In order to take a successful photo with the iPhone from medium to long distances, you need a telephoto lens. Apple only provides the Pro versions of its smartphones with a triple camera on the back. In the current 14th generation of Apple smartphones, this is also limited to an optical zoom of up to three times.
If you want to get even closer, you can use the iPhone’s digital zoom. However, this only works at the expense of the image quality. If this has to be preserved, telephoto lenses for the iPhone can help. And that’s not all: Telephoto lenses also allow photographers creative options in the form of making the background of the photographed object appear more massive. And that’s exactly what can create an incomparable look.
One thing in advance: No matter how good the photo quality of current iPhones may be, it cannot completely replace a professional camera – even if it works with an external telephoto lens. An iPhone does not inherently offer a camera bayonet (or mount) to which a professional camera lens could be attached.
There is currently only one manufacturer that solves this problem: Beastgrip has developed a frame for iPhones to which photographers can attach an adapter that connects to Canon EF lenses. All of this is expensive fun and more interesting for professional work with the iPhone.
Ordinary mortals can choose from two other options: either they choose a lens with a clip mount or they buy a case for their smartphone that has a small mounting system for lenses on the camera. The advantage of the clip holder is high flexibility and a lower price. Unfortunately, the disadvantage is that the clip lenses tend to slip.
iPhone cases with a small mount system solve the slipping problem – although it is questionable to what extent this problem occurs in practice. When taken handheld, the telephoto lens photo sometimes becomes blurry quickly, which is why iPhone photographers should attach their smartphone to a cell phone tripod or gimbal when working with telephoto lenses. Another disadvantage of combining a case and lens is that photographers are limited to lenses from just one manufacturer.
Let’s first look at Beastgrip’s ideal solution. The core of the rig is the Beastgrip Pro, which the manufacturer prices at 135 euros on its official website. This is a frame into which the iPhone is clamped. Attention: Depending on which iPhone you use, you will need additional adapters for the cameras if you want to pair your iPhone with an older Beastgrip Pro. The latest model, on the other hand, includes all models from the eleventh to the current generation. In addition to the expensive frame, you also need the matching adapter in the form of the Beastgrip DOF Adapter MK2 (currently sold out) for just under 260 euros.
Photographers attach the adapter to their Beastgrip. It has an EF mount where you can attach EF lenses. If you now plan to pair a particularly long telephoto lens with the iPhone, you should invest another 116 euros for the BeastRail Support DOF adapter to stabilize the iPhone set-up. Total costs: 511 euros – without lens and tripod. To achieve this, photographers take by far the best zoomed photos with the iPhone. Of course, this investment only makes sense if you already have the right lenses and want to produce professional photos with your iPhone.
Beastgrip not only offers expensive, fully professional equipment, but also medium-priced equipment for ambitious photographers in the form of the Beastcage. This is an iPhone case to which the manufacturer’s own lenses can be attached. In a package with a telephoto lens, this is an investment of around 230 euros. This makes Beastgrip one of the more expensive providers of this solution. By the way, the manufacturer sells its case individually for 135 euros and the telephoto lens for around 200 euros.
It also applies here that buyers want to have done more with the equipment at the end of the day than just a few snapshots. The main selling point of the iPhone case is the manufacturer’s extensive additional accessories, consisting of lenses, filters, tripods, microphones and lights. This should be interesting for vloggers and journalists who travel a lot and are interested in the highest quality images possible with the most mobile work material possible.
The lenses from the manufacturer Wolffilms, on the other hand, are in more reasonable price ranges. Buyers shell out around 100 euros for its 56mm 2X Tele Lens, and the matching iPhone case costs another 20 euros. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not yet offer a model for the iPhone 14. This is where the in-house clipper for the lenses makes sense. This means that photographers can travel much more flexibly when it comes to future smartphones. Wolffilms also offers all kinds of accessories for its lenses such as tripods and filters
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For all of those, the telephoto lenses from Apexel are more interesting, as they are also a bit cheaper. The manufacturer’s highlight is to provide its clip lenses directly with a small tripod. This is also very necessary, because with a zoom of up to 40x, the photos become blurry very quickly when taken handheld. iPhone photographers should also note that handling a telephoto lens is not always easy.
It is usually not possible to take photos handheld, at least not with the autofocus set, which tends to readjust itself if there are small wobbles. To do this, the lens must be placed very precisely on the smartphone lens, otherwise the edges of the photo will remain dark. Speaking of light: Taking photos in low light with a telephoto lens for your smartphone would be almost impossible without a tripod and an external photo app where you can set the exposure time.
Except for the professional system from Beastgrip, telephoto lenses for the iPhone are not yet fully developed. They serve more as a gimmick and there is a relatively high chance that they will end up gathering dust in a drawer. It makes more sense for ambitious iPhone photographers to use an iPhone case with lenses. They offer real added value to capture your next city trip even better.
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