The three cameras of the Oppo Find X9 Pro deliver very good images in many situations and sometimes even match the ultra phones from competing brands. Compared to the Vivo X200 Ultra, compromises mainly show up with the ultra-wide camera at night and in zoom shots at 10x or higher. The 200MP mode is almost unusable at the time of writing. It remains to be seen whether software updates will fix the occasional white balance issues, both with and without the camera kit. 4K120 videos are recorded with impressive smoothness.
The new Hi-Def auto mode for photos sounds promising in theory but has almost no visible benefits thus far. The algorithm often feels like a black box, and you can’t always predict the result. Whether it’s worth buying the not exactly cheap external lens is another question entirely. You can’t just attach or remove it and start taking pictures. Since there’s no connection to the phone, you need to manually select the teleconverter mode and switch back after detaching it.
The setup also becomes a bit shaky at higher magnifications, so a tripod is recommendable. In general, the Hasselblad lens produces very good zoom shots, at least up to about 20x. So if you like looking far into the distance, the teleconverter can definitely be useful. Personally, I also find the dedicated camera button on the side very practical, just like on the Vivo X200 Ultra. Thanks to my colleague Hannes Brecher for his additional expertise! Finally, here are some impressions from the beach in Barcelona, with and without the teleconverter.