The new Honor Magic 8 Pro Photography Kit is changing my expectations for smartphone camera quality

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The Honor Magic 8 Pro Photography Kit is an 8-piece set. Snap the phone into the very “camera-looking” case, pop the magnetic camera grip on, click in the lens extender, then open the camera app and enable the Teleconverter option on the left/top bar of the camera viewfinder. If this is your first time using it, you’ll need to enable the Teleconverter accessory in the camera’s settings.

When the Teleconverter mode is enabled, it’ll restrict the camera to three supported shooting modes (photo, video, stage) and swap the zoom buttons out with 200, 400, 600, and 800mm options. You can also use the zoom wheel on the screen or on the camera grip to zoom in to a maximum of 5400mm. I’m not even sure what the “x” equivalent is on the normal viewfinder, but it’s a very, very far distance zoom.

With everything attached (including the phone), the whole kit weighs 583g. That’s just over double the weight of the 219g Magic 8 Pro on its own, but it’s a far cry from the 1,081g my Panasonic Lumix GH-5 professional camera weighs. The camera grip operates via Bluetooth and has a built-in rechargeable battery, a USB-C port, and a 1/4-inch thread hole for standard tripod mounts.

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

The whole kit feels really good to use. The magnetic grip looks and feels just like a “proper” camera, including a two-step shutter button to lock focus before taking a photo (or recording video), a quick button to open the gallery, a mode-switching wheel, and a zoom switch for smooth zooming in and out.

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If you’re concerned about dropping the kit, you can install a wrist strap or a neck strap, both of which are included in the box. I don’t particularly care for the location of the strap connectors, especially when using the longer neck strap, as they constantly get in the way of the screen or something else, since the holes are on the top side of the phone when held like a camera.

Since the camera grip is magnetic, it can be rotated in any direction you’d like. That makes it easy to take portrait and landscape photos or videos while still getting a great, ergonomic grip on the phone. It’s amazing what something like this will do for stability!

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

To keep things straight, the telephoto extender measures distance in milimeters, while the phone’s standard viewfinder (with the extender detached) measures in “x” levels. Here’s the rough conversion, based on my findings (which you’ll also find labeled in the sample images):

8.5x = 200mm17.5x = 400mm26x = 600mm35x = 800mm

The telephoto extender produces better pictures and video in all lighting conditions compared to the built-in telephoto lens on the phone. There are no exceptions to this, which is always nice to say.

During the day, you’ll notice noticeably enhanced detail, a significantly shallower/crisper depth of field, downright incredible subject separation without needing to use software portrait mode, and, of course, better zoom detail at any distance.

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

This extender takes the best portrait shots I’ve ever seen from a phone, and as I said before, it doesn’t need software to do it, either. The separation of foreground and background in these types of shots is absolutely spectacular, and there’s no way anyone could tell they were taken on a phone.

Macro photography has become a commonplace feature on phones, but I often prefer taking “macro” shots with a phone’s telephoto sensor rather than the ultrawide camera. This is the only area where the photography kit’s telephoto extender is a mixed bag. A photo of my cat lying on the other side of the couch looks better using the extender, but flower photography isn’t as good as I’d hoped.

Part of this seems to be down to subject size/complexity. Smaller flowers, like those in the comparison below, were more difficult for the telephoto extender to focus on. I had to physically back up quite a bit and play around with zoom settings to find one that would actually focus on the flowers. For the built-in telephoto lens, all I had to do was tap the 3.7x zoom option on the viewfinder and take the picture.

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

Something you might notice so far is that the telephoto extender’s color science is a bit different from the built-in telephoto lens. Honor says a combination of high-quality lens materials and an upgraded AI-powered color science algorithm is the reason, and I’ve found that it produces better colors in every situation.

The flower above is a perfect example. The golden hues of the standard telephoto’s image might look nice, but the extender’s color is actually the correct one.

Honor also says the telephoto extender improves the Magic 8 Pro’s stability to CIPA 6.5, meaning you can hold the phone freehand while it takes longer-exposure shots. The higher the CIPA number, the longer the exposure can be without introducing blur, which inherently creates better, more detailed images (especially in low light).

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

The difference in low light is equally as striking as daylight performance, and in some cases, even greater. The 400mm option (17.5x zoom) seems to be the sweet spot for nighttime detail, as it’s here where I found the most obvious differences between the standard and telephoto extender’s photo quality.

Despite the substantial length of the telephoto extender — which almost always reduces the amount of possible light to the sensor — the capture time was no different between it and the standard telephoto lens, even in the darkest conditions. With the exception of one photo of a mural of a man (seen above), I also found the telephoto extender’s photos had better light balance.

Ultimately, I’d love to see more lens options in the future, though, as it’s cumbersome to switch to shorter focal lengths since this extender takes over the entire viewfinder. Overall, though, this is a phenomenal accessory if you’re into telephoto capture. Folks with kids who perform on stage or people who frequent concerts will also find this to be an extremely valuable addition to their Magic 8 Pro.