Take Better iPhone Pictures

REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

Jack Kocsis Director of Commerce
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How do you take most of your pictures? Unless you are a professional photographer, the answer is probably with your smartphone. The iPhone camera is pretty good – at least good enough to get the job done.

But there is a way to take better pictures with your iPhone camera. And that is with a lens attachment. Luckily, you can get one right now for 75 percent off.

You can save $30 on a lens attachment right now (Photo via Amazon)

Normally $40, this popular lens clip is just over $10 right now (Photo via Amazon)

iPhone Lens, TaoTronics Phone Camera Lens Clip Kit on sale for $10.19

This lens has three angle options – wide and open, fisheye and macro. Think a lens clip is unnecessary? Just consider the high praise it has gotten from those who have shelled out 4o bucks for this device:

Arpad says “Finally! I can make wide angle photos with my phone”:

I have to admit, I’m absolutely beginner when it comes to photography. Just because I’m an amateur, doesn’t mean I don’t want to try some tricks the pros can do, so a clip-on lens set seems a logical first step.
Although this set comes with three different options, the one I was really interested in is the wide angle. I wanted to create pictures that show the rooms bigger when I try to sell my house. Many of the realtors are doing the same trick. Look at the pictures I enclosed. (Especially the tiny guest room.)
I use it on family events and barbeque parties too. It helps to fit the whole scene on one picture.
I tried the fish-eye, and the macro, but other than interesting concept, I don’t see the real life benefit. Yet…

I have a Galaxy S5 with a wireless charging case. It means that the back of the phone is thick, but it had no effect on the pictures I have taken. I saw dark corners on the fish-eye images only. I did not try to remove the thick case; it might help a little bit.
The zoom of the macro lens is pretty impressive, although I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the clarity of the image. If the center of the picture is crisp clear, the sides are little unfocused. Also there is a visible distortion. I don’t want to take a star, because I’m not sure about how the high-end macro lenses are doing the job. Maybe they are doing the same. Again, I’m an amateur.
The only thing bothered me is that the flash on my phone is so close to the camera, the clip-on lens will cover it. So I have to rely on the non-flash settings of my phone.

I expected something cheap plastic set, but It is actually pretty good quality. It feels aluminum for me, with glass or really hard plastic lens. My glasses have plastic lenses, and I can feel the difference when I touch and clink them. (I didn’t perform a scratch-test, so I have no proof.)
The clip is strong enough to hold in position all the time. You can use it on any phone, if the camera’s center is no farther than 15/16 inch from the side and the phone is not thicker than 1/2 inch. (Actually, I don’t think there is a camera phone that thicker than 1/2 inch.)

I gave 5 stars, because it has exceeded my expectations. If you are a beginner like me, you won’t be disappointed.

Rob Gendreau praises the “fun visual effects”:

I got this from Taotronics to review with my iPhone 6s Plus. I’ve used some iPhone lenses before, and I was hoping these would be easier to use…and they are.

The other lenses I’ve tried relied on a case for attachment. Not ideal, clumsy, and of course you don’t get to use your choice of case. This attaches with a clamp, and I prefer to go in from the side, not the top as pictured in the photo. It takes a sec to center the lens, but it’s pretty easy if you have the camera app open first. And I actually like being able to move the lens a bit; the fisheye and wide angle have distortion (as is typical of such lenses) and this way you can manipulate the distortion a bit to suit your photo.

The lenses themselves seem to be of good quality, certainly well within the limits of using a smartphone camera. Not as clear as my $200 SLR fisheye lens, but then again a lot cheaper….

The fisheye is pretty intense, and you’ll get vignetting on most smartphones. More for fun effects; it would be tough to defish it easily. The smartphone cameras are already quite wide, and the wide angle lens adds to that. But you do get a bit of distortion at the edges, but again the effect isn’t too bad. I used a defish tool in DxO Viewpoint on a wide angle image here; you can see I got decent results. The macro is pretty good as well, but you have to get really close. But better to do that with the lens than your camera.

All in all, fun optics to play with. Leaving the lens on during video works, but it’s pretty easy to knock it a bit, and ruin a video. So be careful, or use it mostly for stills. I am very fond of the attachment, since it makes it much easier to get it on and off. And it can work with lots of phones. A great little kit to extend the range of your smartphone. You just can’t replicate in software what these optics do.

And W. Thein lauds the “shockingly great quality, unexpectedly great little item”:

I have some fairly high-end gear and I’ve spent thousands of dollars on lenses over the years for Olympus, Cannon, Sony and other systems so I have pretty high standards. I did NOT purchase these with those kinds of standards in mind – so I was really surprised and pleased with the quality of these camera-phone lenses. Shocked actually. They have sturdy housing and the optics are beautiful, smooth and without any unexpected artifact. The little lens caps fit perfectly. I love these little things. Quite fun! Good job to the manufacturer, I’m highly impressed!

It’s safe to say that for $10, you won’t be disappointed.

This iPhone lens will help you take better phone pics (REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo)

This iPhone lens will help you take better phone pics (REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo)

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