The $30 million toe in the water

Vivo and Oppo have been experimenting with teleconverters , barrel lens add-ons that expand the zoom of their flagship phones to dizzing heights.

In the last few years, both Vivo and Oppo have been pushing the boundaries of smartphone camera technology.

For some companies, the evolution of smartphone camera tech can't come fast enough.

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Both phones have a lot in common, but what's more interesting are the different choices Vivo and Oppo made with their strongest feature: the cameras.

On the Find X9 Ultra, the primary camera has a 200-megapixel 1/1.28-inch sensor.

With a low f/1.5 aperture possible, this is an incredibly versatile camera,built to take in light and work well even in difficult shooting conditions.

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However, Oppo's innovative 10x telephoto is the most thrilling part of the phone's penta camera setup.

The 10x optical zoom also opens up the possibility of 20x lossless zoom , all before we start attaching Oppo's teleconverter lens.

It also has sensor-shift stabilization to improve clarity and reduce the chances of blur.

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The Vivo X300 Ultra has the exact same 1/1.12-inch 200MP main camera sensor, although it has a narrow 35mm focal length, which could be arrgued to be more 'cinematic'.

Its aperture can go as low as f/1.85, losing again to its Oppo rival.

The X300 Ultra ultrawide camera, however, performs head and shoulders above the Find X9 Ultra's version .

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Unlike most smartphone ultra-wide cameras, which I cynically view as a lazy effort by companies to add another camera to their smartphones, Vivo went to town.

To start,Vivo added optical image stabilization (OIS), which is rare for this focal length.

This, combined with a 50MP sensor, means images look crisper and more detailed than those from rival devices, which typically use lower-res sensors.

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The Find X9 Ultra also has a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 3.2MP multispectral sensor to strengthen white balance and color accuracy.

However, Oppo's innovative 10x telephoto is the most thrilling part of the phone's penta camera setup.

The 10x optical zoom also opens up the possibility of 20x lossless zoom, all before we start attaching Oppo's teleconverter lens.

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The X300 Ultra's telephoto (another 200MP sensor) maxes out at 3.7x zoom without a teleconverter and while you can crop down from that for more 'zoom', it loses a lot of detail and adds a lot of artifacts in the process.

Fortunately, for those looking to punch in further, Vivo has you covered.

Despite both offering teleconverters, the two companies took different approaches.

If you're looking for pure king-of-zoom credentials, Vivo takes the crown with the furthest total optical zoom, with 400mm focal length (approximately 17x zoom).

The X300 Ultra also offers a convenient one-touch icon to transition to teleconverter mode.

With all these cameras and shooting options, it can be laborious to swipe to the teleconverter on either phone.