Cell Phone add on Telephoto Lens

[BobBski]

I use my cell phone as a primary picture/video camera.  I've been very happy with the iPhone 6 picture quality but would love to be able to zoom more than the phone camera will.  In researching I've found several telephoto and wide angle clip on lenses.

Anyone have any good or bad experiences in using them???  Input appreciated.

 

[jimindenver]

I have the wide angle, fish eye and macro clip on lenses. They do what they say they will do but I would not compare them with real lenses on a real camera. Depending on the quality of a telephoto lens I would expect the need to be extremely steady as the lens will likely darken the frame and require longer shutter times. Anything with a quality build and glass elements is going to cost the bucks.

 

[BobBski]

Thanks for that. Do to the onset of shakey hands most of my pictures/videos are taken with the phone mounted and using a Bluetooth remote clicker lol

 

[gargoyle]

I just bought a lens kit off ebay or amazon..
The theory is good, the actual product is fiddly and really not that great.
I bought a kit containing the zoom, macro, and fish eye lens' and the adapter, a stand, and a pic-stic.
I can not get good alignment on the big zoom lens, especially if the phone is in the case. I have to remove the case to get a decent fit. But it still is very fiddly. Then put the phone back into the case.

You have to align the lens VERY carefully.

With the "editor" feature on the phones nowadays, I can crop, zoom etc with just the phone and get almost the same results.

IMO, No, the kit is not worth it.

 

[TrainChaser]

I heard a guy who worked at the same place as I did tell his younger associate: "Stop farting around trying to do a fast job with a (make-do?) tool. We've got all the tools we need right here, so use the right one and do it right".

A phone is a phone and a camera is a camera. You'll have noticed that no one seems to have tried to turn a Nikon camera into a phone.

 

[BobBski]

Your opinion is appreciated but in my case I do own a quality digital camera for important pictures. The cell phone in this case is the proper tool as it's extremely faster to take and send a photo to members of my family, post on here or as recent as last week an immediate accident photo to the Alaska State troopers when a young lady hit a moose. My objective is not to have the best photo taken but to take decent photos to immediately post/send. All the best to ya.

 

[SternWake]

A real camera is not so convenient to have with one when needed.

I have held up my smartphone to my binoculars but some precise alignment is required and the unchooseable shutter speed can increase the blur. Strong daylight is pretty much required, and the binoculars I used are Steiners 8x, top quality glass.

If I am carrying something Bulky, I'll bring the DSLR, and the phone