The best lenses for iPhone and Android phones can radically transform your smartphone photography. While smartphone camera arrays are getting better and better, there are still certain things beyond their physical limitations, and a clip-on lens, or even better, a full clip-on lens kit, can open up new shooting possibilities like macro, fisheye and telephoto.
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While the best camera phones now have multi-camera arrays that include ultra-wide, standard and telephoto lenses, it's the main camera that has the best sensor, and using an add-on lens with this may give better results than your phone's secondary cameras.
Add-on lenses are even more useful if you've picked up one of the best budget camera phones, as the camera array may be a fairly basic type, without the multiple lens options that tend to come on fancier, newer phones. You can pick up multiple clip-on lenses as a kit, or just shop for ones that conform to your particular interests: macro for close-up work, telephoto for action, anamorphic for filmmaking, etc.
The world of smartphone lenses is frequently changing, and manufacturers come and go. If you're just looking for a bit of snapping fun, there are plenty of cheap kits on the market that can delivery adequate results, but if quality is your aim, stick to a serious brand like ShiftCam or Moment.
ShiftCam recently debuted its photography kit of six lenses for smartphones, and we have to say we’ve been really impressed. The kit can be bought with dedicated mounts for iPhone 11 or iPhone 13, or there’s a universal lens mount accessory that’ll slide over most normal-sized smartphones (check the ShiftCam website for a full compatibility breakdown).
Keep in mind with these ShiftCam lenses that you will need a dedicated case or phone mount adaptor to attach them to your phone.
The lenses themselves are hugely impressive. The kit puts at your disposal an 18mm wide-angle, a 230° fisheye, a 1.33x anamorphic, a 60mm telephoto, a 75mm long-range macro and a 25mm traditional macro – all of which can be radically transformative for a phone camera. Some will be more useful than others; you’ll find yourself reaching for a telephoto or macro a lot more than an extreme fisheye. However, it’s still an immensely impressive kit, and well-priced too, for what you get. If you’re keen to seriously upgrade your smartphone’s camera rig, this is a fantastic all-in-one package for doing so.
Read more: ShiftCam lenses for iPhone hands-on review
If you're filmmaking with your phone, an anamorphic lens is the perfect inexpensive addition to give your footage that classy cinematic look. We really rate the Moment Anamorphic lens, which works with most recent iPhones or Android phones, as long as you have the right adapter. Locking securely in place, the anamorphic 1.33x lens produces images of impressive quality and is an ideal companion for any smartphone filmmaker.
Moment makes cases to fit a wide range of smartphones, and you will needed a dedicated Moment case or adapter before you can mount any Moment filters.
This two-in-one kit from Xenvo will work with the vast majority of smartphones, fitting snugly over cases to provide a quick and easy bolster to your image-making. The lenses included are a macro and a wide-angle; the macro is excellent, making smartphone close-up photography an impressive reality. The wide-angle is decent enough, though some users have noticed slightly smudging in the corners. Still, it’s a useful kit, and with an LED light included to add further versatility to your close-up work, this is a great way for a user on a budget to kick their smartphone photography up a notch.
If you like telephoto shooting, this is the last word in terms of reach. The Apexel 36x telephoto transforms your phone into a powerful long-distance shooter, and comes with a useful mini-tripod to ensure you can keep your shots stable.
It also has a remote shutter for capturing images at a distance; less useful when working with such a long lens, but it hardly hurts to have it, and the overall price of the kit is still pleasingly low.
It's not the highest-quality lens, with some users complaining of a little vignetting in images, but for the price and the uniqueness, it can't be beat.
Where most universal lens kits fit to phones with large clips, this solution from Nelomo employs a rubber-ended screw.
This means the lens mount can clamp to phones measuring between 7mm and 10mm thick, which caters for most recent handsets including the iPhone 8 and X, the Samsung Galaxy S9, and the Google Pixel 3.
The kit comes with three lenses, including a wide 230-degree fisheye, a ‘super wide angle’ lens, and a macro lens which offers the equivalent of a 15X zoom. There’s also a microfibre cleaning cloth and bag, plus a protective carry case and hook for clipping it to your backpack.
The only drawback here is how the lens mount might not clamp around your phone if it’s already wearing a thick case, given the 10mm thickness limit.
Perhaps the ultimate kit for any smartphone photographer, this bundle includes macro, 2x telephoto, fisheye, super-wide and ‘ultra-wide’ lenses, which cover most circumstances.
The protective carry case also includes Olloclip’s universal clip system for fitting lenses to almost any recent smartphone, and a grip mount for securing holding your smartphone while shooting landscape video.
This kit can also be purchased with dedicated lens mounts designed for the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, and the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8 and 8 Plus.
It’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for the complete package this could well be it.
Update: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Olloclip announced an indefinite hiatus to its operations, and currently has no plans to produce new lenses. The Multi-Device Filmer's Kit is still available in certainly retailers for now (and second-hand), but we're not sure how much longer that will continue to be the case.
This three-lens kit represents excellent value for money, as under £10. For that you get a fisheye lens, macro lens and wide-angle lens.
Conveniently, the lenses screw over the top of each other, making it quick and easy to switch between one and the other.
You’ll want to make sure you keep these lenses clean and scratch-free though, as when using the wind lens you’ll actually be shooting through both that and the macro lens underneath.
The kit comes with a carry pouch and the clip mechanism means the lens mount should fit most smartphones and tablets.
You could even fit it to the webcam above the screen of your laptop if you’re ever feeling creative during a Skype chat.
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