The best camera is undoubtedly the one you have with you, and there's a good chance nowadays that's a smartphone. But, while your phone can almost certainly take good photographs, it might need a little help to be the best camera it can be. Here Gizmag looks at some of the best smartphone camera accessories available in 2015.
With a couple of odd-ball exceptions, smartphone cameras use fixed focal length wide angle (around a 28-mm equivalent) lenses. This means zooming in on a subject involves using image-deteriorating digital zooms, or moving with your feet.
Olloclip has a number of affordable and versatile lens options for some of the most popular smartphone cameras. The most interesting are the 4-in-1 options for phones including iPhones and the Samsung Galaxy S4/S5. The phone-specific clip-ons give users a fisheye and wide angle, along with 10x and 15x macros lenses for close-up fun. Users flip the lenses around and screw in or detach them to select the effect they want.
Moment lenses are about the best quality optics you're likely to see gracing a smartphone. Two lenses offer wide angle or telephoto shooting and have great sharpness with minimal distortion or chromatic aberration. They work on iPhones (4 or later), and a selection of Android phones including the Samsung S4, S5, Note 3, Note 4, and the Nexus 5. The lenses attach via an included mounting plate to suit your phone, or in the case or the iPhone 6, the Moment case.
instaLens optics work with most smartphones and come in options including a wide-angle, super-wide, fisheye, telephoto, and polarizer. If you want to have a range of focal lengths covered with your smartphone camera, the instaLens lenses could be for you. The lenses, which start at around $40, mount to a phone using magnets and adhesive removable metal rings which stick around the phone's lens.
Smartphones are getting slimmer and shinier, which means they look great on your favorite gadget website. Unfortunately it also means they're not ideal when on camera duty, when you might need a bit better grip.
There are a variety of cases which promise to turn your smartphone into a better camera. They offer improved ergonomics, the ability to mount photography-centric accessories to it, and allow you you use the smartphone attached to a tripod.
The Klyp+ cases are the basis of the Klyp system which allows iPhone-ographers to use their smartphone more like a dedicated camera. The iPhone-centric cases offer more grip and also let users mount Manfrotto Klyp accessories. These include lenses, lights, and a tripod mount or kickstand. The latest version of the Klyp+ is compatible with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
The Moment case is another iPhone-centric (6 or 6 Plus) case which allows users to mount external lenses. But this one also has a couple of clever tricks up its sleeve. A multi-state Bluetooth shutter button enables more traditional DSLR-like shooting. Users can also connect a camera strap, and the case, which is due for release in July, works with the Moment App for better manual control over settings.
The Joby GripTight mount allows you to attach your smartphone to tripods and stands. The spring-loaded grip clamps around any smartphone and comes in three sizes to cover everything from smaller phones up to small tablets. It features rubber grip pads to hold devices, and on the bottom there's a standard thread for use with most tripods and stands. That said, Joby would rather you use one of its tripods which the GripTight mounts are often bundled with.
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