External Lenses for Mobile phones

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psychrn

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#197898 17-Jun-2016 00:14

Came across this product this evening while searching for something else.

Anybody here every played with something like it or vouch for them??

http://www.banggood.com/Universal-8X-Optical-Zoom-Telescope-Camera-Lens-For-Mobile-Phone-p-952981.html

Anyone also while we are hear dealt with this company?

Im a firm believer in Mobile phone camera useage. Use a Galaxy Note 5 and used the camera extensively on several overseas trips with good results.

I wonder about one of these as an aid. But IO wonder how good or not they might be, Is it just a gimmick

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richms

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#1575436 17-Jun-2016 02:09

Bought a few things off bang good before, no worries, but check aliexpress as many things are on there for cheaper, and actually get sent by banggood and the guy selling on aliexpress are just dropshippers.

As for the quality of a $12 lens. Yeah. not that good. I had one that had really bad artifacts at the corners and a sort of funhouse mirror effect on things as they moved across it. Also the allignment with the phones camera had to be exact or it was only a partial image. Not something I would use other than a novelty.

Richard rich.ms

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#1575469 17-Jun-2016 08:23

I wouldn't touch a cheap chinese camera lens. Waste of time and money. Socks ok. Zip ties ok. Shoes i start to question. Precision glass (aka cheap plastic)... No way!

Linuxluver

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#1575473 17-Jun-2016 08:28

I've bought cheap, external lenses before. Fisheye, polarising, various other. What they all had in common was cheap optics. They actually work....like you'd expect an $18 lens to work. Too much light and you get glare. The success or fail is a function of how the combined focal length of external device and your phone's lens combine. You may have to add some very thin layers to adjust the focal length if it isn't perfect out of the box. If you need to reduce the distance then you're more or less out of luck. I've had success with adding small metal rings that came with the lens, about 1mm in thickness. You'd insert them between the base of the external lens and lens on the phone. If the lens on the phone stands up awkwardly this can be tricky if you have big hands. I have big hands. :-)

But for $18? Have a go. If it works, it's awesome.

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Linuxluver

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#1575474 17-Jun-2016 08:30

joker97: I wouldn't touch a cheap chinese camera lens. Waste of time and money. Socks ok. Zip ties ok. Shoes i start to question. Precision glass (aka cheap plastic)... No way!

$18.....if it works at all it's close to being worth it. ;-)

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#1575519 17-Jun-2016 09:47

I'd be very interested in the OP's feedback when he gets to use it

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#1575521 17-Jun-2016 09:48

Linuxluver:
joker97: I wouldn't touch a cheap chinese camera lens. Waste of time and money. Socks ok. Zip ties ok. Shoes i start to question. Precision glass (aka cheap plastic)... No way!

$18.....if it works at all it's close to being worth it. ;-)

I guess i care about picture quality of my dslrs ... Forgot that we are talking about phone sensors.

Also didn't realise olliclip sells stuff for a bit more

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#1575622 17-Jun-2016 11:16

joker97:
Linuxluver:

joker97: I wouldn't touch a cheap chinese camera lens. Waste of time and money. Socks ok. Zip ties ok. Shoes i start to question. Precision glass (aka cheap plastic)... No way!

$18.....if it works at all it's close to being worth it. ;-)

I guess i care about picture quality of my dslrs ... Forgot that we are talking about phone sensors.

Also didn't realise olliclip sells stuff for a bit more

I have the Olloclip for iPhone, would recommend. Very good quality have taken some pretty amazing shots with it. However I understand they are a bit pricey, I won it so price wasn't a factor thankfully.

psychrn

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#1576068 18-Jun-2016 00:29

Havnt ordered anything yet just getting an indication of other folks experience!!

GZMCC. Lenovo Yoga C640. 8 gb Ram and 256Gb SSD, Cam Am Spyder 2016 F3 LTD. GoPro 5 Black, Samsung S22 Ultra, Huawei Watch D. Samsung S6 Lite Tablet, Amateur Radio Callsign ZL1CJH