Straight From NYC’s CE Week, 2015
These days everyone fancies themselves to be an amateur photographer. It’s no wonder as everyone that has an iPhone in their pocket has instant access to a pretty impressive camera. In a short amount of time smartphones have made the mobile phone a contender for the “best mobile camera” award.
Well, when I was at the 2015 CE Week in New York, I saw the newest option in Galaxy and iPhone accessories that is going to clinch that title for smartphones with ease. The attachments offered by ōlloclip take mobile phone photography to the next level by giving their customers easy access to a variety of high-quality photo lenses. What really caught my interest were the ways it could help those in the A/V custom integration business. When marking wires in a room, the wide-angle lens makes it easier to view the entire room for identification and location purposes. With the fisheye or macro lenses, getting images in a tight spot without pulling the whole rack out is a great way to get serial or product numbers.
Read on to get a sense of what ōlloclip can provide for you:
The Versatile ōlloclip 4-in-1 Lens:
The ōlloclip 4-in-1 lens gives you the best bang for your buck. The 4 advanced-optic lenses work with both the front and rear-facing cameras on iPhones, allowing for altered views from any angle. They are pocket-sized and can be easily carried around either on the included keychain pendants or in the microfiber bag that doubles as a lens cleaner.
With the fisheye iPhone lens your camera view turns ultra-wide, almost like you’re looking at the world through a fishbowl. The wide-angle lens doubles the size of the image that you can capture with one click, which is great for large buildings or groups of people. Lastly, the 10x and 15x Macro lenses allow for intense magnification of objects, so you can capture the ridges in a fingerprint or the beads of dew on a blade of grass
Specific to iPhones: Telephoto, CPL, and Ultra-Wide Lenses
If you have an iPhone, the 4-in-1 lens isn’t your only option. Ōlloclip has a variety of other lens combos that grant access to a wider array of camera views. The telephoto lens, for instance, utilizes a 2x optical zoom, which is perfect for capturing objects that are far away, or adding incredible detail to close-up subjects.
The ultra-wide lens is great for action shots, group selfies, and stunning panoramas. And the Circular Polarizing Lens (CPL) reduces glare when shooting reflective surfaces such as water or windows, and also accentuates your photos by making colorful scenes really pop.
Downsides: No Flash or Phone Cases
Unfortunately, ōlloclip lenses, for the time being, are not compatible with the flash function on your smartphone. This isn’t the biggest problem in the world, as it is often relatively easy to find a light source to add to dark scenes that will allow you to use your lenses anywhere and at any time.
Your phone also needs to be “naked,” unless you purchase ōlloclip’s new phone case. It is also highly unlikely that they’ll be adapting to specific case designs, such as Otterbox, as they would never be able to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding case market.
The bottom line is that ōlloclip is an affordable and highly functional accessory for your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy 5. The camera autofocuses with one tap of a finger and the lenses work with all of the best photo and video apps (Instagram, Vine, SnapChat, etc.). In sum, ōlloclip is a convenient and cool addition for your next adventure.
