Some manufacturers offer accessories such as lenses for smartphones. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann ordered such a set and wanted to find out if it is worthwhile. In the end, he is quite disappointed.
One of the most important features of a modern smartphone today is a good camera. Many people no longer use their smartphones just for calling or gaming, but primarily for taking photos. Often, an upgrade to a newer phone is worthwhile because the built-in cameras are constantly improving.
I also have a phone that has aged over time. My Galaxy Note 9 is already quite old, and I didn’t want to buy a new phone for a lot of money. Instead, I bought a set with lenses and attachments. The price is around 40 Euros.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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Selvim Handy Objektiv Linse Kit Lens Set 22X Teleobjektiv, 25X Makro Objektiv, 0,62X Weitwinkel,... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
2 lenses are okay, the other two are below average
What’s included? The workmanship is really good, and the lenses feel high-quality, but they use plastic caps. Canon and Sigma also do this for high-quality DSLR models. For the price of 40 Euros, I get a lot of accessories: In addition to the lenses, there’s also a tripod, a cleaning cloth, and a protective box.
What’s good about the upgrade? Basically, the telephoto lens is usable. Objects can be zoomed in well and details, like the street sign on the other side, can be enlarged nicely. However, a steady hand is needed for decent pictures. Additionally, the images are slightly blurry at the edges. You can adjust the sharpness on the lens itself.
I was pleasantly surprised by the wide-angle lens. It lets in significantly more in the photo, which is indeed an improvement over my smartphone. The image remains sharp even with the lens, and everything is well discernible. That’s a plus point for the set.
What’s not good? The macro lens is average. While the details are good and sharp, the surrounding area quickly becomes blurry. It’s normal for macro shots to have an out-of-focus surrounding area, but the sharp area is very small with this set, and the central area varies greatly. I have better results with my regular smartphone camera.
The same goes for the fisheye lens. The images are blurry, generally look unattractive, and function more or less well with my smartphone. Personally, I can hardly work with fisheye lenses anyway. On the phone, it looks more like a poor wide-angle lens.
After 10 minutes, I packed the items back
Is the upgrade worthwhile? No, for me, the money wasn’t worth it. The only truly good piece is the wide-angle lens, but I wouldn’t pay more than 40 Euros for the entire set for that. The others are nice or even below average.
You can also see quite well from my comparison images (with and without lens) how significant the difference is. And in most cases, it simply isn’t worth it in my eyes.
Yes, they work, but the old photo sensor of my phone doesn’t get much better with a new lens. In my opinion, it’s a nice toy, but nothing more. Especially when you already have a “real” camera at home that you can use for photography.
Does this apply to all products? Accessories for smartphones don’t have to be bad by default. In a combination package like this, one could argue: What can you expect when each lens costs around 10 Euros? Some manufacturers offer much higher quality products for a higher price.
I then bought a more expensive macro single lens from Apexel for my phone out of curiosity (price around 50 Euros). It is significantly better than the cheap ones. You can see a noticeable difference, even in direct comparison to the cheap model.
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Apexel HD-Objektiv, 100 mm Makroobjektiv für iPhone,Samsung,Pixel, Makro Objektiv für Handy* | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
However, anyone who hopes for a significant improvement or an indispensable upgrade for their smartphone will be just as disappointed as I was. The macro lens from Apexel is definitely more recommendable than the cheap set for 40 Euros.
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