Olloclip has been many an iPhone 4/4S photographer’s best friend thanks to their 3-in-1 iPhone lens system. The company just released the Olloclip for the iPhone 5 and I had to rush out to see if it lives up to the glory that is its predecessor. The Olloclip for iPhone 5 is a “quick-change camera lens”. The unit consists of 3 lenses (housed in aircraft-grade aluminum) connected to a hard plastic mount. Using the Olloclip is very simple as it slides onto the corner of the iPhone 5 nearest its forward-facing camera. The Olloclip holds very well and, despite lots of shaking and bumping, it stayed in place without issue. The unit features 3 lenses: A wide angle lens, fish eye lens, and macro focus lens. Switching between them is a simple matter of taking off the Olloclip and re-attaching it with whatever lens you want to use next to the iPhone’s camera lens. The exception being when you wish to switch to the Olloclip’s macro lens. To do so, you need to unscrew the wide angle lens. This leaves you holding a very small lens while also trying to use your iPhone 5 as a camera. I would suggest keeping the included velvet bag (with cinch) close by. Additionally, Ollolclip has included two lens caps in the box for the wide angle and fish eye lenses.
Here are some photos shot with the Olloclip’s various lenses:
Stock iPhone 5 Lens
Olloclip Wide Angle Lens
Olloclip Fish Eye Lens
Olloclip Macro Lens
Olloclip Wide Angle Lens
Olloclip Macro Lens
Olloclip Fish Eye Lens
Here are two screen captures from a video made with our iPhone 5 – the difference is very noticeable:
iPhone 5 Stock Lens
Olloclip Wide Angle Lens
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Pros:
- Great for photographers as a backup camera system.
- iPhone 5 filmmakers will love the wide angle lens for a cinematic quality.
- Good build quality.[/wpcol_1half]
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Cons:
- It is easy to lose the wide angle lens when switching to the macro lens.
[/wpcol_1half_end]The Olloclip lenses added quality and a nice depth of field to all our images. Budding iPhone 5 filmmakers will benefit from the wide angle lens and photographers will obviously benefit from all three. Overall, the Olloclip for iPhone 5 is simply an amazing addition to any photographer’s arsenal. It provides a lot more flexibility when using your iPhone 5 for photography and is also a great fail-safe should anything happen to your primary camera. The Olloclip retails for $69.99 and is available now.
[easyreview title=”Olloclip for iPhone 5 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ] Our Rating Scores Explained
