Find the best iPhone camera lens attachment for your budget

Cameras on smartphones have transformed the way we make and share images and videos. The cameras on recent iPhones have been the best around on smartphones. What about giving yourself extra options with lens attachments? Because even smartphones with multiple fixed lenses aren’t suited to every subject or situation.

With the connectivity and ease of use of your iPhone (or other smartphone), and the fact that you’re more likely to have it with you most of the time, getting better results from your phone is perhaps preferable to lugging a DSLR camera around as well.

There are now a great number of iPhone lens accessories that you can attach to your device. Whether you’re using an iPhone 6 or iPhone XR or Samsung S9, you can push your photographic and cinematographic skills even further. And you don’t need to give up the ability to easily upload and share your content.

1 Moment Lenses

One of the most well know and best marketed lenses for your iPhone. Moment lenses can be used with a wide variety of smartphones (including the iPhone 6, 7, 8, and iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9, and Google Pixel 2 series).

Moment has a 58mm telephoto lens which has six glass elements, and will work with iPhone X, Pixel 3, and Note 9 smartphones (it can be used with both cameras on the iPhone and Samsung models). Much larger than its current 60mm telephoto lens, Moment says the updated model results in much less distortion.

You don’t have to own one of Apple’s smartphones to use add-on lenses: Moment sells cases from $24 to $30 that fit all Pixel smartphones, as well as the Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, Note 8, and Note 9.

Moment lenses are not cheap, but they are considered to be high quality. but are you paying for the best or for the Moment guys’ phenomenal marketing skills? Check out this comparison video between the Moment Tele and the Sirui portrait lens.

Read more: my full article assessing all Moment’s lenses.

2. Sirui

Sirui offer a range of lenses for you iPhone (and smartphones in general).

SIRUI 60-SA portrait or telephoto lens: Check Price on Amazon

SIRUI FE Fisheye Lens, 170° Field of View: Check Price On Amazon SIRUI 18mm Wide-Angle Lens, 95° Field of View: Check Price on Amazon In the video below, Rah Sharma puts the Sirui 5 x lens kit to the test, shooting a short film with his iPhone X… You can watch the full short film too, here. The film is called Restoration, and is all shot with the iPhone X and Sirui lenses.

3. Sandmarc

Sandmarc make a range of great lenses to attach to your iPhone.

Wide (16mm, magnification – 0.56x)

Telephoto (60mm, 2x)

Macro (25mm, magnification – 10x)

Fisheye (10mm, magnification – 0.2x)

They are certainly not the cheapest lenses, but they are awesome quality.

You can buy single lenses or in a package. In which case, 3 lenses will cost you $189.99 while 4 are $289.99.

Each lens includes a case and clip-on mount. The Wide and Telephoto Lenses have a design to be used along with their ND & PL Filters.

The cinema editions come with Scape ND4, ND8 and ND16 filters and Drama Polarizer (PL) filter.

Check out FlashingDroid’s review below:

4a. Moondog Labs

The Moondog Labs anamorphic lens came to iPhone filmmaker’s attention after Sean Baker famously used one when shooting Sundance hit Tangerine.

It is indeed a special lens. Depending on the version, they will cost you between $150 -$175.

But if you want your videos to look cinematic in that epic widescreen way, with lens flares an all, then this is still the best lens out there. In our opinion, beating the Moment anamorphic for quality.

if you haven’t seen Tangerine, then check out this short by Sean Baker. Shot with a iPhone 5 and the Moondog Labs anamorphic.

You can also hear Sean talk about using the lens when shooting Tangerine.

If you’re looking for something on a tighter budget, check below. But be aware these lenses are not at the same level quality-wise.

4b. Kapkur

In direct competition and a few dollars cheaper is the Kapkur anamorphic lens adaptor (Moment also makes one, but I think it’s the least impressive of the 3).

Check Price of Kapkur anamorphic on Amazon

This lens has so little written about it. In fact, in my Google search there was not one review or article. However, you have to say, this test footage looks pretty awesome:

We’re impressed by the clarity the nice looking lens flares. The lenses are very well built and very easy to use. On the down side, the case is a little thin and doesn’t offer much protection to your phone. This lens is also a bit lighter than the Moment lens.

(Thanks to Marcus Walter for reminding us of this one on Facebook).

5. AUKEY iPhone Lens 3 in 1 Kit

With this kit you get 3 lenses to play with: 198° Fisheye + 0.63X 110° Wide Angle + 15X Macro. You get 3 lenses which clip on to your iPhone (or indeed most smartphones).

As you can see from this video, they are good for your budget, but they do create softness/blurriness in the image.

Check Price of Aukey lenses on Amazon

6. Olloclip

Olloclip has a universal adapter for its new lenses so that they’ll work with most smartphones up to 12mm in thickness. The Olloclip Multi-Device Clip works with the company’s Connect X lenses, and will be available on its own for $19; you can also purchase it with a lens, ranging in price from $59.99 to $119.99.

There’s a range of Filmer’s Kits – for iPhones and other phones.

The kit includes Pivot, a mobile video grip, the phone clip, and five lenses: Fisheye Essential, Super-Wide Essential, Macro Essential, Telephoto 2x Essential and Ultra-Wide Essential, which offer a 180° spherical effect, a wider field of view, a 2x optical zoom, and macro magnification. It’s all packed in a custom compression moulded case for travel and storage.

I had a hunt around but couldn’t find too much in the way of good test footage from these lenses. Most reviews are just showing you what the lens looks like. Even Olloclip’s own promo video of the filmer’s kit has nothing but stills…

But from what little I saw, the quality looks ok (for the price). I would obviously choose these over the Aukey lenses, if you can afford the extra. While not as sharp as premium lenses from Moment and others, Olloclip’s lenses offer the greatest combination of performance and price.

Check Price of Olloclip lenses on Amazon

Read More: Beastgrip Lenses for Smartphone

iPhone Lens Tips and Advice: What to know before you buy

Generally, these smartphone lenses do a decent job of allowing you to shoot video and images that contain some of the qualities you’ll find in a high-end camera with interchangeable lenses. But remember, the expensive lenses you’d use with a DSLR or a mirrorless camera are pricey for a reason.

In other words, don’t let the hype cloud your judgement. So, here are some things to think about when choosing iPhone lens accessories.

At best, image quality remains the same

You’re not switching a lens. You’re placing the new lens over the rear-facing lens on your phone. So the quality can do no better than what you started with. Because the sensor and lenses combo isn’t improved.

In some cases, with say a telephoto lens, the sharpness in the centre of the image may show some improvement. However, check the corners of the image – that’s where sharpness really needs to be tested. Thing is, with these lenses, the sharpness almost always drops in the corners.

A lot of these lenses will also introduce a bunch of other problems – distortion, chromatic aberration (like purple outlines around subjects), light falloff (the centre is brighter than the edges).

Telephoto iPhone lenses are more difficult than wide angle lenses

No matter the telephoto lens you attach, your phone can produce blurrier photos and more jittery video footage than with wide-angle or fisheye. That’s because telephoto lenses are highly susceptible to handshake and vibration. Also, smartphones lack the powerful optical and mechanical image-stabilization systems built into DSLRs, mirrorless cameras – not to mention the high quality lenses.

So, when using a telephoto lens, stablization becomes a great deal more important. If you’re using a telephoto and you’re simply holding your phone in your hands, that’s going to be a real challenge. So make sure to have some kind of tripod, grip or gimbal to make your phone steady.

Flash photo issues

Some smartphone lenses block the phone’s flash. This further limits your ability to capture decent pictures in low light.

Awkward designs

As these lenses need to fit snugly over your smartphone’s lens, you’ll need to remove your phone’s case. Or use a case that’s only compatible with the lens.

Also, when using the simple clips to attach the lens, I’ve had issues with the clip covering the camera app manual controls. Another issue I had when using the wide angle lens + gimbal was that the front of the gimbal appeared in shot (unless I held the gimbal at an awkward angle).

Finally, it has to be understood that these lenses lack the sophisticated apertures and other hardware you’ll find on interchangeable lenses.

That said – these lenses can be a lot of fun, cost deal less than the DSLR camera + lenses and are easier to carry around. As Sean says in the making of video above – the Moondog Labs anamorphic lens is the size of a matchbox.

These things are not going to way you down. And, in the right hands, the results can be mind blowing.

Read Next: Best Smartphone Filmmaking Kit 2019.

Eager to learn more?

Join our weekly newsletter featuring inspiring stories, no-budget filmmaking tips and comprehensive equipment reviews to help you turn your film projects into reality!





As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.