Our early verdict
"A fun enhancement for Instagram addicts"
- Fun
- Easy to use
- Moderately priced
- Macro focus is tricky
- Blocks the lock button
Believe it or not, there's a world of iPhone photography beyond food, cats and one's own face. The iPhone 5 has a shockingly capable camera, and since the iPhone 5S can shoot 120fps for quality slow motion, so there's potential for real visual drama.
But
if you wan't an extreme close up you're still stuck with digital zoom
in all it's grainy glory. And forget about anything beyond the standard
horizontal, portrait and Instagram square shot.
That's
where the Olloclip 4-in-1 lens comes in. It's really lenses plural,
offering a fisheye, a wide-angle plus 10x and 15x macro lenses.
Slide on, slide off
Provided
you're not using a case or any sort of plastic film protector, the
4-in-1 slides easily right onto the corner of an iPhone 5 or 5s.
Olloclip also sells a case of its own, which gives you easy access to
the volume-as-shutter-button.
The 4-in-1 goes for $70 (£59.99),
$100 with the case included - sorry, I couldn't find British pricing for
the bundle, but the case alone is $39.99 (£44.99).
Once
in place it blocks the lock button. A slight bummer but the Olloclip
isn't the kind of thing you should keep on your phone once you've put it
away.
There's a separate 4-in-1 for the 5C, available in all five colors, of course.
The 4-in-1 also covers the flash, so you'll be brightening up your photos in post, if need be.
About face
The
Olloclip gets four lenses in one with a reversible design. To go from
fisheye to wide angle you just take it off, turn it around and put it
back on.
These
lenses also unscrew to reveal the macros. You're then holding a
somewhat delicate lens in your hand; luckily your Olloclip kit contains
both lens caps and soft little cinch bag.
iPhone photography, upgraded
It's
a handful of kit to keep track of, but the effect seems worth it. The
fisheye lens is fun in a DIY Terry Gilliam sort of way.
The wide-angle is more subtle. You really need a side by side comparison to tell the difference.
The
macros are fun and effective as well, but rather difficult to focus.
Olloclip also sells a dedicated set of macro only lenses, complete with
glass cups that keep your subject at a perfect focal length. It's a pity
these aren't included with the 4-in-1.
Early verdict
While
they are a bit of a bother, the effect of the Olloclip 4-in-1 will
tickled Instagram junkies. I'm keen to compare this $70 setup with the
much more expensive $229 iPro Lens for iPhone 5/5S.
We'll see if the Olloclip should be the go to for stepping up your
iPhone photography game, or just the budget option. Stay tuned for a
full review, coming soon, with video samples as well.
