Outex Phone Pro Dome Kit review

Can your smartphone take pro-quality underwater images? Worth taking a dive?

Outex Phone Pro Dome Kit
(Image: © Adam Juniper/Digital Camera World)

Digital Camera World Verdict

The Outex Phone Pro kit, especially with the dome lens option, turns a smartphone into an exciting underwater photography tool. It’s not cheap, but it opens possibilities even a dedicated action camera can’t manage. It feels like a professional accessory, with some time needed to set up, but the results are top-notch.

Pros

  • +

    Universal fit means you can use with multiple phones

  • +

    Dome corrects optical distortion from water

  • +

    Able to capture cool ‘half-in, half-out’ shots

  • +

    Touchscreen works through phone case

Cons

  • -

    Dome version is a significant investment

  • -

    Neoprene glass case could be a bit bigger to protect glass.

  • -

    The cloudy plastic means screen visibility isn’t perfect

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Outex has long been manufacturing underwater housings to allow photographers to take their cameras under the water, or out in aggressive weather. Outex’s approach is a flexible skin for the device, with an optical glass dome so the image quality isn’t compromised (offered in both flat or dome options). It’s a patented design that leaves access to camera controls and viewfinder, and now it has created a new skin to fit many people’s best camera: the phone. On the face of it, that seems a great idea, but does it work? Also, given Outex’s pro glass is designed for full-sized lenses, are we looking at some serious overkill? We decided to find out in a nearby muddy pond!

Specifications

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Adam Juniper
Managing Editor

With over 20 years of expertise as a tech journalist, Adam brings a wealth of knowledge across a vast number of product categories, including timelapse cameras, home security cameras, NVR cameras, photography books, webcams, 3D printers and 3D scanners, borescopes, radar detectors… and, above all, drones. 

Adam is our resident expert on all aspects of camera drones and drone photography, from buying guides on the best choices for aerial photographers of all ability levels to the latest rules and regulations on piloting drones. 

He is the author of a number of books including The Complete Guide to Drones, The Smart Smart Home Handbook, 101 Tips for DSLR Video and The Drone Pilot's Handbook