How can you make the best smartphone for photography an even more powerful cameraphone? Accessorize it!
That’s exactly what Xiaomi has done for the 13 Ultra with the Photography Kit: a quirky set of accessories for the everyday phone user, but an invaluable working tool for the avid photographer and videographer.
What is the photography kit?
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra photography kit comes with a quality protective case with lens cap, a 67mm filter adapter, a camera grip with Bluetooth and a lanyard.
The whole package
You can simply clip the case onto your phone and put the cap on top. It protects cameras from dust and other potentially harmful objects and looks great. The lens cap attaches with a push.
The grip attachment is pretty nice. You slide it onto the bottom of the case and it has a convenient locking lever to stay in place. The grip has a USB-C port so you can charge the built-in battery, a lanyard hole, and a full shutter release – it has half-press focus and a zoom ring.
Press and hold the shutter for a second and the remote grip starts pairing with your phone. From there you can launch the camera from a locked phone, control zoom, and take photos.
Lanyard eyelet and zoom ring around the shutter button
With the case and grip mounted, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra becomes a photography powerhouse! It’s very easy to get into the rhythm of waking up your phone and switching between different cameras using just your index finger. Removing the phone from your pocket by gripping the handle is also very convenient.
If you want to enhance your images, rotate the 67mm filter adapter on the back of the case. This is the most popular filter thread on the market and you will get the largest selection of ND filters and circular polarizers around.
We happened to have a CPL lying around and attached it to our phone to take some photos. Using a filter on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra looks completely professional. And it’s almost impossible to detach the adapter from the phone case.
We’ve found that the best use case for the photography kit is action shooting. Catching your friends playing beach volleyball is on a whole different level. Set your phone to 3.2x or 5x, half-press to focus, and wait for the perfect moment.
Here are some examples that we shot with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra with the attached photography kit.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra using the Photography kit
Conclusion
It is difficult to find the Xiaomi 13 Ultra photography kit online. It seems that the best solution is to import it from China. Prices range from around $130 to almost $300. It’s a quality set of tools, but not a great value for money.
However, the joy we get from using such accessories with a phone might be worth it. It takes us back to a few years ago, when phone and accessory manufacturers were more imaginative and daring. Remember LG and Friends, those were some fun days.
Now phones have become clinical tools. They perform a million tasks and excel at most of them. Being good at photography is one of their strengths. Using something like the Xiaomi Camera Kit can elevate one of the best phones around to a complete professional tool.
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