“The Colours of China” by travel filmmaker Denis Barbas showcases the vivo X200 Pro’s capabilities as a professional tool for filmmakers and travel photographers.
Full disclosure: This sponsored article is brought to you by vivo.
As the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you have. With vast improvements to image processing and video codecs in recent years, smartphones have been feverishly vying to prove they can reliably be a professional shooter’s take-anywhere camera. For travel filmmaker and photographer Denis Barbas, he truly means anywhere.
On his YouTube channel, Barbas regularly publishes videos capturing breathtaking moving portraits of each of his travel destinations. Most of his work uses trusty mirrorless hybrid workhorses like the Sony a7 line or drones like the DJI Mavic. However, his new video, “The Colours of China,” showcases the compelling video performance of vivo’s latest smartphone, the vivo X200 Pro.
Barbas’ video is a gorgeous look at the time he spent in China, and it’s all the more impactful knowing that the image quality on display is coming from a smartphone image sensor.
The specs of the new vivo X200 Pro are impressive, to say the least. At its heart are three cameras in one — a 50-megapixel wide angle f/2, a 50-megapixel main camera f/1.57, and a whopping 200-megapixel APO f/2.67 telephoto. Each camera has Zeiss optics supporting a Type 1/1.4 image sensor to deliver stellar image quality and color control.
PetaPixel had the chance to ask Barbas some questions about the video project, his experience with the vivo X200 Pro, and advice he has for travel filmmakers.
Travel Inspires Barbas As an Artist and Filmmaker
“Travel is a constant source of inspiration because it takes you out of your comfort zone and immerses you in the unfamiliar,” Barbas tells PetaPixel. “For me, it’s not just about seeing new places; it’s about experiencing different cultures, meeting new people with unique stories, and witnessing the sheer diversity of our world — whether it’s in landscapes, traditions, or emotions.”
![A long red suspension bridge stretches across a mountainous landscape at sunset. The sky is painted in shades of pink and orange, with silhouetted peaks in the background. The bridge is lined with red fabric. Text reads: "赤 (RED) [FIRE] - Passion and Energy.](http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2025/02/Colors-of-China-2-800x420.jpg)
Travel pushes Barbas to see the world with a fresh perspective and constantly forces him to adapt and push new creative boundaries.
“Travel reminds me of how interconnected everything is,” he continues. “The more I explore, the more I realize how much beauty exists in the details—the play of light on ancient architecture, the rhythm of life in a remote village, or even the way the colors of a landscape shift with the time of day. These moments remind me why I picked up a camera in the first place: to preserve and share the stories and emotions that often go unnoticed.”
The travel bug hit Barbas early, but he found that photography alone prevented him from capturing the stories that interested him about the places he visited.
“What really hooked me was the realization that travel filmmaking is about more than just capturing beautiful scenery — it’s about telling a story. Whether it’s the story of a local community, a fleeting moment of human connection, or my own journey, film allows me to weave together visuals, sounds, and emotions in a way that resonates with people on a deeper level.”
When the opportunity to visit China came about, Barbas jumped at the chance to explore the country’s rich history while also pursuing a creative challenge.
“The idea was to document ‘The Colours of China,’ not just as a visual concept but as a way to explore the country’s identity — through its people, traditions, landscapes, and the emotions tied to each place,” Barbas explains.
The Freedom To Explore
For Barbas, taking on a project like this starts way before he leaves home.
“Camera gear alone can take up most of your luggage,” he says. “It’s not just about the weight; moving around with all this equipment can be exhausting and restrictive.
But this project was a refreshing change.”
“Having a phone with built-in telephoto lenses and multiple focal lengths eliminated the need to carry a heavy camera setup with three or four separate lenses. It made traveling much easier and far more enjoyable. The lightweight approach not only gave us more freedom to explore but also allowed us to focus fully on the creative process instead of constantly worrying about managing gear.”
Enter the vivo X200 Pro. Barbas previously worked with its predecessor, the X100 Pro, and talked about how impressed he was with the new device’s improvements in image quality and depth of field control.
“Vivo has somehow managed to solve one of the biggest challenges smartphones have faced: the depth of field and the blurry artifacts around a subject’s face and hair. For the first time, I’m seeing a depth of field comparable to that of a professional DSLR or mirrorless camera, and that was by far the biggest surprise.”
According to Barbas, a standout feature of the vivo X200 Pro is the level of precise control available, from the software to the hardware.
“The native camera app allowed me to manually adjust everything — shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus, and more — essentially giving me the flexibility I’d expect from a professional-grade camera. Shooting in a log picture profile directly on the phone was a game-changer for me as a filmmaker passionate about color grading.”
“Another highlight was the ease of switching between the phone’s multiple focal lengths. Instead of carrying a backpack full of lenses, I could seamlessly shift between ultra-wide, wide, portrait, and telephoto perspectives with just a tap.”
As Barbas explains, the process of getting the shot is often hindered by the large amount of gear needed on the day. In the case of the vivo X200 Pro, he found it to be the right tool for the job.
“Overall, the Vivo X200 Pro stripped away the barriers of traditional gear and made the shooting process more fluid, intuitive, and fun. It’s proof that a tool doesn’t have to be big and expensive to be capable of producing high-quality, professional results in the right hands.”
Being In the Moment
During his month-long journey in China, Barbas had to find some creative solutions to get the shot he was after. Whether it’s using the vivo X200 Pro’s three different lenses to capture unique handheld looks of a street festival or strapping the phone to a drone or gimbal for sweeping landscapes, there wasn’t a technical challenge that Barbas couldn’t overcome.
There was one variable, however, that Barbas couldn’t control: the elements.
“The biggest challenge was definitely the weather,” Barbas writes. “I had planned for stunning sunsets and sunrises, but the weather seemed to have other plans. Most of the time, we were stuck with grey skies, clouds, or rain.
“We would wake up at 4 or 5 AM, drive for hours, and hike even more to get to the perfect spot at the perfect time — only to find grey, dull skies waiting for us. It was the same story at sunset. The colors just weren’t what we were looking for during that time of year, so we had to extend our stay and ended up staying much longer that we anticipated. And so we kept going, waking up early every morning and staying up late after sunset, repeating the process every single day. By the end of three weeks, we were running on four to five hours of sleep every night and completely worn out. Still, something funny kept happening. Almost every time, on the very last day in each region, we’d finally get the perfect sunset, just before packing up and flying to the next destination. It felt like the weather was giving us one last little gift before we left.”
The ability to handle the Murphy’s Law situations on a shoot is vital for any creator, and the advice Barbas gives for filmmakers planning similar projects is learning to stay flexible while focusing on the fundamentals.
“You can have an idea of what you want, but sometimes the best shots come from just being in the moment,” Barbas says.
“Focus on capturing the feeling of the place, not just the visuals. Pay attention to the light, the composition, and most importantly, the story—that’s the biggest factor that sets your work apart. Don’t overlook sound, it’s one of the most underrated elements in filmmaking and can completely transform your videos. And most importantly, just go with the flow. Learn, experiment, fail, and repeat the process until you keep getting better. That’s how you grow and create something truly unique.”
Image credits: Photographs by Denis Barbas
Full disclosure: This sponsored article is brought to you by vivo.
