00:00How far have smartphone telephoto cameras come in 2026?
00:04This is the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, and it might just be the best camera phone ever.
00:08I'm here in China, lucky me, gonna shoot some portraits and landscapes, so let's go have some fun!
00:12Oppo has upped the quality of the telephoto cameras and selfie cameras since its previous
00:16flagship, the X8 Ultra, and added a new 10x zoom. That makes an ultra-wide, 1x, 3x and 10x cameras.
00:24There's also a new teleconverter accessory which works with a 3x telephoto camera for a 13x optical
00:29zoom. A high-res mode unleashes 50MP and 200MP shots for the 1x and 3x cameras, or 50MP for the
00:38others.
00:38The quality really impresses with the 1x and 3x cameras, which pack the biggest sensors,
00:43though the previous X8 Ultra has an even bigger sensor for its main cameras.
00:47We've got a Pro Master mode, where you can shoot RAW and JPEG formats, with Hasselblad Natural
00:52Color Science as the standard colour profile, and up to 16-bit files with HDR. Oppo includes a bunch
00:58of filter effects too, which can easily be added in after shooting, as can a bokeh effect for portraits.
01:03Video shooters get 8K for the first time in an Oppo phone, plus 4K up to 120fps and various colour
01:09profiles, including Rec.709 in a Pro Video mode. Stabilisation is majorly impressive for video,
01:15even with the telephoto cameras. So, I was especially keen to see how the X9 Ultra compares to
01:19proper cameras, like the Lumix TZ300 travel zoom compact, and a Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera with
01:25telephoto zoom lens. The comparison images popping up on screen are shot using the phone's 3x and 10x
01:31cameras. Then, I've matched the focal length with the TZ300 and Nikon 70-200 lens. The latter
01:36doesn't zoom in quite as close, because the 10x zoom of the phone has an effective 240mm focal
01:41length, but the Nikon camera has 45MP to play with. Overall, the Oppo phone's 3x lens can match the
01:48quality of the Lumix TZ300's 3x zoom, and I even prefer the colour in those photos too. Plus,
01:54its excellent portrait mode convincingly boosts bokeh effects. The Oppo phone is okay compared
01:58to the Nikon Pro camera too. The 10x zoom isn't quite the same quality though, and the Lumix TZ300
02:04has an additional reach of up to 15x. The Nikon camera and lens's quality at 200mm versus the
02:10phones is in another league. The Oppo phone has the best 3x camera I've ever seen in a smartphone,
02:15and quality-wise it can easily replace a travel zoom compact. The 10x camera, though the best of its
02:20kind, is still a way behind. What do you make of the Find X9 Ultra's telephoto cameras? Let me know
02:25in the comments below and check out my in-depth coverage of the phone at techradar.com.
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