The Oppo Find X9 Pro has a range of upgrades, including a new 200-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, which boasts several nifty zoom features to help you take a great photo no matter how far away you are from your subject.
For example, it delivers excellent shots at 6x by cropping into the sensor for 50-megapixel photos. Oppo says that it can deliver "lossless zoom" up to 13.2x using computational photography -- that's close to the max digital zoom on phones from a few years ago. And if that's not enough for you, the Find X9 Pro also supports an external Hasselblad telephoto lens accessory, which further zooms into distant subjects.
Out of these three, the detachable telephoto lens is the most wild. When attached, the Hasselblad lens sticks out several inches from the back of the phone. It somewhat resembles a mini-telescope.
Oppo isn't the first to make such an accessory; both Vivo and Xiaomi have done it before. However, Oppo's take is different than the rest. While others offer a camera grip with a shutter button, Oppo's Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit relies on the phone's Quick Control hardware button or the on-screen shutter button to shoot the photos.
I've been using it a lot recently and here's what it can do. I should note that the Oppo Find X9 Pro isn't available in the US.
Using the Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit is kind of a hassle
You definitely won't be able to fit the Oppo Find X9 Pro with its Hasselblad telephoto len attached in your jeans pocket. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
The Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit comes with three pieces: a snap-on camera module attachment, the telephoto lens itself and a brace that can screw into a tripod for stability.
To use it, you also need to have the official Magnetic Photographer Case, which is purpose-built to support the slide-on attachment. You can then add the lens with a twist, which clicks securely into place over the 200-megapixel telephoto camera.
The external lens accessory is heavy, making the phone unbalanced and unwieldy. I got used to it, but it took a day to figure out how to hold the phone and lens combo most effectively. However, I sorely miss that there's no camera grip to provide a secure hold for the phone when the lens is mounted. If I move my hand for a more comfortable hold or to tap the screen for long zoom shots, my framing is significantly altered. If I were to change one thing about this teleconverter kit, I'd add a camera grip to make this setup more comfortable to use.
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