Sometime this year, the iPhone 4 became the most popular camera on Flickr. And because of the iPhone 4S’ much improved camera, Ars Technica says it has “no qualms recommending the iPhone 4S as great alternative to compact, point-n-shoot cameras”.

The Ollo Clip is a clip-on accessory that offers three high-quality lenses — wide angle, fisheye, and an impressive macro lens — to expand your iPhone 4 or 4S camera’s abilities.

The lenses are housed in a rigid plastic enclosure that slides neatly onto the corner of the iPhone where the camera lens is located. On one side of the clip is a large fisheye lens, and on the other is the wide-angle lens. Unscrew the wide-angle lens to reveal the macro lens. Flip it over to use the fisheye lens.

The Ollo Clip is precision made to fit very snugly onto a bare iPhone — no cases, no thick screen protectors. I had the super thin Moshi Film Protector sheets on the front and back of the phone, and the clip barely fit over the front film protector and peeled off the film protector on the back. You’ll really need to try one out on your phone if you have screen protectors or stickers like the FitsPod Sanrio collection on your phone.

Once you do get the Ollo Clip onto you iPhone 4 or 4S, then you have the chance to add some interesting shots to your Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter uploads. You can see in the sample photos below what each lens can do.

Regular photo taken about 10 inches above my keyboard

The wide-angle lens captures so much more.

The fisheye lens should make for a lot of interesting shots!

With a bit of practice, you can get a sharper focus. I wanted to take a shot of an ant, but it kept running away.

The wide-angle lens will let you take in more of whatever scene you’re shooting, though photos suffer from an obvious barrel distortion and some (barely) noticeable vignetting. So, this is not going to let you take wide-angle photos that look anything like shots taken from a regular point-and-shoot with a relatively wide angle lens like the Lumix LX-5 or the Canon S95. Close shots will look distorted, but it should work well for landscapes and other scenery.

The fisheye and macro lenses are the more interesting ones, I think, because they add an effect that’s not achievable with an iPhone camera and software (i.e., apps that offer filters and other effects).

The Ollo Clip sells for $70 online, though you do have the option of having a service like BalikbayanBok bring it in for you (at a cool Php5,000) if you don’t want to bug your relatives or friends to get it for you and bring it over.. Casual camera users won’t find a compelling reason to get this, but shutterbugs should have loads of fun with the Ollo Clip.

Likes

• Offers photo effects you can’t get just by using apps
• Small and easy to carry, even in your shirt pocket
• Comes with a lens cap for each side and a small pouch

Dislikes

• Barrel distortion for the wide-angle lens
• Very tight fit on the iPhone — it might peel off your screen protector

Jason

Jason de Villa is teacher by day and a geek at all other times of the day. When he’s not teaching, he’s reading and writing about technology, looking for ways technology can help in education. His favorite noodles: Pancit Malabon Express.

email: jason@technoodling.netwebsite: http://www.technoodling.net