TL;DR OPPO has confirmed that its Hasselblad-branded external lens for the Find X9 series is a telephoto extender.
It revealed that this is a 3.28x telephoto extender, turning the Find X9 Pro’s 3x camera into a ~9.6x camera.
Recent history suggests that this should deliver fantastic long-range shots, albeit in a cumbersome package.
The OPPO Find X9 series is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks, and we’re expecting these devices to be among the best camera phones. OPPO already confirmed that the phones will have an optional, Hasselblad-branded external lens, and it’s now revealed more details.
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OPPO confirmed in a live-stream on Weibo (spotted by NotebookCheck) that the external lens is a telephoto extender, much like the vivo X200 Ultra’s add-on lens. However, the company added that this is a 3.28x telephoto extender, so what does that mean?
This Hasselblad lens attaches to the Find X9 Pro’s 200MP 70mm periscope camera and extends zoom by 3.28x. In other words, this lens turns the phone’s 3x periscope camera into a ~9.6x camera (230mm). By contrast, the vivo X200 Ultra’s 2.35x telephoto extender effectively enabled ~8.3x native zoom (200mm). So the OPPO lens will have a longer range. The phone’s 200MP periscope camera means the add-on lens could likely enable ~19x zoom at lossless resolution.
Would you buy an external zoom lens for your phone? 3 votes Yes, I absolutely would 33 % Maybe, if the price and quality was great 33 % No, I wouldn't buy an external lens 33 %
For what it’s worth, I thought the X200 Ultra’s external lens was capable of taking fantastic 200mm shots during the day. It also offered a pleasantly shallow depth-of-field effect for portraits. Furthermore, the combo enabled good-quality daytime snaps at 400mm (~16x). However, I did find it a bit challenging to capture fast-moving subjects, while low-light image quality was also hit-or-miss. The lens missed out on some features too, like RAW support, manual controls, and more. In any event, you can view a few samples below to get a rough idea of what to expect with the Find X9 Pro’s add-on lens.
Vivo X200 Ultra lens 800mm vivo X200 Ultra lens 200mm vivo X200 Ultra lens 200mm vivo X200 Ultra lens 200mm
Perhaps the biggest issue I have with using a telephoto extender is that the combo of lens and phone is quite cumbersome. You also need to detach the lens if you want to use the main or ultrawide cameras, which means you might miss your shot. Either way, this is the antithesis of the smartphone shooting experience. However, I’m still glad to see OPPO experimenting with add-on lenses, especially for people who don’t want to carry a standalone camera and separate lenses.
Otherwise, tipster Digital Chat Station says you should expect a 7,500mAh battery with 80W wired and 50W wireless charging, as well as a 6.78-inch 1.5K OLED screen. This joins previously confirmed specs like a Dimensity 9500 chipset, a 50MP LYT-828 main camera, a 200MP f/2.1 periscope camera, and a 50MP ultrawide camera.
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