Hardware Review: The Schneider Optics iPro Lens System

"The Schneider iPro is a high quality 3rd party iPhone lens kit, that is a must for those who demand the best" - Glyn Evans, editor.

The iPro Lens System from Schneider Optics is a pro grade lens kit for the iPhone 4 and 4S. Consisting of 2 lenses, a wide-angle and a fisheye, a case and lens carrier/grip/tripod mount, but priced at $200 USD the iPro Lens System is not cheap, but what is it like, and is it worth the money?

The Case
The iPro Lens System case is of a sturdy, one piece, snap-in design, with bespoke bayonet lens mount, which due to the lack of fitting instructions, at first, appears to be almost impossible to fit. What is not obvious, due to the lack of these instructions [which is something Schneider need to address], is that you need to use the supplied lens carry case, screwed into right hand mount, and then used to apply leverage during the fitting process. Once this has been made clear, and having fitting the case once, then the fitting and removal process [which is a reversal of the fitting process] is a breeze to do.

The case good points:

• Constructed of strong plastic.
• The bayonet lens mount.
• The threaded mount for the handle/tripod mount adapter.

The case bad points:

• The case is of a one piece snap in design, that can difficult to fit.
• Because of the thickness of plastic, access to the volume shutter button, is a little difficult.

Right, having looked at the case, it's time to look at the important parts of this kit, the lenses.

The Lenses*
As mentioned above, the iPro Lens System comes with 2 lenses, a wide-angle and a fisheye. They both are well made, have metal lens barrels, and are easily and quickly mounted to the supplied case via a proprietary metal lens bayonet mount.

The Wide-Angle Lens
The Schneider wide-angle lens is constructed of 4 elements in 3 groups, and in tradition 35mm film camera terms, gives the equivalent angle of view, as a 19mm lens, compared to the iPhone 4 lens that equates to the same angle of view as a 30mm lens.

With the aid of the proprietary lens mount,  fitting is quick and easy, and in use, this wide-angle lens produces crisp and stunning results, with no vignetting, and only minimal distortion.

Above: Both photos taken with the wide-angle lens.

The Fisheye Lens
Just like the wide-angle lens, the Schneider fisheye lens, which is constructed of 3 elements, is quick and easy to fit, and gives the equivalent angle of view, to that of a 12mm lens, but just like any other fisheye lens, you have to be selective when using this optic. That said, when you do use this Schneider lens, the results are equally clean and crisp.

Above: This shot was taken with the fisheye lens. Sorry if the photos a bit scary.

The Lens Likes and Dislikes

• Like: The bayonet mount, which makes these lenses quick and easy to use.
• Like: The quality and feel of the lenses.
• Dislike: No lens caps to protect these expensive optics whilst mounted on the iPhone.

The Tripod Mount and Grip
The lens carry case doubles up as grip and/or trip mount, which is very useful for when you want to shoot high or low, or attached to your favourite pocket tripod.

So what do I think of the iPro Lens System from Schneider Optics?
Whilst the case is sturdy, I would have preferred to have seen this $200 USD lens kit supplied with a two piece lock together case, rather than the difficult to fit supplied one. That said, the optics are stunning, making up for the shortfall in the case design, with the wide-angle's 86 degree field of view, compared to the iPhone's 62 degree, being particularly useful and versatile, especially if you shoot landscapes, interiors or street views, and is a lens that many would and could use all the time.

Ratings
Due to the issues I have with the case, I'm going to give the iPro Lens System, two ratings, one for the case, and one for the lenses.

The Case = 3.5 STARS : The Lenses = 5 STARS

So, now for the big question, is the iPro Lens System worth $200 USD?
Well, this is a difficult question to answer, but remember, quality doesn't come cheap. If you shoot a lot of landscapes, interiors or street views, and have a need for a top quality wide-angle lens for your iPhone, then the answer is a definite YES, but if you are happy with the default lens, or only have an occasional need for that extra field of view, then the answer is no, as there are cheaper alternatives that will probably meet your needs.

For more information about, or to order** the Schneider Optics iPro Lens System, head over to the iPro website.

*Please note, due to the different lens found on the iPhone 4S, the angle of view quoted above is less than that of the standard iPhone 4.

**Please note: If you're in the UK, then expect to pay an extra £35 GBP import charges.

Coming soon: The Olloclip 3-in-1 Lens v Schneider Optics iPro Lens System

Comments

[chuck]

I donated to the olloclip on kickstarter and have had it for a while and it seems to be much better... although you cant have any case protection on it :/

Also the fisheye shot looks like the lens might not be centered correctly?

[Frank Myers]

Wow $200. I have the photojo lenses that are similar and have really enjoyed using them. Do you think the quality of the images produced from these are worth the $160 difference?

Thanks great stuff!

[Editor]

@Frank. It's hard to say if the extra $160 is worth spending, but all I can say, is, if you shoot over 90% of you photos with the wide-angle, then it's probably worth the investment.

[Editor]

@chuck, your right, the fisheye does look slightly off. As for the Olloclip, it's a great lens, in fact when I reviewed it, I recommend it, but the quality of the optics on this one is definitely better.

[ShawnPM]

Looking forward to the Olloclip v Schneider post. As always, thanks for the great info.

[Frank Myers]

Awesome thanks!

[vincent-b]

Glyn if you own an Olloclip to, would you mind making a side by side comparison with outdoor pictures between Olloclip and iPro? Reading your comment, it seems you can spot the quality difference between the two. I'm curious.

[Editor]

@vincent, I have a comparison post planned, which I will do my best to get completed either today or tomorrow.

[M]

for the price i'll stick with my photojojo lenses. if the price comes down a bit i'll look into it! thanks for the info Glyn.

[JC]

The wide angle beach scene side-by-side comparison photos were not taken from the same spot.

[Editor]

@JC, thanks for spotting the error. That's one of the problems with shooting test shots with more than 1 iPhone, and more than 1 lens system. I have updated the photo, although it looks like i must have moved between shots and whist switching lenses, but it's a far representation of what you can expect.

[JC]

Sure. I wasn't aware that you took the shots - I thought you were provided them.

The funny part is that the new photos do a FAR better job of illustrating the impact of the wide-angle. Before, I was middling. Now, I am seriously impressed. The hill in the background now really shows the difference.

Thanks, as always, for a great post.

[Henri]

Do panorama-apps work with the lenses?

For example Photosynth. It would be great to capture panoramas even faster!

[Skip Hunt]

Great review! I've been wondering it this rig was worth the $$$. I can't believe they didn't include caps for that much dough.

Just discovered this blog recently. A real treasure trove of info. Thanks!

[G]

Will there be a side by side review between photojojo, olloclip, owle and ipro?

[ILAR]

Awesome post. Thanks. Looking forward to the Olloclip v Schneider post.

OTT, what app was used to do those red sticky labels?

[bycostello]

neat, but if you're gonna buy kit surly better spent on a proper camera?

[Derren]

The Schneider vs Olloclip will be an interesting post, looking forward to it.

I'm an avid Olloclip user, and this is an excellent system. At half the price of the Schneider it's still not cheap, but the way the system is designed is very well done indeed. Plus, you get three lenses in one.

While, the Schneider may offer a better lens quality compared with the Olloclip, is it worth twice your hard earned cash when you get one lens less? Is the quality significantly better to justify such a higher price, when feasibly you'd be better spending it on a dedicated camera system? Will people actually notice that the lens quality is significantly better for example? Especially when you consider most people use 'retro' camera apps to artificially age their images. I guess this will the the deciding factor in which system to choose.

[Eric]

What is the thread size on the case? Can you directly attach the case to a tripod, or does the handle have to be used between the two?

[Jim]

The handle of ipro lens system includes 4 parts. The top part has 4mm thread at one end, which can attach to the case, at other end, it has a 1/4-20 thread hole which can be mounted on
tripod. The top part of handle is a small piece.