Photojojo phone lenses give your iPhone a new set of eyes

04.08.11 - canon macro telephoto lens

I've been a fan of Photojojo for a while. The site sells all sorts of fun and useful camera gear and gifts, things like an SLR Bokeh kit or a inexpensive point-and-shoot tilt-shift digital camera . When they offered to let TUAW try out a set of three phone lenses that give iPhone shooters a choice of different widths of field, I jumped on the chance. Here's how Photojojo's little lenses work on your iPhone for fun photography.

There are three lenses available -- one is a 2X telephoto, one is a 180° field-of-view fisheye lens, and the last is a wide angle/macro lens that helps to take those group photos and close-ups of bugs. The fisheye sells for US$25, the two other lenses for $20 each, or you can get the entire set for just $49.

Now we all know that our iPhones don't have a little bayonet mount for lenses, so how do these lenses actually mount on your iPhone? Easy -- there's a minuscule metal ring with sticky backing that you put around the rear camera lens on the iPhone (or iPad). Here's where a problem arises. If you have an iPhone 4, the ring gets glued right over the flash! That's not an issue for me since I rarely take flash photos, but for many people that could be a deal killer. On the plus side, the ring is thin enough that I was able to continue using my Mophie Juice Pack Air case, although I have to remove the top of the case to take photos. There are two of those magnetic rings included with each lens, as well as a pair of tiny lens caps to keep both ends of the lenses clean when not in use.

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