The Olloclip for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S
As an avid iPhone photographer, I love to find gadgets or devices that will make my photographic experience more enjoyable and easier. And let’s not forget fun, too. I’ve tried a lot of iPhone accessories, and there is one that absolutely fascinated me! And that accessory is the Olloclip.
Just for full disclosure, I wrote to Olloclip to see if we could try it out. This week we have a three part review of the Olloclip. My review is right below, but Keith Tharp and Matt Hoffman (my podcast co-hosts) will soon follow.
So without further delay, let’s get this review started:
The Olloclip is a three in one set of lenses for your iPhone 4 or 4S. It comprises of a wide angle lens, a macro lens and a fish eye lens. It fits snuggly on the phone, clipping over the lens. Like a glove! The Olloclip sells for about $70 on their web site, but you can get it cheaper on other web sites.
Let me just get this out of the way now: I love it! Now let me break it down.
I’ve wanted a good macro lens and wide angle lens for my iPhone for a while now. I had the one that I purchased from Photojojo a while ago that required a metal ring to be stickered around the iPhone lens. Once in place, you would then place lens on the phone.
The magnets were good. It held the lens in place, and I really have nothing bad to say about it. My only gripe was that I could not get the lens to sit properly centered. And it would show in the corners of my photos.
With the Olloclip, I don’t have to worry about that. You just slip this right over the corner of your iPhone and it’s done. Snug as a bug. When you’re done, taking it off is just as easy. You just pull it off. And it leaves no marks. I was kind of afraid it would scratch the glass the fit was that tight, but after many uses, the iPhone looks just as good as when I put it on.
How is the image quality? It’s awesome!
Macro:
You can get really close! And the images are really sharp. Whether it’s look at flowers, or looking at the corner of the one dollar bill to see if that little thing there was an owl or a spider, this thing can do it… and solve an age old mystery of mine since childhood.
You get the macro option by unscrewing the wide angle lens.
Here are some images below:
Macro shot taken with the Olloclip
And
Another Macro shot with the Olloclip!
Wide Angle:
Of the three lens options, this is the one I enjoy the most. The wide angle allows me to get closer to the object I want photographed and still have a lot in the field of view. Here is a tree that I photographed and the difference between with the wide angle and without.
Shot without the Olloclip Wide Angle.
Shot WITH the Olloclip’s wide angle
It’s also great for landscapes, allowing for a wider field of view.
Without the Olloclip wide angle
WITH the Olloclip wide angle
The images come out great, and there is no clipping from an ill-placed lens.
Fish Eye:
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of fisheye photography. It’s just not my cup of tea. So I wouldn’t know what a good fisheye looks like from a bad. However, I did play with it with my limited knowledge. Here are some of the shots I took:
Fisheye lens
Fisheye lens
Not a fan of that kind of distortion, but it did get me thinking of what I would do with photos like this. I cropped it, and then painted it with another app. And this was my photo:
Fisheye photo edited and painted using Corel Painter’s iPad app.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I really enjoyed the Olloclip. The one negative I have is the price. It’s $70. But the Olloclip is built solidly. It’s light and strong. And it’s seriously a perfect fit over the iPhone 4S I own. This accessory is going to last! And so the $70 price tag is well worth it. I only pray that it will still fit over the next version of iPhone.
Another negative is that it only fits over the iPhone… it will not fit over any iPhone cases. This is an unfair double-edged sword. Sure, they could have made something more universal, but then it wouldn’t have that perfect fit that it does now. iPhone cases come in so many shapes and sizes that it wouldn’t be possible to make something that fit as comfortably as it does on just the iPhone. This “negative” is a matter of personal preference.
If you are someone that has to have their iPhone protected at all times, then perhaps the Olloclip isn’t for you.
But I don’t mind shooting with just the iphone (causeless).
In my experience, I would give the Olloclip a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a very solid lens! Well done!
Stay tuned later in the week for Keith Tharp’s review as well as Matt Hoffman’s.