Smartphones have come a long way since the VGA camera era and have recently graduated to rival even some of the entry-level DSLR cameras in terms of image and video quality.
One serious hindrance for the smooth sail of smartphone photography was the fixed lens which forced the users to get satisfied with whatever the manufacturer decides to implement on the device.
But that problem has found a relatively easier and cheaper solution with third party lens attachments which can be purchased and slapped on top of the existing camera lens, improving its optical characteristics such as the focal length, zoom etc.
In this article, we bring you the curated list of the eight add-on lenses for spicing up your smartphone photography.
With these lenses, your photos are bound to look unique and professional and be it on Facebook or Instagram, your photos will never look the same as before.
Let’s cut the chase and start the article right away!
Best Addon Lenses for Smartphone Photography
| 1. SKYVIK Signi | Best 3-in-1 Lens Kit |
| 2. SKYVIK Signi Pro 2 | Best 2-in-1 Lens Kit |
| 3. iVolta iVMO-2PL Pro | Best Lens for Macro Shots |
| 4. Rewy Telephoto Lens | Budget Telephoto Lens |
| 5. Apexel 10 in 1 | Value for Money Lens Kit |
| 6. BYLKO Universal Lens Kit | Cheap 3-in-1 lens kit |
| 7. SKYVIK Signi Pro | Honourable Mention |
1. SKYVIK Signi
Pros
Excellent build quality
Good quality lens
Secure fit
Cons
Considerable edge distortion with the fisheye lens
SKYVIK is an Indian smartphone accessory brand famous for its cables and fast chargers.
The SKYVIK 3-in-1 lens kit is regarded as one of the best in the budget smartphone lens segment, thanks to the quality of the lens used.
Package Contents
The SKYVIK 3-in-1 lens kit comes in a rectangular box package safely in a way that the contents don’t easily get damaged during transit.
Inside the box, you’ll find the three lenses, a cleaning cloth and two plastic clamps for attaching the lens on top of your existing camera optics.
Types of Lenses
There are three types of lenses included in the package namely a wide-angle lens, a macro lens and a fisheye lens.
The wide-angle lens is capable of covering a 120° field of view of better landscape photos. It captures more content on the scene, especially if you are taking photos of buildings, scenery or even a group photo.
The macro lens in the box has a magnification factor of up to 20x. This lens enables you to take macro shots with the subject very clearly and with crisp details.
Photos of tiny insects and flower buds look great with this macro lens.
The fisheye lens as the name suggests mimics the output of an action camera. This lens can be used for filming the beach, a market etc with all the subjects around you included within the frame.
Build Quality
The SKYVIK Lenses come with a high-quality polycarbonate plastic chassis. The build feels solid in hand.
However, be sure to take extra care while handling these lenses as a drop might induce scratches on the same and may defeat the purpose afterwards.
The plastic clamp with the spring mechanism works decently well and clips onto the phone firmly.
Verdict
If you want a good quality 3-in-1 lens for enhancing your smartphone photography skills, this lens kit might be a great choice, to begin with.
Try experimenting with the lenses and shots and we are sure you’ll get some unique looking shots worthy of appreciation.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 3-in-1 – Macro, Wide Angle, Fish Eye |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 120° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 20x |
| Telephoto Lens | – |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | 198° |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb |
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2. SKYVIK Signi Pro 2
Best 2-in-1 Lens Kit
- Best for landscape photography
- Stunning bokeh and light blur effect
- Comes with lens caps for protection
Pros
Build quality
One year warranty
Minimal vignetting at the edges
Cons
Expensive
SKYVIK is at it again. This time the SKYVIK Signi Pro 2 tops our list of the best addon lenses for smartphone photography in the best 2-in-1 lens kit category.
Contents in the Package
The SKYVIK Signi Pro 2 comes with a slightly larger box than the one in which its 3-in-1 counterpart, primarily due to the difference in the size of the included lens.
Inside the box, you will find the two lenses, the larger wide-angle lens and the smaller macro lens.
The company has provided a DSLR lens cap style protection cover for the larger lens and a small lens cap for the macro lens.
Besides these contents, there is a soft fabric cloth for cleaning the lenses.
Lenses in Detail
This 2-in-1 lens kit features a larger wide-angle lens and a smaller macro lens as we’ve discussed earlier.
The wide-angle lens has an excellent 140° field of view which will enable you to take excellent quality landscape panoramas.
This lens can also be used for taking close-up portraits with nice bokeh and light blue effects in the background.
The macro lens included in this kit has a magnification capacity of up to 15x. This may not seem the one providing the best magnification ever, but the quality of the image is certainly good when compared to other cheap Chinese knockoffs.
Build Quality
As with all other SKYVIK products, the build quality is top-notch with this product as well.
The clamps fit well on the smartphones and stay rigid even with the phone moving around a bit.
The inclusion of lens caps helps the lenses from getting damaged or scratched over time.
Verdict
The SKYVIK Signi Pro 2 2-in-1 lens is the best for you if you’re a guy/girl who likes to shoot a lot of landscape photos.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 2-in-1 – Macro, Wide Angle |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 140° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 15x |
| Telephoto Lens | – |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | – |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb |
3. iVoltaa iVMO-2PL Pro
Best Lens for Macro Shots
- Best suitable for ultra close-up shots
- Bundled carry case
- Premium grade optics
Pros
Carrying case
Carabiner clip
Affordable
Cons
Average quality wide-angle lens
Macro photography is currently a trend that is seen among the youth in the country at present.
Ever thought about how these ultra-close up magnified photos of insects and flower buds are captured with such details? Well, here’s the answer for the same.
The iVoltaa iVMO-2PL Pro is a high-quality macro lens with exceptional close-up photography capabilities.
Contents in the Package
The package consists of a macro lens, a larger wide-angle lens, respective sized lens caps, a cleaning cloth and the clamp for fixing these lenses to the smartphone.
Apart from this, the company has provided a high-quality fibre carrying case and a carabiner clip to keep the lenses and the related accessories safe and secure during transit.
Lenses in Detail
The wide-angle lens which comes in the box is nothing special. It has the conventional 145° field of view for aiding better landscape photography.
What’s interesting about this lens kit is the macro lens. The macro lens in the box features an excellent 15x magnification capability.
There are lenses with up to 20x magnification available in the market but the quality of the ultra-close-up photos coming out of this lens is exceptional.
The images are rich in detail, with more or less accurate colours preserved and have only minimal lens distortions around the corners.
Build Quality
The iVoltaa lens chassis is made of high-quality aluminium alloy for excellent structural strength.
The addition of the carabiner clip and the carrying case makes travelling with these accessories less concerning affair.
Verdict
Love to capture stunning close up shots of insects and other smaller subjects? If your answer is yes, then the iVolta iVMO-2PL Pro is an excellent choice under an affordable budget.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 2-in-1 – Macro, Wide Angle Lens |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 145° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 15x |
| Telephoto Lens | – |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | – |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb |
4. Rewy Telephoto Lens
Rewy telephoto lens is a budget 8x telephoto lens to be used with Android and iOS devices for enhanced long-distance photography.
Since this lens chassis is entirely made of plastic and the glass is an optic resin, it doesn’t require a separate tripod to hold its weight while clipped onto the smartphone.
With a price tag of just Rs.249, this product is an interesting choice worth taking a look at.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | Telephoto Lens |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | – |
| Macro Lens Magnification | – |
| Telephoto Lens | 8x |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | – |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb |
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5. Apexel 10-in-1
This lens kit consists of 10 variable purpose lenses and filters.
It includes two macro lenses with magnification levels of 15x and 20x, two wide-angle lenses, a 2x telephoto zoom lens and a fisheye lens.
In addition to these, there is a fancy kaleidoscope effect lens, a starburst lens and a light filter to reduce light flares.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 10 in 1 – Macro, Wide Angle, Fish Eye, Kaleidoscope Lens, Starburst Lens, Polarized Lens |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 120°, 150° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 20x, 15x |
| Telephoto Lens | 2x |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | 198° |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb with Soft Rubber Inserts |
6. BYLKO Universal Lens Kit
Cheap 3-in-1 lens kit
- Very affordable
- Easy to clip on to the smartphone chassis
- Starter lens kit for budding phone photographers
BYLKO universal lens kit is one of the cheapest lenses for smartphone photography available in the Indian market.
This lens kit consists of a 15x macro lens, 180° wide-angle lens and a 180° fisheye lens.
Priced under Rs.250, this lens kit is a great way to start experimenting with your smartphone camera.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 3-in-1 – Macro, Wide Angle, Fish Eye |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 180° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 180° |
| Telephoto Lens | – |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | 160° |
| Lens Clip Material | Plastic Clamb with Padded Rubber |
7. SKYVIK Signi Pro
SKYVIK Signi Pro is an affordable 2-in-1 lens kit that comes with a significantly better build and optical quality than cheap Chinese products.
This lens kit consists of a 140° wide-angle lens and a 15x macro lens for close up shots.
Specifications
| Type of Lens | 2-in-1 -Macro, Wide Angle |
| Wide Angle Lens – Field of View | 140° |
| Macro Lens Magnification | 15x |
| Telephoto Lens | – |
| Fish Eye Lens Distortion | – |
| Lens Clip Material | Detachable Clip with Soft Rubber |
This concludes the curated list of the eight best addon lenses for smartphone photography.
Remember the fact that these lenses, let alone can’t magically improve the camera quality of your smartphone.
If your smartphone already has capable camera hardware, using these third party lenses will enhance usability significantly.
If you have any doubts or questions regarding this topic, let us know in the comment section below.
As always, thanks for your time on our website and have a great day ahead!