
A couple of months ago I was sent 3 iPhone add-on lenses from a company called Vtec (not to be confused with the toy company VTECH). The lenses supplied were a Fisheye, a Wide-Angle and a 12x Telephoto lens. Over the past 2 months I've played around with these lenses, and here is my quick overview/thoughts on this trio of iPhone lenses.
Note: Before I start, I should point out that these are the same lenses as sold by the like of USB Fever and Photojojo, and I'm sure many others.
The Case
The easy to fit case (simply snap on or off your iPhone), has a soft none slip velvety like matt finish, a threaded lens mount with a cut out that allows for flash photography when not using the lens, along with cutouts for easy access to all the iPhone's buttons and sockets.
The Fisheye Lens
As mentioned above, these are the same lenses as those sold by USB Fever, so I'm not going to review Vtec's version, as I've already reviewed the USB Fever version, which you can read here.
The Wide-Angle/Super Macro Lens
Just like the USB Fever and Photojojo Fisheye lens, Vtec's Wide-Angle Lens is made of aluminium, the elements are made of multi-coated optical glass that provide a wide 0.68x angle view, and is supplied with plastic front and rear lens covers.
Above: The shot on the left was taken with the iPhones standard lens, whilst the shot on the right was taken with the Vtec Wide-Angle LensThe 12x Telephoto Lens
Like all the lenses in this range, the 12x Telephoto Lens is made of aluminium, has multi-coated optical glass, plastic front and rear lens covers, plus a mini table-top tripod to help keep things steady whilst taking those shots.
Above: The shot on the left was taken with the iPhones standard lens, whilst the shot on the right was taken with the Vtec 12x Telephoto LensSo what do I think of this trio of lenses?
Well the Fisheye is just like the USB Fever version that I reviewed here, and is definitely the best of the bunch, the Wide-Angle is not very sharp, suffers from distortion and bad vignetting, whilst the 12x Telephoto is the worst of all the lenses. Although this Telephoto lens may offer a whopping 12x magnification, letting you capture those far away subjects, it is difficult to focus, almost impossible to hand hold, and has a serious centre hotspot problem.
Final thoughts
Well, these lenses were seriously unimpressive, and I would not recommend any of them to anyone. If you are serous about your iPhone photography and want to extend its optical capabilities, then if money is no object then I would highly recommend the Schneider iPro lens system, or if you're on a tighter budget then the Olloclip gets my recommendation for most capable/versatile/affordable lens.
Price and availability
Despite not getting my recommendation, if you are interested in any of these lenses, then they are available direct from Vtec priced at £24.99 GBP for the Fisheye, £24.99 GBP for the Wide-Angle, and £34.99 GBP for the 12x Telephoto.