Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

Wide Angle Lens for the iPhone

Now that I have a good camera on the iPhone 4, it is time to think about lenses. One thing I don't like about the camera on the iPhone is that it isn't very wide. Sometimes I have to step back in order to get everything in the picture. Now you don't have to do that with this cool accessory for your mobile phone. It is a wide/macro lens that I ordered on the Internet for only $20 (600 baht).

You can attach the lens as and when you want to get a wide shot. It is very quick to use. Here are two pictures taken seconds apart. The picture above was taken with the normal lens. The one below has the wide angle lens put on top. As you can see, there is a bit of black in some corners which might mean you will need to crop sometimes. It is also a bit out of focus on the edges. But, I think the overall results are good. The lens also doubles as a macro lens. Just screw off the top lens to get a good close-up picture.

I do like this lens but I did have some trouble in attaching it to the iPhone 4. After I had bought it they put a disclaimer on the website saying that the glass surface of the iPhone 4 makes it difficult to stick the metal ring to your phone. Plus, with the flash on the phone you need to cut it to a "C" shape. The picture below shows an iPhone 3GS. The lens has a magnet on it so that it quickly attaches to the metal ring on your mobile phone. What I had to do in the end is to buy a cheap case and stick the ring to this. Not sure how often I will use this ring but it might be handy.

You can buy the lens from photojojo.com for $20. There are some other lenses which you can buy in Bangkok. I saw a telephoto lens for 1,900 baht and a wide angle lens for 4,900 baht. Do you have any accessories for the iPhone that you like to use?