I didn’t think it was going to happen, but ever since the iPhone 4 came out, I’ve become more and more convinced that a smartphone’s camera can be good enough to replace a dedicated point & shoot camera. One need not look further than my iPhone 5 for proof, as most of my son’s baby pictures and half of my vacation pics from the last couple of months were shot using my iPhone 5.
Inside the package: The Olloclip system (Fisheye lens, Macro lens and Wide angle lens (screwable)), two lens cover and small carry-on pouch
Fisheye lens affixed on the iPhone 5
Last year, our discerning editor-in-chief reviewed the Olloclip iPhone 4S lens attachment and found it to be quite useful. With the release of the Olloclip for the iPhone 5, I reckon it’s an interesting enough product to give it the full-review treatment for a second time. Of course this time, from a totally different perspective.
Just like last year’s Olloclip, the new Olloclip for the iPhone 5 has the same three kind of lenses: macro, wide-angle and fisheye. Constructed using a combination of metal, plastic and glass, the Olloclip looks and feels like an engineering marvel. It’s far different from those cheap trick lens that cheap Chinese companies have been flooding the market. Whereas those cheap plastic lens are attached on the iPhone using double-sided tape, the Olloclip easily slides on the corner of the iPhone 5 and snugly stays in place. I tried jerking the phone left and right with the lens attached and it managed to successfully stay in place. Based on build quality alone, it’s quite obvious that the asking price of Php 2,950 is indeed warranted. While I was in the process of writing this review, I accidentally dropped the Olloclip on the concrete floor, it’s still in one piece and looks no worse for wear.
Using the wide angle lens
Unscrewing the wide angle lens will reveal the macro lens
On the outset, the wide-angle and fish eye lens can be used by simply switching the placement of the lens. The big lens is for the fisheye while the smaller lens is for wide-angle. Unscrewing the wide-angle lens will reveal the macro lens. The package includes two plastic lens cover and a small carry-on pouch.
But does the Olloclip work? Take a gander at the sample pictures that I took:
Picture taken using just the iPhone 5
Using the Olloclip wide angle lens
Using the Olloclip fisheye lens
Close-up picture using just the iPhone 5
Close-up picture using the Olloclip macro lens
As you can plainly see, the wide angle lens gives the iPhone 5 camera wider coverage both horizontally and vertically, the fisheye lens gets even wider, while the macro makes everything clearer up close.
Bottomline:
Is it worth the asking price of Php 2,950? Definitely! With the iPhone 5 being my main camera, having the ability to expand (literally!) the shooting capabilities of the iPhone 5 is a very awesome thing. Heck, the ability to have a wider range of camera shots has given my Instagram and Facebook photos a boost in quality. The only bad thing that I can say with using the Olloclip is that it can only be used on a naked iPhone. It won’t work with any case and even some screen protectors are too thick to make the Olloclip un-attachable. However, Olloclip is working on the case problem as they will be coming out with an iPhone 5 case soon.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that every iPhone 5 user should get an Olloclip, but it would be a waste to not give your iPhone 5 an additional boost in shooting modes at the reasonable price of Php 2,950.
Price:
Php 2,950
Availability:
All Digital Walker, Digital Hub and Beyond the Box outlets
