I was on holiday last week visiting a country I hadn’t seen before, so I wanted to have some good photos to remind me of this trip. I asked a guy to take a photo of me and my husband and handed him the camera. He took the object in his hands, looked at it from all angles like it was an ancient antique and said “Oh, a photo camera – you are old school, right ?” By the way, the guy was in his sixties.

So, it made me think… Is it really old school now ? Can we turn our phone into a professional camera and forget about heavy photo cameras, memory cards, camera chargers and so on ?

With the smartphones getting smarter each year, yes, we definitely can. We just need a couple of things to get – first thing on the list is the Phone Lens Kit !

We reviewed the best brands and selected the Top 5 iPhone Lens Kits that guarantee a good quality photos for a reasonable price.

# Picture Brand Price

1

Xenvo $34.99

2

Kaiess $21.99

3

Glisteny

$22.99

4 Apexel

$21.98

5 SimpLenz $19.79

 

Xenvo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Offering the best quality and compact size of the Lens Kit, Xenvo is the absolute winner here.

It can be used with iPhone, Samsung and various tablet models, including iPad.

What’s in the package ?

0.45x Wide Angle Lens

This lens will help your iPhone camera snap a wider range of what you see in the picture. No more half-headed people on your selfies. It basically captures 45% more compared to your phone camera alone. The lens is made of aircraft-grade aluminum and minimizes reflections and other defects that can ruin your shot. Keep in mind that this lens will give you a realistic view ( not Fish-eye effect ) and it is designed for expanding, not for zooming.

15x Macro Lens

You can use this lens to make stunning photos of close objects such as flowers, bugs, raindrops and others. If you remember the program on your camera that shows the symbol of a flower and is called “macro”, well, this is it.

The Clarus Macro Lens is designed for close objects only which means that if you want to get the best result, you have to place it no further than 1/2 inch from the object. You should not use it for distant objects trying to zoom in.

Now you can make the perfect photo of your eye without missing a line or color.

This lens is all about details so it will be of great use for make-up bloggers or professional reviewers of technical items.

Glowclip Rechargeable LED Fill Light

The LED Light will basically give more light to your pictures, something that all of us have struggled with.

It is quite annoying when you have to retake selfies in the disco because the people are so dark that you cannot recognize the faces.

Plus, the first picture is always the most natural one and we would prefer to have this one saved.

The LED Light has three modes and can be used together with the other two lenses.

On top of the three accessories above, you also get a Lens Clip, Quick-Release Lanyard, DuraCase, Cleaning Cloth and Lifetime Warranty.

I must say that it is not too bad for less than 35$.

Note that some phone cover cases might need to be taken off when using the lenses, for example the Otterbox Defender.

There is no issue to use though with Otterbox Commuter though.

 

 

 

 

Kaiess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaiess Lens Kit contains 9 items and is compatible with iPhone X/8/7/6s/6 Plus, Samsung and any Android phone.

The kit weighs a little more than 5 ounces and is pretty much as big as a smartphone, so you can keep it in your pocket.

This is what you get :

0.36X Wide Angle Lens & 20X Macro Lens

0.63X Wide Angle Lens & 15X Macro Lens

I described what the Wide and Macro Lenses are used for in the first item description. Kaiess provides two of these but with different characteristics.

198° Fisheye Lens

Fisheye effect is usually used for funny shots. It is good if you are in a small room and want to get as much as you can in your picture but cannot move far enough.

2X TelephotoLens

This lens is used for zooming and it is good for portrait photos.

You can blur the background which will give the picture a nice professional touch.

CPL Lens

The CPL filter gives your pictures more or less sharpness, i.e. you can increase or decrease the contrast and remove light reflection for example giving the shoot a clear realistic feel.

Kaleidoscope Lens

The name of this lens speaks for itself but if you are still not sure what it is, it is the kind of vision you get after a few drinks.

And I don’t mean a few beers but more like vodkas. Yes, that’s it – you see the same object multiplied by the number of drinks you had.

Starburst lens

The Starburst effect is giving a nice snowflake shape to a light spot.

I guess you have seen what stars look like in fairy tales ?

What else you get ?

Universal clip, Lens Covers, Cleaning cloth, Protective Carrying Case, Carabiner, User Manual, Service Card

 

 

 

 

 

Glisteny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glisteny is another brand that offers a good value iPhone Lens Kit.

It includes 4 lenses and a few more accessories that you might find quite cool for your iPhone camera.

12x Telephoto lens

Note that Glisteny Telephoto lens zooms the object 12 times.

Compared to the other brands, this one really rocks.

On top of that, you can adjust the focus manually, just like you do on a professional camera.

0.67x Wide angle lens

The Wide angle lens is similar to Kaiess.

Macro lens

Standard Macro lens for getting clear details on close small objects.

180 degree Fisheye lens

The Fisheye lens covers a slightly smaller range compared to Kaiess.

Bluetooth remote shutter

Here is a little gadget that I love – the remote shutter lets you take cool selfies without holding the phone in your hand.

This little button is worth buying even if you don’t have the lenses as you can get as farther as 30 feet from the phone and still capture a photo.

Tripod

Do you often use your wallet, bag or a rock to put your phone onto while taking a picture ? I do and it is a hassle – most of the time the picture gives you the feeling that there was an earthquake at the time it was taken. The tripod is the perfect solution and is easy to use, not only for selfies but also when you are behind the lens.

You will also find these accessories in the package :

Lens Caps, Cleaning cloth, Big clip, Small clip, User manual, Pouch

 

 

 

 

 

Apexel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10x Telescope Lens

The Telescope Lens magnifies the object 10 times and also has a manual focus ring.

198 degree Fish Eye Lens

Fish Eye lens with the same range as Kaiess

0.63X Wide Angle Lens

When shooting pictures, the wide angle lens should be used in a wide-open area in order to get better photos. Note that when you receive the item, the wide angle lens and the macro lens are screwed together.

15X Macro Lens

The Macro lens is a standard one. When making photos with this lens make sure you are not blocking the light to the object.

Tripod

 

Bluetooth Camera Shutter Remote

Besides the lenses, the tripod and the remote shutter, these are the standard accessories included in the lens kit :

Universal Lens Clip, , Cleaning Cloth, Lens Cover, User Manual

And you also get some extras :

Phone Holder, Waterproof bag

 

 

 

 

 

SimpLenz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SimpLenz Lens Kit is the most basic and cheapest option as the package consists of 5 lenses and a case for them.

There is no tripod or button shutter included but that only makes the case more compact and easy to carry.

All lenses can be used on both the front and the back camera but again, some cover cases might have to be taken off the phone when using the lens.

The package includes standard lenses :

2x Telephoto, 0.63x Wide angle, 198 degree Fish Eye, 15x Macro  

 

 

 

 

Even though the iPhone Lens Kit can not give you all effects that you normally get with your camera, it surely offers the most used ones – zooming, macro and filters. The models that offer tripod and remote shutter are even cooler as you don’t need to ask random people to take pictures of you.

In fact, now that I have reviewed these cool gadgets, I will probably use the iPhone Lens Kit during my next trip as it offers everything I need to make stunning photos.

If you are looking for more portable gadgets for your phone, you can read our Top 5 Bluetooth Portable Foldable Keyboards for Your Phone or Tablet.