In the world of clip on lenses, there are only about a million different products and kits out there that allow you to get a little bit more from your smartphone camera, and even though most phones can take incredible pictures and videos already, those clip on lenses can really make a difference by adding come abilities your smartphone might not have. In this video though, I’m not going to show you some inexpensive off brand lens kit from amazon. Instead, I’m gunna show you this, the sandmarc wide angle lens kit for the iPhone X. This is a premium, professional smartphone lens setup for people who want to take their pictures and videos to a new level. Sandmarc not only makes a handful of smartphone lenses, but they also make professional accessories for DJI drones and go pro cameras, and the accessories they make are about as good as it gets. Sandmarc’s products do come at a premium, but for the price you pay, I’m not sure you can find anything better.
Sandmarc iPhone X Lenses (Official Website)
DJI Filters (Amazon Link)
GoPro Filters (Amazon Link)
I’ll go over how it all works in a second, but inside the box you get a bunch of stuff including a phone case, the lens and lens caps, a clip, a bag and a cleaning cloth.
Sandmarc’s lenses are big and heavy with a metal construction and solid glass, and they really do look and feel like a DSLR lens rather than just some cheap accessory for your phone. You can use the lens in 2 different ways, by either screwing It in to the included case that’ll go on the phone, or by screwing on to the clip and clipping that onto the phone. Sandmarc’s case is pretty simple and minimal, it mostly just covers the back and corners of the phone but it’s a very secure way to attach the big heavy lens, it screwed into the metal housing around back over the rear camera and this setup allow everything to be a little more secure and permanent. However, if you want to use your own case or maybe want to continuously remove the lens during shooting, the clip is also a great option. It’s still pretty secure even over the awkwardness of the iPhone X’s camera bump, and with the clip you can also utilize the lens for the front facing camera as well in order to squeeze more people into a selfie or generally get a better view of what’s going on around you.
This wide angle lens allows for up to 2x more field of view in pictures and video, and in practice it works really well. With lenses like these, there’s always the concern for an unintentionally fisheye effect or some distortion in straight lines or around the edges of pictures, but I found that Sandmarc did a great job ensuring that everything remains true to life. Especially with the iPhone, while there are a lot of great features and modes in iOS, there is no stock wide angle option like the LG V30 has for example, so this lens sort of ushers in a whole new world of possibilities as far as tight spaces or broad landscapes. And in video as well, not only can you not even tell there’s an external lens mounted on, but the distortion is very minimal.
I’d say the biggest downside with SandMarc’s products are the price, but these kinds of accessories are far better than the dime sized lenses you can buy for $10 bucks on Amazon. What you’re getting here is a premium, exceptional product that honestly does feel like the kind of glass you’d shoot with on a standalone camera. You’re not only getting the complete package with the case and clip and everything, you’re getting the best complete package on the market that lets you take the best kinds of pictures and videos and expand the ability of your smartphone camera way beyond what you get out of the box.
