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Hands-on with the OWLE bubo: Better photos and video from your iPhone (Updated)
A while back, we had a product announcement about the OWLE bubo (US$129.95). That bizarre name is actually a play on words: OWLE stands for "Optical Widget for Life Enhancement" (the company's name) and bubo is the genus for American horned owls and old world eagle owls. The device, if you have an imagination, even looks like a cartoonist's idea of a horned owl. So, now that we've got the name all figured out, what the heck is an OWLE bubo? You could call it the ultimate iPhone case for photographers, and you'd be pretty darned close. The current bubo is a sleek, machined piece of aluminum that is designed to be held with both hands for better stability when shooting photos or video with the iPhone. The bubo does a great job of making it easier to shoot video, but that's just scraping the surface of the feature set. bubo also has a 37mm .45x wide-angle/macro combo lens that is awesome for doing close-ups of objects, taking crowd or landscape photos, or doing interviews. In fact, it's this last use case that finally convinced me to purchase a bubo. Since TUAW is going to be doing a lot of video and other photography at Macworld Expo during the this week, I want to see if I can make my iPhone 3GS my primary tool for capturing imagery since I'd prefer to pack light. The lens accommodates screw-in filters at a standard 49mm size, so UV haze or polarizing filters can be added to further improve image quality. Update: The OWLE bubo has been completely redesigned with a composite case and new name, and now works with the iPhone 4 and 4S. You can take a look at the Phocus for iPhone 4/4S here. Please note that the OWLE bubo is no longer available but is replaced by the Phocus.
