More phone cameras should come with telephoto lenses

Upgrade your phone with Camera grip attachment It is one thing. But the doll-sized telephoto lens you mount on top of the rear camera? Let’s go.

I wrote the Vivo X300 as a gimmick, a funny concept designed to attract attention rather than actual sales. But then I spent the weekend carrying the phone and its neat little lens collection – and had a lot of fun.

Vivo X300 Ultra It is an update for anyone The best phone cameras out there. It’s only available in China at the moment Global launch This would almost certainly exclude the United States. Its rear cameras are no joke: a 200MP main camera, a 200MP 3.7x telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. Vivo sells the Pro Camera Grip separately to add a physical shutter button. And if you really want to do that, there are these two telephoto extender lenses, each mounted on a special plate that you place in front of the telephoto camera. This year’s edition features a more compact version of last year’s 2.35x adapter, adding a 200mm equivalent, plus a new 400mm option.

If you’re going to carry a phone like the X300 Ultra, you might as well do so. I stopped using the custom case that Vivo sent along with my review unit – partly because it smelled weird, but also because I needed something larger to spend a full day at the spring fair. But I included the phone’s camera kit, along with a professional camera grip, a telephoto lens adapter plate, and a crossbody strap ripped straight out of Apple’s fall 2025 catalog. I stepped out of the family SUV with 150 mg of non-drowsy Allegra coursing through my veins, the camera slung over my chest and a comfortable, form-fitting backpack slung over my shoulder. Peak parental status.

I took a few shots halfway through without the lenses attached, but once we headed to the kids’ roller coaster, I knew it was time. I turned on the 200mm extender and didn’t take it off for at least another three hours. Do I look weird? Yes. But I was having a lot of fun caring.

It took me a minute to wrap my head around using a 200mm lens on a smartphone camera. I remembered that I had to pay attention to the shutter speed. But once I got the hang of it, I couldn’t believe what I was getting away with. depth! Layers! An optical telephoto lens lets you play with composition in a way that never translates with a digital zoom. I was taking photos I’d never tried to take with another phone camera, and it was mostly successful.

I thought I’d put the extender lens on the phone, take a few photos, then remove it until I needed it again, but that’s enough of a hassle that I left it alone. Anyway, once I started realizing all the possibilities of close-ups, that’s all I wanted to shoot.

This meant that the lens kept hitting the carnival ride seats every time I leaned over to strap my kid to a sparkling rocket ship or something else, but this didn’t seem to cause any damage to my camera equipment. I think I have this solid Zeiss build to thank.

The kid riding the roller coaster heading straight toward the camera was still a challenge for the autofocus system, and I missed a lot of shots. But this would be a difficult scenario for a camera of any size, and once I moved to a more forgiving combination, it started to click. It took me a minute to realize that I had only half-pressed the shutter button on the camera grip lock Focus and exposure, not focus acquisition – since it’s a smartphone, the camera does that all the time on its own. But once I got comfortable with pressing the shutter button fully and confident that the autofocus was working, I started to really enjoy it. This was also around the time the demolition derby started.

On our way to our seats we passed a sign prohibiting professional photo and video taking, including cameras with “removable lenses.” I had the X300 Ultra over my shoulder with a 200mm extender attached, but no one paid attention. I’m not usually one to use manual exposure controls on a phone, but I definitely needed them when the cars started crashing and the light faded in the early evening.

I switched from 200mm to 400mm, and then back again when the light got too dim. From my position about halfway up the stands, 200mm wasn’t long enough and 400mm was too close. There is the option of using digital zoom over the teleconverter’s optical zoom, but I chose to stick with the native focal lengths as a matter of principle.

I was able to get some shots I really like with both extenders – lots of detail on the cars that we couldn’t see from the stands, and focus on the faces of the drivers as they chased another car. Side note: cars crash into each other. I continued shooting until the light became very dim and details really started to suffer. The antihistamines had worn off and the preschoolers were getting restless, so we called it a night.

Whenever I get my hands on a telephoto lens I’m reminded of how much fun it is. Having this experience while using a smartphone was completely unexpected. There’s nothing stopping me from renting a Sony a7c telephoto lens to bring to the show, and I probably would have focused on more of those rollercoaster photos.

But it likely would have drawn the attention of security at the test derby, and would certainly have put more stress on my aching back and shoulders with the added weight. The 200mm lens accessory is small and light enough that I barely notice it’s in my bag, and I can definitely see taking it with me on another family outing.

I’m honestly amazed at how quickly I went from dismissing the entire extended lens concept as a silly idea to wanting the big phone brands that sell in the US to embrace something similar, like what happened yesterday. Where is Samsung in this? Why can’t I buy a funny little lens for the Galaxy S26 Ultra? Consider me an extender lens adapter.

Photography by Alison Johnson/The Verge