10 Best Camera Lenses for iPhone of 2024 (Moment, Xenvo, and More)
With the advancement of phone technology, it has become easy for anyone to take beautiful photos with their mobile devices. No need for a heavy DSLR! However, there are still limitations to what a phone camera can do. If you're looking to up your creativity and maximize your phone's potential, attachable phone lenses are key! You can even use them to explore photography options before buying an actual camera.
Our number 1 pick for the best camera lens for your iPhone was Moment’s Wide Lens. We loved the quality of the lens and its reliability. Take a look below for more of our picks, along with our buying guide that will show you how to choose one!
Quick List - Top Camera Lenses For Iphone
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How to Choose Camera Lenses For Iphone
Choosing the right lens for your phone can be a difficult decision when there are so many options. But not every lens is the same, and there are multiple factors to consider, such as type of lens, quality, and extra accessories. We've prepared a handy buying guide for you that outlines what you should look for when picking your perfect lens!
Pick the Right Kind of Lens
The first decision you will have to make is what you want to take pictures of. Different lenses are suitable for different subjects, and not all lenses come with everything included. Here, we’ll go over common lens types for your phone.
Wide-Angle Lenses to Fit More in the Picture
Wide-angle lenses make your field of view wider with their shorter focal length. They fit more into your picture than a standard lens and can exaggerate features in the photo when taking pictures of people or animals.
They are most often used for landscape, travel, or architectural photography and are a great lens to start with. They're simple to use and expand the view of existing standard camera lenses.
Telephoto Lenses to Get into the Middle of the Action
These lenses look exactly like small telescopes – which is quite telling of their purpose. They make objects in the distance look closer than they are.
Telephoto lenses are often used for sports, wildlife, and portrait photography. The final picture has the effect of looking like you're actually inside the scene of the photo! It's best to use a tripod with telephoto lenses to get rid of blur, as they are often quite heavy.
Fisheye Lenses for Funky Pictures
Fisheye lenses are purposely distorted to make a spherical image of what you're trying to capture. They're used for creative purposes, with the subject of the photo being more distorted the closer you get.
You can find different degrees of fisheye lenses. The degrees refer to the degrees of a sphere and how much you will be able to see of the scene pictured in your photo. Most often, fisheye lenses will be 180 degrees, which makes the final image look like half of a globe.
Macro Lenses for Close-up Details
Super close-up pictures of plant life, animals, or materials are taken with macro lenses. These lenses act like microscopes – they take pictures that focus on super-fine details of a subject and make them large enough to see with the naked eye.
You’ll want a tripod for macro lenses, as the closer you are to a subject, the more you’ll need to be stable to avoid blur in the photo.
Zoom Lenses for Adjustability
A zoom lens is used for its adjustable zoom feature. It has a range of focal lengths, allowing you to get close to your subject at varying degrees without having to be physically close to them.
You may think that the zoom on your phone is the same thing – but it really isn’t. A zooms lens gets close to the subject with optical zoom, while your phone camera uses digital zoom.
With digital zooming, you are essentially cropping a part of an image and making it bigger. This makes your photo more pixelated the closer you get, as it doesn’t read the finer details.
Anamorphic Lenses for Film-Making
For any video-takers out there, you’ll want to consider an anamorphic lens. They make your videos super widescreen and have distinct optical effects like horizontal lens flares and an oval bokeh. It also has better depth of field than a standard lens.
Bokeh refers to the blur of out of focus parts of an image. A lens flare is when stray lights create distinctive streaks on your photo. Depth of field is how in focus a scene is.
Think of widescreen films you’ve watched in a movie theater; an anamorphic lens is often what is used to make those effects. These lenses aren’t limited to videos, however. You can also use them to take photos, albeit with more creative aspects to them.
Find a Compatible Lens That's Easy to Install
Before purchasing a lens, you’ll want to make sure that it is easy to install and compatible with your phone. Phone lenses come in two types: clip-on or case. Here are the pros and cons of each.
Clip-on Lenses for All-Encompassing Compatibility
With clip-on cameras, a clip, not unlike a clothes pin, is provided that grips onto your phone. You will need to position it over your existing camera phone, then attach the chosen lens onto the clip. Positioning the lens perfectly can take practice, but clip-ons fit almost all phones, no matter the brand or version.
This method is also convenient and doesn’t require any extra products to be bought for the lenses to work. However, clip-on lenses can scratch the phone screen or shell because of the way it is placed onto the phone. The grips on the clips can also loosen over time.
In addition, many makers also recommend taking off your case before using the lens for better grip and less distortion. There are a few lenses than can be used with cases on, so make sure to check the product descriptions before purchasing!
Overall, clip-on lenses are able to be easily installed onto most phones and are good for people who want to test out different lens styles hassle-free.
Case Lenses for Easy and Foolproof Installation
Other manufacturers make lenses that are built to fit into a patented case. This has its own advantages, such as lens stability, less likelihood of scratching the phone, and always being able to install a lens whenever you choose. The lens is usually screwed into position on a notch in the phone case, which is fitted perfectly for the phone.
It can be cumbersome if you don’t like the case since you'll have to take off and put on the case constantly. You will also have to buy a case, which means that for newer phone models, you will have to wait until the manufacturer develops a new case. The company’s lenses will be the only ones compatible with the case.
Since case lenses are more stable and built to precisely fit, they install easily and quickly, and they take pictures with less distortion, as the lenses are perfectly placed on top of the camera by way of case design.
Consider Extra Features
Lenses don't always come by themselves. They might come with convenient accessories, such as filters, tripods, or carrying cases.
Consider How Many Lenses You Want
Lenses can come in single packs or in whole kits. Make sure to ask yourself how many lenses you want before buying.
Kits are better for those who want to test out a lot of different kinds of effects. They sometimes even come with extra devices, such as tripods, or remote buttons for taking group pictures or selfies! Kits come in a variety of sizes, so you’ll want to pick and choose your top lens types before buying.
In the case of single lenses, less is sometimes more. Single lenses are often sold by themselves because they have been optimized for their specific purpose. If you know exactly what kind of lens you want and what type of photography you want to do, then a single less is a better investment.
Regardless of which you go with, make absolutely sure that it is compatible with your phone first!
Make it Easy to Travel With
As a phone lens is an attachment that adds weight to your device, you’ll want to check if the product includes a pouch, case, or lanyard so that you can carry it easily when you travel around. A lens cap is also a must, as any scratches you get on the lens will significantly deteriorate photo quality. It’s a plus if a lens cleaner is included!
You want to be able to safely put away your lens so you won’t lose it and so that it won’t get damaged in your carry pack.
10 Best Camera Lenses For Iphone Ranking
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Moment Wide Lens｜5647442227 | | A Professional Grade Wide-Angle Lens | |
2 | Moment Tele 58mm Lens｜6598547917 | | A Telephoto Lens Perfect for Portraits | |
3 | Moment Anamorphic Lens | | Cinema Quality Images for Your Phone | |
4 | CoPedvic Phone Camera Lens Kit｜PLK-01 | | A Full Lens Kit With Many Uses | |
5 | Xenvo Pro Lens Kit｜WML-45 | | Lenses That Can be Carried and Removed Easily | |
6 | AOMAIS Pro Camera Lens Kit | | A Lens Kit With Extra Layers of Protection | |
7 | ANGFLY Phone Camera Lens Pro｜4351497131 | | A Sleek Aspherical Lens Kit | |
8 | Criacr Phone Camera Lens (Upgraded Version)｜US-CP4 | | Versatile Lenses That Can Be Used Separately | |
9 | Apexel 10 in 1 Lens Kit｜DG10shutter | | A Lens Kit With an Abundance of Extras | |
10 | Ailun 3 in 1 iPhone Lens｜FBA_4326546151 | | A Kit With Extra Padding for Your Single Lens Device |
MomentWide Lens ｜ 5647442227
A Professional Grade Wide-Angle Lens
Starting off as a Kickstarter in 2013, Moment has become one of the most well-known brands for quality phone lenses. Their wide lens is the standard, offering 2 times more width to your image and packaged in 4K high-quality film-standard glass.
Their lenses are only compatible with their phone cases, but they offer a range of sleek designs that are compatible with iPhone versions 7 and up.
Some reviewers wished that the lens came with an extra lens cap to protect the rear end when detached from the phone. However, many more reviewers loved how quick and easy it is to install the lens and how premium it felt.
MomentTele 58mm Lens ｜ 6598547917
A Telephoto Lens Perfect for Portraits
With this telephoto lens by Moment, you will get 2 times more zoom power. It's also been optimized for the newest phones on the market. On the iPhone, if combined with the Moment Pro Camera application, you can even zoom up to 4 times what your built-in camera can do!
Reviewers found that this lens blocks the phone's flash, making it hard to use at night. However, being able to take portrait photos outside of portrait mode, plus the addition of natural bokeh* when using the lens made it a favorite for many of the reviewers.
*Note: Bokeh is the aesthetic blur produced on out-of-focus parts of the photo.
MomentAnamorphic Lens
Cinema Quality Images for Your Phone
Despite being the only anamorphic lens on the list, this high-quality product is perfect for people looking to add a cinematic touch to their photos or videos. It gives you the quality of a 2.40:1 ultra-wide format movie with more clarity in each pixel.
The addition of this lens helps you express more depth in the photo and captures the vastness of the environment you're shooting. You'll need the extra Moment phone application in order to de-squeeze the videos or photos; otherwise, they'll look vertically elongated.
One reviewer mentioned that there was a lack of clear instructions on how to mount the lens correctly. Once fitted, however, reviewers loved how this lens gave the same coverage as the wide-angle lens but didn't bend the sides of the shot.
A Full Lens Kit With Many Uses
This kit comes with 4 lenses: a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The fisheye lens distorts images by 205 degrees - the biggest amount on our list. As a bonus, the telephoto lens even doubles as a telescope when it isn't mounted on the phone! For more clear and stable images, a tripod is also included.
A few reviewers found the telephoto lens to be hard to use, as it requires stabilization to take good shots. They recommended not using the lens for sports pictures. Other reviewers loved how the carrying case had cut-outs for each piece to fit snugly in and how the lenses helped them take consistently good pictures, even if they were amateurs.
XenvoPro Lens Kit ｜ WML-45
Lenses That Can be Carried and Removed Easily
This lens kit includes both a carrying case and a handy lanyard for carrying your lenses. The part of the lanyard that attaches to the lens clip is easy to take on and off the cloth necklace for quick and easy access.
Just snap the clip off, attach the lens to your phone, then use. Once you're done, remove the lens from the phone and snap it back onto the necklace! These lenses work with all single and dual-camera lens smartphones.
Reviewers didn't like how they had to leave the two lenses attached to each other in order to fit them into the carrying case. However, they enjoyed the addition of an LED light, how easy it was to access instructions for the devices, and how friendly and helpful customer service was.
A Lens Kit With Extra Layers of Protection
These lenses are made with high-quality glass and layers of nano-clear coating that reduce corrosion, improve scratch resistance, and make them easier to maintain. They attach to all phones, including dual-lens ones! For easy carrying, a lanyard and carry case are included, and there's an LED light with multiple color tones and two intensities.
Reviewers thought these lenses were heavier than other brands but found the additional LED light to be exceptionally useful. Of all the lenses, the macro lens was a particular favorite. It worked well even with older phones, such as the iPhone 6.
A Sleek Aspherical Lens Kit
Angfly's Lens Kit utilizes aspherical lenses, which are designed to take in light and focus them more precisely into a single focal point. This makes color contrast in the photo clearer than typical spherical style lenses. The package comes with two different clips for your phone, ensuring that the lenses will fit over your existing camera.
Reviewers noted that they needed to remove their phone cases to get the best use out of the lenses. However, they loved how the kit comes with lens caps for both sides of the lenses, how stable the tripod was, and how wide and detailed their photos became after using the lenses.
CriacrPhone Camera Lens (Upgraded Version) ｜ US-CP4
Versatile Lenses That Can Be Used Separately
Unlike many other lens kits, Criacr's lenses are all used separately. This means you don't have to be careful of what order you screw in the lenses to make them work! It also comes with lens caps for both sides of each lens, meaning you won't have to worry about scratches when storing them.
Some reviewers were disappointed that the package did not include a user manual and how the wide-angle lens was susceptible to lens flare. Overall, though, many users loved how the lenses were small, lightweight, and easy to carry.
Apexel10 in 1 Lens Kit ｜ DG10shutter
A Lens Kit With an Abundance of Extras
This kit comes with so many accessories! Besides the standard wide-angle, macro, telephoto, and fisheye lenses, it also comes with 4 different filters and a kaleidoscope lens for you to express your creativity.
Even better, a Bluetooth remote shutter button is packaged with the product so that you can take group shots and easy selfies when setting your phone far away!
One reviewer was disappointed that the telephoto lens could not adjust and is fixed at a 2x magnification ratio. Many more reviewers thought this product was perfect as a starter lens kit and that the wide-angle and macro lenses were particularly effective for making better-looking photos.
Ailun3 in 1 iPhone Lens ｜ FBA_4326546151
A Kit With Extra Padding for Your Single Lens Device
This kit includes 3 lenses: a fisheye, macro, and wide-angle lens. The wide-angle lens must be used by attaching it to the macro lens. The phone clip is guarded with rubber to prevent scratching or damaging your phone.
You can attach the lenses to all manner of devices including laptops and iPads so long as the initial camera lens isn't bigger than 13 mm and it's a single-lens device.
A couple of reviewers felt that the macro lens was too small and hard to detach from the wide-angle one. Some also found that the lenses did not cover the whole camera on their phones.
But overall, users liked how the macro lens really helped the phone camera to focus on close-up subjects. They also found the lenses very easy to use.
What's the Difference Between a Camera and a Phone Camera?
The main differences between a camera and phone camera is the portability and sensor size. Cameras, especially high-end ones, can be heavy and clunky.
On the other hand, we always carry around phones. They fit in your pocket and make connecting to the internet to post photos on social media instantaneous and easy. However, phone cameras differ a lot in quality from typical cameras. They are often made of plastic, rather than glass, and contain a smaller sensor.
The sensor is the key part of any digital camera. It determines the size of the image, resolution of the image, how it performs in low light, and how the image appears in the viewfinder. Most phones have a 12MP sensor, while standard cameras are usually 20MP or above.
Before buying a phone lens, take note that lenses are ultimately unable to affect the quality of your images, which is determined by your phone. They only change the perspective of your photos.
Lens Terms You Should Know
On phone lenses, you will often see the term "mm." Have you ever wondered what this means?
To understand what mm is, we have to first go over focal length. Focal length is the measure of the distance between the image sensor and the center of the lens. This is measured in millimeters – hence, mm.
When the mm is higher, the scene you will see through the viewfinder will be narrower and more magnified. This often means the lens itself will also be longer. With a smaller, or shorter, mm, you will have a wider view and a shorter magnification.
Many companies also describe their lenses as having a certain amount of "x." This is the magnification ratio - how much magnification it has compared to the original phone camera. For macro lenses, you'll notice that the numbers are usually in decimal form. Read these as percents - for instance, a 0.45x macro lens shows 45% more of an image.
How to Take Care of Your Lens
The goal of lens cleaning is to take care of dirt and dust without scratching the lens. You’ll often see people using their breath or lens cleaning solution and a microfiber cloth to wipe away dirt. If you want your lenses to last a long time, don't do this.
Professional camera users recommend first using compressed air to blow particles off the lens, then using a soft brush to get rid of any strays. One or the other can also be used instead of both.
Top 5 Camera Lenses For Iphone
No. 1: Moment｜Wide Lens｜5647442227
No. 2: Moment｜Tele 58mm Lens｜6598547917
No. 3: Moment｜Anamorphic Lens
No. 4: CoPedvic｜Phone Camera Lens Kit｜PLK-01
No. 5: Xenvo｜Pro Lens Kit｜WML-45
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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