iPhone photography has become a huge thing. According to Flickr, the millions of Flickr users take more pictures with an iPhone (47%) than any other camera. A lot of iPhone photographers are looking for add on lenses for their phone, and that may include you. So which lenses are the best?
Posted September 19, 2017. Revised and re-posted November 22, 2023. Updated March 29, 2024.
There is no easy answer to that question. Image quality is important of course, but so is cost with some add on lenses costing $500. The model of iPhone matters since some excellent lenses fit some iPhone models but not others.
Schneider Optics Pro
And then their is huge matter of the preferred iPhone case. With some lens systems you have use their case to use their lenses. If you have a favorite case that you won’t part with that limits your choices. Moment makes some of the best lenses but you have to attach a strip across the back of the phone to use their lenses. The Moment strip is not compatible with my iPhone case, much to my disappointment.
Olloclip
So it means finding the best add on lenses for your iPhone and your preferences will require a bit of research. You will need to decide if you want to keep your current iPhone case or if you are open to a system where you need to buy their case. How much do you want to spend? You will want to find the best lenses you can that will match your budget. To help you out I put together a list of iPhone lens reviews so you can find high quality lenses that will match your preferences. Links are scattered below and at the end.
Exolens
The Best iPhone Lenses in 2024 – Tom’s Guide
The Best Lenses for iPhone Photography – Wirecutter for the New York Times
The 4 Best iPhone Lenses for 2024 – Gear Lab
The Best Lenses for iPhone and Android Phones in 2024 – Digital Camera World
Best iPhone Lenses 2019 at TechRadar
The Best iPhone Camera Lenses of 2019 at Forbes
The best iPhone lens kit: Put a little DSLR on the front of your iPhone
The Best Lenses for iPhone Photography – Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the article to expand sections of the article. There are also links to more review articles.
Aukey
Best iPhone Camera Lens Kits 2017
Moment
Olloclip vs. Moment lenses: Best glass for your iPhone 6 camera
Ztylus
Get the most out of your iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with these accessories – Olloclip and Sony lens style camera
Hitcase
Moment Lens Review: Awesome iPhone 6 Camera Upgrade
DxO One
Fstoppers Reviews Moment Mobile Lenses
CamKix
Moment Lenses review: These top-notch iPhone camera lenses are a traveler’s dream
Links
The best lenses for iPhone photography
Apexel Set of Four Camera Phone Lenses – One of the sets of lenses I bought at Amazon to test cheap, poor quality Chinese lenses.
Series Overview
The Chinese Lens Rip Off Series – Overpriced Camera Phone Lenses
A few years ago the market was flooded with cheap Chinese lenses ($2 to $4 each at wholesale) sold at outrageous prices (from $30 to $200) with quality claims that were not true. I bought two lens from inexpensive outlets and tested them. The quality was terrible. Not only that, huge shipping prices were charged (as much as $60) and people who wanted refunds were not given refunds. I wrote a whole series of articles about this rip off.
Series Links
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part One
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Two
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Three
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Four
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Five. The fascinating story of cheap, Chinese camera phone lenses.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Six. Video: “Does It Suck?”
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Seven. Comparison test: telephoto phone lens vs DLSR and zoom lens
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Eight. How much does this lens really cost? $224.50? $2.99?
How to Choose the Best iPhone Lenses
Buyer’s Guide Series Link
This article is also one in a series of articles that will guide you to the best of all things photographic. The rest of the series is here: Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs and More.