aNewDomain — The Olloclip is a clip-on lens system made specifically for the iPhone. The 4-in-1 Olloclip that I played with is the company’s newest release, and is designed specifically for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The included lenses are Fisheye, Wide-angle, 10X Macro and 15X Macro.
The Olloclip comes with three pendants in various colors, which let you carry around the lenses easily and safely. It also comes with a small microfiber carry bag, a neck strap and lens covers. There are also two small plastic inserts. The insert for the iPhone 6 is preinstalled, but if you’re using a 6 Plus, as I did for this review, you have to remove the plastic part and insert the correct one for the iPhone 6 Plus. Then you simply slide the lens over the top of the iPhone. This Olloclip works on both the front and rear cameras.
Functionality
The quality of the Olloclip is quite good. The lenses are real glass, the casings are made of metal and the clip that holds the lenses on the smartphone consists of heavy-duty plastic. The pendants, too, are made of quality plastic, and come with a nice carrying bag.
Everything is well-constructed and fits tightly. As you might expect, that means that if you have a case on your iPhone, you will have to remove it to use the Olloclip. The other slight drawback to the Olloclip is that it covers your flash, so you have to make sure you have plenty of light for your shots.
The Lenses
When you get the Olloclip you will only see two lenses, the Wide-angle and the Fisheye. When you unscrew each of those lenses you’ll find the two Macro lenses underneath, waiting for you.
The Macro lenses look good, but have a limited range. You have to hold the lens 1 to 1 ½ inches away for the perfect focus, but they do provide sharp and clean images, as shown by this picture of a dime. When combined with the excellent optical image stabilization of the iPhone 6 Plus, the Macro photos are pretty spectacular. This photo was easily taken without a tripod or external stabilization.
The Wide-angle lens has a slight distortion on the edges, but it will easily allow you to capture the whole group in a single selfie or a large portion of a room into a picture.
The Fisheye lens is just plain fun. It adds a different angle and style to all your pictures, which is never a bad thing.
All-in-all, the Olloclip is well made and quite useful. It adds a world of versatility to the iPhone camera. At a retail price of $89.95, it’s not inexpensive, but is an entirely worthy add-on for the photo buff who wants to be ready to shoot with both the iPhone and a handful of lenses in his pocket.
For aNewDomain, I’m Sandy Berger.
All Images: Sandy Berger
