Since the iPhone camera is really quite small in comparison to other point & shoot cameras – with the largest being the iPhone 4 at an overall not THAT impressive 5 megapixels. So needless to say the lens capability of the iPhone is pretty limited. Sure, the iPhone has digital zoom, but let’s face it, digital zoom is not that useful when you have to sacrifice the quality of your images just to get a closer image. 
<br class="spacer_" />
<div><a title="Old Trafford iPhone Fisheye by Toby Donaldson, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eztobyd/5713843343/" target="_blank">[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="496" alt="" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fisheye.jpg"]</a></div>
&nbsp;
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Old Trafford iPhone Fisheye</em>
Photo by Toby Donaldson</p>
<br class="spacer_" />

So if you want to get a bit tricky with your iPhone camera, and take your iPhone photos to the next level, there are some pretty cool add-on iPhone lenses to consider. You might be thinking, “Do I really need to buy lenses for my iPhone?” The answer to that is if you’re anything like all of us at The Beginners Lens, then yes…probably! If like many fans of iPhoneography you are looking for some quick and easy ways to make your iPhone a little bit more fun, and a whole lot more versatile (without breaking the bank) then lenses are the way to go. 

Most iPhone lenses are attached using a sleeve and threaded screw, or by a small magnet glued to the phone or case. We would definitely recommend you go for the external sleeve option as it provides more scope for upgrading down the line as the magnet is a one-time only use, and if you get the placement wrong, you’ll have to buy a completely new magnet – what a waste!
<br class="spacer_" />
<div><a title="Fisheye Lens With Sleeve" href="http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/40099/thumbs-up-fisheye-lens-iphone" target="_blank">[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="615" height="365" alt="" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fisheyewithsleeve.jpg"]</a></div>
&nbsp;
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Fisheye Lens With External Sleeve</em></p>
<br class="spacer_" />

There’s quite a good selection of lenses available including fisheye, macro, wide angle, sparkle effect, starburst effect, tri-image mirage, even telescope zoom which offers up to 8x optical zoom, plus more. Some of the lenses even come equipped with an add-on flash, to accommodate for the early iPhones that do not have a built-in flash. But do keep in mind that many of the lenses are not powered, so forget about the autofocus…be prepared to make manual adjustments. Prices are quite reasonable and range anywhere from $15 up, sure, you could spend a bomb but in many cases you don’t need to as the less expensive versions give a very good effect, making them a fun, inexpensive way to experiment with your iPhone camera. 

Hey, what about the apps? With over 400,000 apps in the app store there might be a digital way to achieve the same effect that you could with the lens. But truthfully, most of the apps don’t hold a candle to what can be done with the actual hardware, so if you’re big into iPhoneography treat yourself to a little piece of glass that can do big things for your iPhone photos.
