Magnetic / detachable lenses suddenly make cellphone cameras fun

Not that we haven't seen patently absurd lens attachments for mobiles before, but we've yet to come across any that were this universal (and be to honest, this useful). Sure, one could argue that a detachable wide-angle, fisheye or 2x telephoto lens made for a cellphone camera is more likely to do nothing than something, but we prefer to look on the sunny side of things. In other words, it's totally worth $16.99 just to be able to make your subjects pause as you whip out the correct lens for the occasion... which you're photographing on your C905.

[Via OhGizmo]

[ducky @ Dec 30th 2008 9:40AM]

A magnet on the back of a phone? Is that okay?

[Flashpoint @ Dec 30th 2008 9:52AM]

A magnet shouldn't cause problems.

My problem is how ridiculous this seems. My iphone's camera is blurry as hell from minute movement. It probably works but not as well as actually having a good camera

[ducky @ Dec 30th 2008 9:55AM]

Agreed, Flashpoint. Attachments don't change the fact that it's low-resolution, blurry, and useless in pretty much anything less than full light.

[slbarry10 @ Dec 30th 2008 10:18AM]

I can't do much about poor lighting without a flash, but to solve the blurry problems, download the free "SteadyCam" application from the Apple App Store, it waits until your hand is steady and takes a clear picture. You'd think it would take awhile, but it has worked for me within seconds every time.

[primalogix @ Dec 30th 2008 11:50AM]

I would worry about the magnet too, having had a credit card's magnetic strip zapped once before at an inopportune time. Won't this do the same thing if it's in your pocket with your wallet? (for all you front-pocket wallet keepers) Or if you just held it near your wallet?

Having said all that, it is an ingenious design. Would be great for a cash-only society.

...and btw, it always happens at an inopportune time...

[daPrinz @ Dec 30th 2008 1:29PM]

"Having said all that, it is an ingenious design. Would be great for a cash-only society."
You are aware that the cellphone itself can erase you CC data right?

[Worcester @ Dec 30th 2008 2:03PM]

FYI...

Better glass can mean more light, and therefore better photos in general. I'm not saying this absolutely will work, but the point of a lens is to gather light. In terms of photographs, light is information. The more light you have, the sharper the image.

I don't think a better lens could hurt.

[Tim @ Dec 30th 2008 9:42AM]

pretty much all phones have flash-based storage instead of actual hard drives, so it should be fine.

[Abe Froman @ Dec 30th 2008 9:50AM]

That guy's fingers make me believe I could be a hand model

[Shoumik @ Dec 30th 2008 9:54AM]

but then you would never be able use you hand because it'll always be inside a container.

[ARCHA1C @ Dec 30th 2008 10:02AM]

Haha!
That thumbnail looks like it has been "Photoshopped" on

[Ryan @ Dec 30th 2008 10:18AM]

Just don't go touching any hot irons, there, Mr. Costanza....

[Lars @ Dec 30th 2008 1:15PM]

[+] for Zoolander references!

[Dax Cruz @ Dec 30th 2008 9:52AM]

Finally, a way to capture wide-angle photos on a cellphone.

I do share the concern regarding magnets, magnetic fields and its effects on electronics. Could the magnetic field somewhat have an effect on the photonic field array on a CCD or CMOS?

[Wwhat @ Dec 31st 2008 10:58AM]

I hear magnetic fields on a phone can reroute your calls to anal-probing aliens, be careful.

[Dax Cruz @ Jan 1st 2009 2:10PM]

Something tells me you're not geeky enough to know what really makes CCD/CMOS field array imagers tick... :D

[ARCHA1C @ Dec 30th 2008 10:00AM]

One thing that jumps out at me is how it would mount to the iPhone 3g.
The back of the iPhone 3g is sloped, which would put the add-on lense on an angle to the iPhone's integrated lense (which sits parallel to the front of the iPhone.
This would cause distortion to the image, or cause you to shoot at angles instead of head-on

[foebea @ Dec 30th 2008 10:08AM]

or you could make the lens base sloped. problems are not insurmountable.

[oakie @ Dec 30th 2008 10:43AM]

but at least it would be "clearly distorted"! HAHA!!


*badum tsss*

god i suck. :(

[cmil1212 @ Dec 30th 2008 10:02AM]

dumb

[ILoveApple @ Dec 30th 2008 10:10AM]

What you guys don't seem to understand is that phone cameras are actually pretty decent now. Just 'cos America doesn't have N82s and i8510s does not allow you to assume that phone cameras are useless.

Except the iPhone. The iPhone's camera is certainly useless.

[glpee @ Dec 30th 2008 10:43AM]

the iphones camera is not useless at all, its not the best one to use indoors or in low light but i use it as my main digital camera and the pictures are plenty good enough for me until a better iphone model comes out.

[Magallanes @ Dec 30th 2008 1:49PM]

Iphone came is not useless but outdated.

[dandaman @ Dec 30th 2008 10:18AM]

When I wanted detachable lenses, I got a DSLR. For the iPhone, though, I like griffin's clarifi.

[Tony C @ Dec 30th 2008 11:57AM]

Clarifi's only good for macro/closeup shots, though, right?

Personally, I wouldn't want the bulk of that Griffin case -- or any case for that matter. Kinda defeats the purpose of a slimline phone design. My iPhone rides bareback, with the exception of an Invisible Shield over the glass.

[Brandon @ Jan 1st 2009 5:35PM]

I actually got a similar set not too long ago to add a little bit of fun to my point and shoot stuff. Of course they're no where near the quality of a lens for an SLR, but they're fun, and not too bad on an N95 either.

[NoAndThen @ Dec 30th 2008 1:04PM]

I could see this for that monster 8-megapix phone announced the other day, but the iphone?

I love my iPhone, it's great; but the camera blows. Until someone comes up with a way to have a case for your phone that plugs into the dock connector and adds a sweet camera then I'm good.

Actually thats a pretty good idea, too bad I'm too poor for a patent... any takers?

[fuzzyshoo @ Dec 30th 2008 1:39PM]

SteadyCam and SteadyCam Pro (worth the 99 cent price) are huge improvements over the default iPhone camera software.

I upgraded to an 8GB iPhone 3G on 12/12 (AT&T's incarnation of the touch pro disgusted me to say the least). I've had the phone for a little over a fortnight, and aside from the lack of sufficient dust/lint protecting cases out there (i'm using a SwitchEasy CapsuleNeo at the moment, it's my 3rd case and I'm still not that impressed) the camera is the only really disappointing thing. Maybe the disappointing camera functionality goes hand in hand with the lack of MMS capability? HMM..

Anyway, while I read this piece, I thought.. when have I ever taken a significant amount of pictures with my phone, let alone a significant amount of pictures using a zoom feature? Basically never? Sure it'd be convenient to have an 8mp 10x optical zoom in my iPhone (hell that'd RULE!) but really.. really? Not entirely necessary folks. If i had cared solely about the camera, I would have taken the Touch Pro. I'm just not made for WinMo.

[cole @ Dec 30th 2008 2:00PM]

sorry but this is hardly breaking news strapya-world.com has been selling magnetic universal camera lenses for cell phones for years! they have about 10 different lenses that produce different effects


this news = fail

[matt byrne @ Jan 1st 2009 11:34AM]

I've just ordered the wide-angle and the 2x tele to go on the back of my HTC Touch, which has a metal ring around its lens similar to the iPhone. I'm not expecting miracles, but if you've got good light and a steady hand, the Touch's pictures come up OK with a bit of sensitive P'shopping. Certainly suitable for uploading to Flickr alongside my 20D shots.

[kenc29 @ Dec 30th 2008 3:35PM]

First, I've tried the steady cam app, and I guess it works for those who have shaky hands, but as a long-time amateur photographer, it adds nothing for me. I guess my hands were steady to begin with.

Second, the iPhone camera is fine for what it is. It needs strong light, and no LED flash will help, unless your subject is 2ft away. That applies to all those cell cameras with LED flash. Rubbish.

Third, I see the lens attachment useful for UPC barcode reading.

Fourth, more megapixels is NO guarantee of better images.

The depth from the front of the optics to the imaging chip is the main determining factor. To get a truly better camera in a cellphone, you'd need the cellphone to be thick, like a brick, unless you want the lens to poke out when you turn it on. More depth, allows for a larger imaging circle, and thus a larger sensing chip. The larger chip will give you better images, regardless of megapixels. In fact, the mfrs would be better off, just telling us how large the chip is, because cramming pixels into a chip the same size does virtually nothing for image quality. Adding pixels in a small chip, just increases the noise, as the electronics heat up, eliminating any resolution advantage.

The megapixel myth is exactly like the megahertz myth. If you need a good image, get a cheap digicam for $100.

[Chris Taylor @ Dec 30th 2008 8:04PM]

Well first the RING is not magnetic if I read this right but just a metal ring SO the lens has the magnet and will only be attached for a short time and NOT near your CC's

Second the wide angle should result in more light.

Third the deal breaker for me is its $60 not $17 you got $3 shipping AND this only comes with ONE of the lens. to get all 3 you need to buy all 3. Ouch :-)

My PPC 6700 has a 1.3mp camera and the pics really are not that bad considering. I mean there trash compared to my real camera but not bad for a phone for sure.

[CJ @ Jan 1st 2009 9:15AM]

Forget the magnet on the phone, I'd like to see the photos it takes when the camera lens is curved several degress off the line-of-sight of the iPhone's camera.

It's a flat ring, and the camera is located right on the edge of the curve that makes the iPhone seem so thin, so when you clip this new lens on it, all you're going to see is a bit of light, and the inside of a clip-on lens