Recent Chinese Ultra smartphones have been pretty formidable imaging devices, and you could say the Oppo Find X9 Ultra is at the top of that heap.
But it’s always exciting when you can enhance something that’s already great so you can extend its use. And there’s no better way than with these new and evolved photography kits we’ve been getting for recent smartphones.
Today, we have a slightly different set of accessories to unbox – the Khronos Creator Kit for the Oppo Find X9 Ultra. Made by Tilta, this is a fairly comprehensive video-capture kit. When fully assembled, it is a camera cage with the Find X9 Ultra at its center.
Here’s everything that comes with the kit – we start with a metal MagSafe case with a removable (and locking) protective bezel and a filter cover for the camera island. You can use the 67mm filter thread adapter or any other adapter to attach the optional Oppo 300mm teleconverter lens. It has a detachable, adjustable handle, a cold shoe adapter, a quick release ARCA adapter. The list includes a grip with a shutter button and a scroll wheel for focusing or changing lenses, a MagSafe cooler and a compact tripod with a ball-head.
Here is the complete kit assembled. It’s an example of high-quality technology with a solid feel. Everything is weighty and well put together with a mix of plastic and metal.
The case is very solid, with a metal shell and metal front bezel that you remove to slide the Oppo Find X9 Ultra into place, then lock into place with a small slider at the top. It’s a little tricky to get it to lock correctly, but eventually you’ll get it right.
MagSafe locks the cooler into place with beautiful precision and ease. However, it requires a USB-C power supply to work. This isn’t ideal and means you’ll have to attach a power bank to the Khronos Creator Kit to get the cooling benefits.
complete kit assembled
The grip is very sturdy – easily deeper than most proper camera grips. It’s also rubberized to reduce slipping, but the exposed plastic surfaces still don’t offer much grip.
The Grip connects to the phone via Bluetooth, but it can also connect via USB-C to charge your phone at 30W rates from the built-in 5,000mAh battery.
There are some controls. The control dial on the grip is wetted so it turns very easily. It is not linear and reacts differently depending on the speed at which you rotate it.
There’s also a small function button, which when pressed opens the camera app, and a larger and textured shutter button.
The Main Grip connects to the Find X9 Ultra via USB-C
You can use the control dial to scroll through the focal length or adjust the focus. Khronos Creator Kit is best suited for use with the Oppo Pro Video app. This enables proper professional high-end applications like precise manual focusing (once you’ve enabled focus peaking).
Both the adjustable grip and control grip attach to their designated cutouts on the case with a spring-lock mechanism, and there is a lock lever to lock them firmly in place. The adjustable grip has a locking lever that you tighten to lock the grip in place. This way, you can move the lever as you wish depending on your use case.
hold both
The Khronos Creator Kit really opens up new possibilities for the Oppo Find X9 Ultra. This opens the door for you to connect the phone to external storage and an external microphone, add lights, and turn it into a pro tool for video.
In practice, you can use it to record long logs or HDR videos without worrying about whether the phone will overheat. It also enables a more stable platform with two handles and allows for creative low-angle shooting.
Plus, in combination with OPPO’s built-in powerful imaging software, it gives you proper manual control over the shooting process, which few phones can match. And, when you compare this setup to the latest and greatest iPhone, despite its ProRes capabilities and powerful accessory ecosystem, it’s the Find X9 Ultra’s vastly superior imaging hardware that will shine brighter.
Use the handle as per your need
The Khronos Creator Kit is a third-party accessory that you’ll eventually be able to purchase, but we can’t find one on sale on Oppo’s regional websites or Tilta’s stores at this time. We will update this article once we have pricing information.
