Targets Teal And Orange Fans
Alongside Film Style, the X300 Ultra gains a Film Look preset that sticks to 16:9 at 60fps but leans into those familiar teal-and-orange grades associated with blockbuster color palettes. It’s a different creative lane: one chases an anamorphic-like canvas at 24fps, the other emphasizes saturated contrast and smooth motion at 60fps.
Vivo already offered several movie styles such as Vivid, Cold White, Classic Negative, Positive Film, and Clear Blue, though most of those historically capped out at 1080p/30fps. The new Film Style stepping up to 4K is a meaningful shift for creators who want both resolution and a distinctive look straight out of camera.
Pro Video Features Stack Up For Mobile Filmmakers
The widescreen presets aren’t arriving alone. Vivo has confirmed support for:
- The APV codec
- 4K/120fps capture across all three rear cameras
- 4K/120fps Log recording
- Subject tracking at 4K/60fps
- Improved audio capture
- A revamped pro video mode
For mobile filmmakers, the combination of Log at high frame rates and a robust codec signals an emphasis on dynamic range, motion clarity, and post-production flexibility rather than simple point-and-shoot filters.
Log video at 4K/120fps is still rare in phones, and pairing it with a 2.4:1 24fps preset effectively covers both ends of the creative spectrum: high-speed capture for action or slow motion, and classic 24fps widescreen for narrative or travel sequences—without leaving the stock camera app.
New Photo Profiles And Shareable Recipes
On the stills side, Vivo is adding Chasing Light and Rich camera styles and, notably, a custom styles system with granular control. Users can tweak up to 12 parameters—tone, sharpness, shadow, grain, soft light, halo, color temperature, and more—then share their look as a recipe. Vivo says these can be posted on social platforms, with sample images suggesting a QR code embedded in the watermark for quick import. That community-driven approach mirrors how many photographers share LUTs and presets in desktop workflows.
Hardware Built For Widescreen Ambitions And Control
The camera array appears purpose-built for creative framing. The X300 Ultra is slated to carry a 200MP LYT-901 main camera with a 35mm equivalent focal length, a notable shift from the typical 23–26mm smartphone default. That tighter field of view reduces edge distortion and suits the 2.4:1 frame—think cleaner lines and more natural subject proportions. It’s joined by a 200MP 85mm unit, ideal for portraits and compressed perspectives, and a 50MP ultrawide based on Sony’s LYT-818 sensor for expansive establishing shots.
Taken together with the pro video stack, the hardware mix gives creators three distinct cinematic perspectives—ultrawide, “normal” 35mm, and short tele—each now capable of high-frame-rate 4K capture. That versatility matters when cutting between angles in a widescreen timeline.
Context And The Evolving Competitive Landscape
OnePlus and OPPO popularized XPan-style photography by collaborating with Hasselblad’s 65×24 look, but they’ve largely treated it as a stills-first feature. By pushing a native 2.4:1, 24fps implementation in video, Vivo is courting the same community that adopted “cinematic” modes on mainstream flagships while asking for more control, more resolution, and more serious workflows.
With rivals like OPPO’s Find X9 Ultra also raising the bar on imaging hardware and processing, the X300 Ultra’s approach feels less like a filter drop and more like a nudge toward phone-as-film-camera. If you missed XPan’s panoramic drama in motion, Vivo’s new mode is the closest thing yet to getting it without adapters, anamorphic lenses, or third-party apps.
