Last Updated on January 22, 2021 by Husain Parvez
Hooking up the best iPhone lens for video attachments can turn the smartphone nothing short of a full-blown DSLR camera. Here’s everything you need to know about the best iPhone camera lens kits to buy online right now for different photo effects.
Apart from allowing you to communicate freely, mobile is the ultimate multi-purpose gadget that is near you at all times. Becoming your hub for utility tools such as calendars and calculators, managing your finances with budgeting tools and banking apps, along with social media and streaming entertainment services such as Netflix – one mobile phone rules above them all.
Over time, improvements in mobile cameras have led to professional photographers flocking towards them, one of which is the iPhone. Ever since the first iPhone came out in 2007, it was hailed as a leap forward in mobile photography, and the trend has continued.
They say the best camera is the one you have on you at the right moment, but that’s not the only reason Apple iPhone’s camera is loved and adored. The combination of a premium lens and sensor, along with some serious muscle-flexing on software processing is what makes the iPhone camera surreal.
Up until the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple stuck to a single-lens camera, but the demand for the best iPhone lens for video isn’t exactly new. For years, mobile accessories manufacturers have presented iPhone camera lens attachments, allowing photography enthusiasts a chance to do more than what the standard iPhone camera could.
The iPhone 11 Pro is the first of its kind to hold a triple-lens setup, which covers all of the popular lenses for iPhone that users have requested for years. The wide-angle lens and the telephoto lens for the iPhone have been added, but what about the macro lens for the iPhone to get those up close and personal shots?
Apart from zoom lenses for iPhone, photographers also love other iPhone lens attachments for fish-eye and bring the telephoto lens for iPhone to older models that don’t have the hardware built-in.
Best iPhone Lens for Video in 2021
Moment Tele 58mm Lens – Best iPhone Telephoto Lens
Spearheading the era of mobile photography, Moment is among the more affluent names in the iPhone lens accessories. Providing a range of lenses, the Moment Tele 58mm has been a best-seller for the brand, built for 4K quality videos worth mainstream production.
Build Quality: The housing of the telephoto iPhone lens by Moment is crafted from aerospace aluminum to keep it light, yet durable. Speaking of the lens, you get a hand-polished glass film which is provided with a lens cap, microfiber cloth for cleaning, and a carrying bag.
Features: Designed to offer a telephoto zoom of 2x from edge to edge, Moment Tele 58mm can be attached to the phone’s native telephoto lens to achieve a 115mm lens. Along with the Moment Case (purchased separately), the lens adheres firmly to the phone’s camera.
Device support: The Moment Telephoto lens is designed to work not just with the iPhone, but OnePlus, Google Pixel, and Samsung Galaxy smartphones too.
Apexel 36X HD Telephoto Lens – Best Telescopic iPhone Lens
Apple might be showing off the 2X Telephoto lens on the iPhone 11 Pro as if it’s the greatest ever, but here’s Apexel stepping it up with the 36X HD Telephoto Lens. Offered with a tripod and clamp to keep the smartphone in place, this telescopic zoom lens for the iPhone is ideal for bird-watching, sporting events, and viewing distant objects.
Build Quality: The lens itself is crafted out of aluminum which durable and lightweight at the same time. Premium optical glass for the lens combined with an EVA rubber lens clip ensures stability and protection for the lens as well as the iPhone when it is mounted.
Features: The impressive 36X telephoto lens allows viewing objects as far as 3000 meters away, with a high-quality tripod and clip. Added stability along with a sharp lens makes it one of the best iPhone lens for video and long-range photography.
Device support: The design of the Apexel 36X HD Telephoto Lens is such that you can mount any iPhone or Android phone on it. Make sure that the circular hole of the lens is aligned to the primary camera lens of the smartphone for the best results.
Moment 18mm Wide Lens – Premium Wide Angle iPhone Lens
Adding to its arsenal of premium quality mobile photography lenses, Moment brings to you the 18mm Wide Lens, which unlocks the limits of creativity and outdoor photography. Giving you the ability to capture more of the environment in a single shot, the lens is crafted to perfection with no fisheye distortion around the corners.
Build Quality: Similar to all the other iPhone camera lenses from Moment, aerospace aluminum is used in its construction. A high-tech film with a hand-polished glass lens adds to the quality of every picture clicked with it.
Features: Offering edge to edge clarity and sharpness on every photo captured with the Moment 18mm Wide Lens, you get almost twice the picture size.
Device support: The Moment Case is sold separately to support the lens attachment, and is available for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and OnePlus smartphones.
Xenvo Pro Lens – Budget Ultra Wide Lens for iPhone
While it may not be backed by a legacy brand name, Xenvo has risen through the ranks as one of the best wide angle lenses for mobiles. Offering a lifetime warranty on the product, the Xenvo Pro Lens comes with plenty of accessories to keep the lens protected, and improve photography with an LED for better lighting.
Build Quality: The Xenvo Lens is crafted out of Aluminum for added sturdiness, while the clip itself is made from premium polymer plastic. The ultra-wide-angle lens, as well as the macro lens attachments, are fitted with polished glass with curved edges and no cheap vignette effect.
Features: The main feature is the 0.45X Wide Angle Lens that adds more pictures to each shot, along with a 15X Macro Lens which is swiveled right under it. The TruGrip Lens Clip keeps the entire contraption in place firmly, while the Glowclip brings soft light to your object of focus, improving the overall quality of the shot.
Device support: Apart from a suitable case, lens covers, and the glowing light, the TruGrip Clip itself allows you to use the Xenvo Pro Lens with any iPhone model, or even Android phone for that matter, as long as you adjust it properly over the primary camera lens.
Sony DSC-QX10/B – Premium iPhone Lens Camera
If you’ve got the budget to take up a full-blown camera lens that wirelessly connects to your iPhone or Android for DSLR quality photography on the go, then Sony DSC-QX10 is the one to buy. Allowing your mobile phone to become a powerful 10X Zoom camera in an instant, complete wireless connectivity allows you to create and share social media gold in minutes.
Build Quality: Crafted out of premium quality aluminum for rigidity, and world-renowned Sony lenses and sensor for surreal photography, the Sony DSC-QX10 works independently of the phone’s camera.
Features: The high-end 18MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor allows the production of high definition images even in low-light conditions. The 10X optical zoom of the telephoto lens can beat the native iPhone 11 Pro camera any day, while automatic adjustments allow you to take wide-angle, macro, and even outdoor pictures with ease.
Device support: Wi-Fi and NFC wireless connectivity allows you to easily share pictures with your smartphone for editing. The device is supported by all iPhone variants and Android OS devices.
Olloclip Macro Pro Lens – Best iPhone Macro Lenses
Being around since the days of iPhone 4 has given Olloclip an advantage in the space of best iPhone camera lenses, which is how it has mastered the art of mobile macro photography. Offering a single-point solution for all those up close and personal pictures, the Olloclip Macro Pro Lens a total of 5 different macro levels, along with fisheye effects too.
Build Quality: Maintaining the highest standards of design and build materials, high-density glass optics, combined with aluminum braces for the lens. The clip itself, along with the InstaFocus Hood is built out of premium polymer plastic for durability.
Features: Since macro photography is all about keeping the object in focus, a stabilizer handle with a smooth swivel is included, which allows you to capture images in 7X, 10X, 14X, 15X, and a whopping 21X as well.
Device support: The official support for the Olliclip Pro Lens extends to iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and the iPhone SE 2020 edition. There’s also a Bluetooth trigger included making macro photography as good as it can be on a phone.
ULANZI 1.33X Pro Lens – Best Anamorphic Lens for iPhone
Up until now, anamorphic lenses have been reserved for movie production quality cameras to take those wide angle cinematic shots. The ULANZI 1.33X Pro Lens brings a capable and affordable iPhone anamorphic lens for a letterbox look, supporting multiple devices and built with quality and precision in mind.
Build Quality: The entire boxed camera lens is crafted masterfully out of aviation-grade aluminum, with the 17mm filter adapter that works flawlessly with the hand-grained optical lens.
Features: The ULANZI 1.33X Pro Lens brings a character ratio of 2:4:1 for a wider focal length horizontally, as well as vertically. Supporting popular mobile videography apps such as Filmic Pro makes it one of the best iPhone lens for video shooting.
Device support: ULANZI anamorphic lens is designed to work not just with the iPhone, but all of the popular Android smartphones as well.
CoPedvic 22X Telephoto Lens – Budget All-in-One Lens
There is an ocean of cheap and unworthy mobile lens attachments by the dozen to be found online, but CoPedvic manages to distinguish itself based on quality alone. The CoPedvic camera lens combo is the perfect budget starter kit for any beginner, with a slew of attachments for telephoto, macro, wide angle, and fisheye photography.
Build Quality: Despite being a fraction of the price compared to the premium brands, the lenses are crafted out of aluminum, with an aluminum tripod, high-density polymer for the clip attachment, and a carrying case for all of it is included too.
Features: The 25X macro lens is capable of taking surreal shots, and while the 22X telephoto lens may have a fixed focus, but does a good job of magnifying distant objects. The 0.67X Wide Angle lens captures more per image, while the 205-degree fisheye effects add a new dimension to every captured moment.
Device support: Owing to the attachment clip style of the lens kit, along with a tripod, you can use the CoPedvic camera lens with any iPhone variant or Android OS smartphone.
Olloclip Filmer’s Kit – Best Camera Lens Kit for iPhone
Whether you’re a YouTuber who lives off vlogging or an Instagram celeb who always needs special effect cameras around for a viral post, Olloclip has you covered. Rather than picking the lenses one by one, the Olloclip Filmer’s Kit includes the best in class lenses, packed into a single case that is easy to carry around at all times.
Build Quality: The lenses are crafted out of aluminum for a premium look and feel, along with the Olloclip Pendant Stand for the different iPhone models, a robust pivot, universal phone clamp, and a mounting clip for GoPro as well.
Features: The Fisheye lens included with the kit comes with no vignette on the edges, the wide-angle offers an extended field of view, the macro lens comes with 15X capacity, and the telephoto lens offers sharp and vibrant 2X zoom.
Device support: Although the initial offering was made for the iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and the iPhone SE 2020, the clip is flexible enough to fit on other smartphones too.
KEYWING iPhone Lens Kit – Multi-Lens iPhone Kit
For those who are looking to get the best iPhone lens for video effects and not high-production videography, KEYWING lens kit might be a good fit. Backed by hundreds of stellar customer reviews, the iPhone lenses kit comes with a total of 9 different attachments to choose from, with a case for easy storage and carrying.
Build Quality: The base quality of the lenses is decent, with aluminum construction all around, although the glass lenses itself isn’t the best of the lot. The clip is universally applicable and comes with rubber feet to prevent the phone screen from scratching.
Features: You get a 0.35X super wide and a 0.63X wide angle lens for reasonably extended photos. The 20X, 15X, macro lens makes for great close-ups, while the telephoto, fisheye, starburst, kaleidoscope, and CPL lenses add a splash of glamor to your shots.
Device support: Intended to be a universal mobile camera lens kit, the KEYWING 9 in 1 lens comes with a sturdy clip-on attachment, allowing you to draft the lenses on any iPhone version of Android mobile phone.
How to take good photos with an iPhone
The fact of the matter is that the iPhone is a master at photography, which is the result of quality hardware and even better post-image processing. However, even with the click and snap ability to take pictures, there are a few tips you should take into practice when capturing photos on an iPhone.
Enable HDR Auto – The High Dynamic Range also called HDR, is a software-based photography feature that is built into most modern smartphones. Also present on the iPhone, HDR allows you to capture images with high contrast, without distorting the light and dark parts of the picture. Set the feature on auto by opening the Camera app, tapping on HDR on the top bar, and selecting the Auto option.
Use the Exposure Meter – Although the iPhone camera does a decent job of managing shutter exposure in most cases, you might need to make some manual adjustments at times. When you’re about to take a photo with the Camera app, tap on the focus square to see the exposure slider appear on the right. Use the slider to adjust the exposure (brightness) of the image and hit the shutter button once you’re satisfied.
Use Volume for Shutter – The ability to simply tap the screen and snap a picture is convenient, but since the iPhone is fairly slim, tapping on the screen while capturing a photo can cause unwanted shakiness. When using the Camera app, you can press the Volume Up button as a physical shutter button to snap a photo, giving you a better grip on the iPhone and avoiding the mobile phone from shaking.
Burst Mode for Action – Capturing the perfect fleeting moment, when you’re either snapping the kids running around in the park, or a sports car zooming across the street, needs the Burst Mode. To use this feature, all you need to do is focus on the target, press the shutter button, and keep pressing it to activate the Burst Mode, which later allows you to review and keep the best shots from the bunch.
Use AE/AF Lock – Whether you’re trying to get a close-up shot for some macro photography, or want to point the focus towards a particular subject in the frame, there a feature to help with it. Launch the Camera app on your iPhone, focus on the subject until you see the AE/AF Lock alert appear, which means that the focus meter is locked on your subject.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do iPhone camera lenses actually work?
The reason DSLR cameras have become popular in the first place is the range of lens attachments that you can buy for them. Shutterbugs should be more than satisfied with the camera quality of the iPhone, and the best camera lens kits in the market only add to that glory. Depending on the iPhone model you own, it may be limited to the camera modes, and can’t make the most out of features such as wide-angle, telephoto zoom, macro shots, and fisheye effects. With the help of iPhone camera lenses, you can gain all of these photography features in an instant and although it might not be as accurate in terms of picture reproduction as the iPhone 11 Pro, for a few extra bucks, you get the feature of the latest iPhone.
What are the 3 cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro?
The iPhone 11 may not be the first iPhone to bring a dual-camera setup, but the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max did set the precedent with a triple-camera layout.
- Wide camera with a 12 MP lens that holds an f/1.8 aperture and supports optical image stabilization (OIS).
- The 12 MP Ultra-wide camera lens with an aperture of f/2.4 that offers a total 120-degree field of view.
- A 2x Telephoto camera with an aperture of f/2.0 that includes OIS for added stability when shooting videos.
Which is the best iPhone camera lens for video with multiple lenses?
While there are plenty of contenders for budget iPhone lenses online, we recommend the universally fitting Olloclip Multi-Device Clip. The brand has been around since the days of the iPhone 4, and unlike most of the other premium lens attachments for iPhone that force you to buy a case accessory along with it, the Olloclip can be used universally not just with the iPhone, but any phone for that matter. Priced at around $100, you get three different camera lenses for iPhone with it – Fisheye, Super Wide Angle, and Macro.
Final Words
Back in the day when mobile cameras were barely equipped to shoot Full-HD content, clip-on lenses seemed nothing more than a gimmick. However, with the Apple iPhone setting records for photography with every new release, an entire breed of the high-quality zoom lens for iPhone, and even telephoto lens for iPhone X and older models has made its way to the market. Whether you’re short on the budget to invest in a really good DSLR camera, or want to give it a try on the iPhone before you make a significant investment, the best clip iPhone camera lenses are a good place to start.
Which of these best iPhone camera lenses for video and photography would you put your money on to get some outstanding pictures? If we missed out on any of the other commendable iPhone camera lenses that should be on the list, be sure to mention them in the comments section.
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