iPhone accessory lenses review, for GMG iPhonographers

I recently acquired an iPhone 4s, and have been gradually discovering the possibilities of the camera.  Now I begin to understand the hoards of iPhonographers who have made the iPhone the most popular camera on the massive photo-sharing site Flickr!

The first and most obvious advantages of the camera are the fact that it has good resolution, generally takes good exposures (i.e. not too light or too dark), and is with you wherever you take your cell phone (i.e. practically everywhere) without adding to the junk in your pockets or on your belt.  Then there are cool apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic, which offer a variety of “vintage” effects, making it easy to add atmosphere to your photos.

Once I got involved in the iPhonography world, I noticed that some of my Instagram friends were taking awesome photos of the moon and other long-distance shots… which led me to check out conversion lenses for the iPhone.  I found what I was looking for on Photojojo.com, a site with more cool (and sometimes crazy) camera gadgets than I have seen in any other place. This is the complete kit I bought for $79:

Four of the lenses (macro, 2x telephoto, 0.68x wide angle, and 0.28 fish eye) connect using magnetism – you get a sticker with a magnetic ring you stick around the lens on the iPhone. The 8x telephoto screws into a special case, and comes with a tripod.

Here are some comparison photos of all but the macro lens to show you the results. I took them all from exactly the same spot in the rectory window, using the tripod (the first photo is the setup I used).

The iPhone mounted on the tripod with the zoom lens attached to the special phone case (all three included in the kit)

First, just the iPhone with no additional lens.

0.28 fisheye

0.68 wide angle

2x telephoto lens. I didn't have the lens quite centered (a risk of the magnetic ring trick), but even when I do have it on just right, most of the image is unfocused. That can be a cool effect in certain circumstances, but here it just looks lousy.

8x zoom lens

Here are all the photos proportionately resized and superimposed, so you can see the relative fields of view. The third image (counting either from the center out or the outside in) is the one taken with just the iPhone with no additional lens.

iPhone lens comparison

So, overall, I am satisfied with this package deal. The only lens that is a bit of a ripoff is the 2x telephoto.  Overall this selection of lenses gives you a great range from fish eye to telephoto. The carrying wallet is not sealed on the sides, so it’s not something to carry around carelessly, but it fits in a big coat pocket, and serves the purpose of keeping all the lenses in one place.