The iPhone 4 has a very good camera and even better on the 4S, we look for products that can enhance the photo taking side of things and today we want to share our hands-on review of the 12x High Quality Aluminium Telephoto Lens that was sent to us via vtec.co.uk.
Introduction
When we go on events or even when we go on holidays the digital camera sometimes get’s forgotten and this is when a smartphone comes into play, we use many different types of handsets and the iPhone 4S is one of them as the camera produces top quality photos. There are many iPhone camera accessories on the market to enhance or make the photo experience somewhat better, we have already shared with you our hands-on review of the Vtec Fisheye Lens for iPhone 4 / 4S, which provides a different view of photos taken. So how does the 12x High Quality Aluminium Telephoto Lens fair?
We get many products sent to us and some of them we give away to readers and some we actually keep and use on a daily basis, looks like this one is a keepsake for more photography bliss.
In the Box
The retail pack will not fit through the bog-standard front door letterbox so you will get a knock on the door from your postman, in the packaging you will get a 3 leg tripod, iPhone 4 / 4S case, 12x High Quality Aluminium Telephoto Lens, 2 lens covers, attachment ring, material bag for the lens when not in use, instruction manual and a cleaning cloth.
The Key Features
The key features include the iPhone case where you can fix the lens to this, the lens comes with a manual focus ring, a 3 leg tripod to attach case to for perfect steady photography, lens has a 3m minimum focus distance with an angle view of 12°, the lens has a aluminium shell and a optical glass element, weighs in at only 118 grams and size is 33mm x 94mm, the objective lens diameter is 21mm.
First Impressions
Impressed to be honest, got a great quality about it and very sturdy when angled correctly, we will mention more about the angles a little more below so please do read on. The case itself has a great feel about it and can be used with the lens on or off, so far so good and this is without even testing the 12X Telephoto Lens.
Let’s Go A Little Deeper But Not Too Deep
The iPhone 4S has a fixed aperture lens of f/2.4 and the iPhone 4 of f/2.8 aperture. The iPhone 4S 6mm lens is the equivalent of say a 35mm focal length lens on a 35mm camera, we are not photography boffins but we try to explain and hope we are not wrong (Please do correct us if we are.) On the Vtec website they say that this lens and tripod is for the iPhone 4 but it is just as good with the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 has a 35mm equivalent of a 29.4mm lens, which basically means this lens will boost the length to 352.8mm.
The Design
There are so many products that do not last five minutes, but we know for sure this one will last a long time if treated with respect. Do a little base-jumping of a mountain whilst taking pictures and suddenly dropping it will probably damage it somewhat, ok that was we just being a little over-the-top. There has been a lot of hard thought from the designers when they put this product on the drawing table, it has a nice weight to it and the focus ring you can twist round produces some stunning pictures with clarity, you can even try out the blurred shots if you please.
The Positives
What we do like is the fact with the case and lens attached we first thought that you could not use the flash as the lens hides the light, you will be happy to know you can use the iPhone 4 & 4S flash. The tripod is not one would call shabby and poor, in fact it is top notch and works very well when the iPhone attached is angled correctly. The black case is standard with a rubber feel but will still protect your iPhone and does serve the lens main purpose of taking pictures, without the case you cannot use the lens. You do not need to use the tripod as the case with lens attach is highly portable, the iPhone 12x High Quality Aluminium Telephoto Lens is one big massive positive in our eyes.
The Negatives
We mentioned above about the angle of the iPhone when attached to the tripod, you can adjust the position of your choice but in some angles the iPhone will become top heavy and fall, this is not too much of a problem because you only need a few positions to get quality photos. You know what! Scrap the negatives because it is minor and we love it.
Phones Review Overall Summary
We love the iPhone 4 / 4S ‘12x High Quality Aluminium Telephoto Lens’ and will be using much more, we would personally find an app such Camera Genius or CameraSharp for better stability and anti-shake, these apps offer so much more that will further enhance this camera lens product. The lens is rather light and the iPhone is not so adjust accordingly to get the balance right, or over it goes. We have taken a few photos below and we are not in anyway great at taking pictures, we just point and shoot and see what pics come out best. You can see the difference with and without the lens attached.
Just so you know, we used the iPhone 4S to test the 12X telephoto lens and the camera on the iPhone 4S lens can zoom in and out, we zoomed in and out with just the iPhone camera and zoomed in and out using with the lens attached. We like the difference between the candle in the garden with and without the lens; it gives you a true look at the difference.
Where to Buy and Price
Please visit Vtec.co.uk for more information and the option to buy at £34.99 inc VAT, we are so glad we got this sent to us because it is fantastic and well worth the buy.
More Photos
You can see the difference with the lens off in this pic
The lens in on in this pic
The lens on and zoomed in
THESE PICS BELOW PLEASE CLICK TO OPEN AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO ENLARGE – THANKS
