This Retro Photography Kit turns the Nubia Z80 Ultra into a budget Leica lookalike

I recently reviewed the Nubia Z80 Ultra, and at a starting price of just £579/€759/A$1,311, I was astonished by the quality of the camera hardware. The phone packs a flagship-level triple camera array on its rear, including a 35mm equivalent main camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, an ultrawide with a massive 1/1.55-inch sensor, and a 1/2-inch 70mm telephoto.

These days, it feels like no Chinese flagship camera phone is complete without a dedicated photography kit that turns it into a compact camera. We've seen it with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, the Vivo X300 Pro, and most recently, the Oppo Find X9 Pro. Despite being a budget-friendly option, the Nubia is following suit, and the brand sells an optional Retro Photography Kit to make this slab a little more ergonomic.

The Retro Photography Kit sells for slightly over one hundred pounds in the UK, so it's a sizable investment, especially when you consider that's one-sixth of the cost of the phone. I wanted to find out if it was worthwhile, so I've been playing with it for the past week or so.

The Hardware

Upon opening the package, I was surprised by how many pieces came included in this kit. It's a very modular design, and you can easily switch from a minimal rig to something more substantial.

The core of the kit is essentially a phone case. It pulls apart into three sections; there's a plastic and vegan leather middle section, which needs to be attached to the phone first, and two aluminium end caps that affix on either side.

With just the phone case attached, there isn't any added utility other than a couple of lanyard attachment points, but it certainly makes the phone look and feel a lot more like a vintage camera. The ergonomics are almost certainly worse in this configuration, but it looks awesome. It brings the Sigma BF to mind.

The case has metal buttons, including a nice textured red shutter button, but they're passive. What I mean by that is the buttons are just poking through to the buttons on the actual phone. If you want some added functionality, you'll need to attach the Neo Bar.

The Neo Bar connects to the top of the case with some sturdy hooks, and it adds a tactile two-stage shutter button, a zoom rocker, two ratcheting control dials, and a cold shoe mount. All the parts that you'll touch are made from aluminium, and they're extremely satisfying to use.

Unlike most of the other photography kits I've tried, the Neo Bar connects to the phone over Bluetooth. There are positives and negatives to this decision. The upside is that it leaves the phone's USB port free, so you can use it for charging or connecting an external microphone. You can also use the Neo Bar as a wireless remote, although the form factor doesn't readily lend itself to that.

The main downside is that you'll need to remember to charge it from time to time. There's also likely some latency between the buttons and the phone, but it was quick enough that I couldn't really notice.

By default, the shutter button and zoom rocker work as you'd expect them to. The right dial adjusts the exposure compensation, and the left dial switches between colour profiles. However, these controls are very customisable in the camera app, and you can use them for anything from switching aspect ratio to focus and sharpness level adjustment.

The next modular piece is a leather-effect half-case with an integrated grip. It really completes the vintage look; it's just like the protective casing my grandfather kept on his analogue SLR cameras when I was a kid. This piece is mostly ergonomic, but it does add a 1/4-20 thread for use with a tripod. It's awkwardly positioned under the handle, though, so your phone will look a little lopsided when mounted.

The kit includes an adapter to use 67mm filters with the main sensor, but sadly, it blocks all the other cameras when it's in place. The main lens is also compatible with Fotorgear lenses, but I don't have any to try out.

Finally, there's a nice neck strap made from a thick rope-like material, and an additional cold shoe mount that can be used without the Neo Bar in place.

What's it like to use?

As a lifelong photographer, the experience of shooting with smartphones can be frustrating, but the reality is that's what I do most often. Cameras are all about ergonomics and quick access to your most needed settings; in many ways, the touchscreen interface of a phone is the polar opposite.

Photography kits like this one will always be a niche proposition, but I don't think they're a gimmick; there's genuine utility to a setup like this. It's not something you'll bring with you every day, but if you're taking your phone out with the express purpose of shooting photos, you might find you have a better time with a photography grip attached.

I found that with the Z80 Ultra dangling around my neck, I took more photos than usual, as I didn't need to pull it out of my pocket. Being able to quickly launch the camera with the shutter button meant I never missed a candid shot, either.

I also found myself using the different picture profiles and filters more often, as I can just quickly rotate a dial to switch to the next mode. Of course, if you're more of a control freak, you could set these to manually control things like the ISO and shutter speed, and you'll have a much more pleasant experience than trying to do the same with clumsy touchscreen settings.

When it comes to ergonomics, this kit isn't my favourite. It's unusually tall, and if you have smaller hands, reaching the shutter button could be a real chore. The grip is quite shallow, too, so one-handed use without a strap feels quite precarious.

Aesthetically, though, the Nubia Retro Kit stands out above the rest. It's a real head turner, and it's no accident that this kit makes the phone resemble a Leica M7. As soon as you pull this out, people are going to want to know what it is. Whether that's a good or a bad thing will likely depend on your personality type.

Should I get one?

The Retro Photography Kit for the Z80 Ultra is by no means a necessity. You can do all the same things without the kit attached, but it's much more fun with it on. It's a tactile and satisfying experience that a touchscreen just can't compete with.

Plus, you can experiment with photographic filters or even attach external lenses. I wouldn't imagine the lens quality will be on par with Vivo's Zeiss Teleconverter or Oppo's Hasselblad extender, but I did stumble across an adapter in my research - so you might actually be able to combine the two kits.

At around £100, the kit doesn't come cheap, but considering the quality of the components, it seems like a perfectly fair price. Whether it's worth spending that much on an accessory for a £579 phone is completely up to you.

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