This is the best smartphone camera accessory I've ever used

Meanwhile, manufacturers like Oppo and Vivo have taken a slightly different route. In addition to improving their built-in cameras, the company now offers external camera accessories that attach to the smartphone's camera module to enhance functionality even further. Vivo introduced this with the previous X200 series and continues with the new X300 lineup.

With the recent launch of the Oppo Find X9 Pro, Oppo has joined this space by offering a special attachable external accessory developed in collaboration with Hasselblad. I've been using the Find X9 Pro and the Hasselblad Teleconverter accessory for about two weeks now, and I'm convinced this tiny add-on beats any smartphone hardware upgrade I've tried in a long time.

The Hasselblad Teleconverter lets me zoom in like never before

It's a bit of a hassle to attach, but the results speak for themselves

Smartphone makers have been trying to improve zoom capabilities on their devices for the past few years. Apple moved from a 3x telephoto zoom lens in the iPhone 15 Pro to 5x in the iPhone 16 Pro and now up to 8x zoom on the iPhone 17 Pro. Google, on the other hand, has been offering up to 100x AI-powered zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro.

There is, however, a physical limit to how much hardware a smartphone maker can fit into a camera module. That's why some Android OEMs have started offering external lenses that attach to the smartphone to create a DSLR-like setup, and that's exactly what the Hasselblad Teleconverter is for the Oppo Find X9 Pro.

Attaching it isn't easy. You first need to snap on the aramid fiber magnetic case on the Find X9 Pro, then slide in the metal attachment plate over the camera module. The downside of this, however, is that this metal plate blocks all the other lenses of the phone, so you can only shoot with the extended lens when it’s attached.

Finally, you snap the teleconverter lens on top of the plate to lock everything in. The teleconverter itself is fairly heavy, making the setup feel weighted toward the extended lens, though it feels premium and sturdy once attached.

Once the setup is ready, you can capture photos using the Camera app. However, one minor inconvenience is that you need to switch to the special Hasselblad Teleconverter mode to use it properly. Otherwise, the images come out inverted if you use the standard zoom mode -- something I learned the hard way.

All of this hassle, however, pays off once you actually start using the setup. Combined with the phone's telephoto zoom lens, the Hasselblad Teleconverter provides an optical zoom of up to 230mm -- something a standalone smartphone camera module simply can’t achieve.

In simple terms, this attachment enables up to 10x optical zoom, 200x digital zoom, and even 50x zoom during videos. I took a few samples with the full setup to see how it performs, and the images truly speak for themselves.

The moment you start using it and see distant subjects appear crystal clear on your phone's screen, you're instantly amazed. I took a few shots from my terrace of a bird sitting on a fence above me, and the level of detail was impressive.

40x with Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit vs 1x (Main Camera)

40x with Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit vs 1x (Main Camera)

20x with Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit vs 1x (Main Camera)

Zooming in to 10x and 20x delivers impressive results, with images appearing clear and true to life, though the processing feels a tad overdone in my opinion. However, shots taken at 40x look noticeably overprocessed, with the camera applying too much smoothing.

That said, the images coming out of this setup are amazing. It's hard to believe they were captured using just the phone's camera and an external lens. Take a look at some of the shots I took with the Hasselblad Teleconverter kit here (and above):

10x with Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit vs 1x (Main Camera)

10x with Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit vs 1x (Main Camera)

The Hasselblad Teleconverter is the best camera add-on I've used in years

The accessory is undeniably expensive, though

On the whole, the idea of using a detachable lens for your phone isn't new. Brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, and even Realme have been doing it for a couple of years. Similarly, companies like Moment have offered external lenses for iPhones for years, but Oppo's implementation feels unique.

Thanks to its partnership with Hasselblad for both the lens and camera processing, the images produced by this setup have genuinely amazed me.

Of course, all of this comes at a cost. Oppo will sell the Hasselblad kit as an extra accessory for the Find X9 Pro, priced at €549 in Spain, with availability expanding to other regions soon.

It's certainly a steep price for such a small camera accessory, but if you're passionate about mobile photography, this might be the upgrade you've been waiting for.