Camera lenses

  I've been thinking more and more about the physical production of my piece and how I really want to make this look as good as I possibly can. I can't afford a fancy camera with all these cool lenses, but I recently remembered that you can order different lenses to attach to your phone's camera to get similar effects to that of a professional camera! So I decided to do research into the different types of lenses I can get. I am looking at their function and the effect they have on footage, the quality of the product, and how much each one costs.

The first one that immediately caught my attention was the Criacr Phone Camera Lens Kit for $20 on Amazon. Three different lenses come with the kit, and they're all clip on so you don't need a special phone case, or any phone case at all. The lenses are a fish eye lens, a wide-angle, and a macro 10x lens. This would be perfect for a beginner in using different types of lens for filming other than just the standard phone camera, as well as perfect for a student's project as I don't need anything fancy, and it's perfect for my budget!

  The next to catch my attention was the Godefa Cell Phone Camera Lens with Tripod and Shutter Remote. This one goes for $29 on Amazon but you get a lot more for less than just ten dollars more than the other kit shown above. Each lens is also clip on and accessible with or without a phone case so there is no need to invest in an additional phone case. The lenses that come with the kit are a 18x telephoto zoom lens, 0.63x wide angle lens, 15x macro lens, 198 degree fish eye lens, six different kaleidoscope lenses,  a CPL filter lens, and an additional tripod and Bluetooth camera shutter that can be used for both snapping pictures and recording videos. This one has even more options than the last one and fits my budget really really well, and can still give that professional look to a student's project. This one is definitely winning so far.

  Another one on the more pricey side of my budget is the Hitcase Truelux Lens Bundle. It goes for $100 directly at Hitcase and comes with three lenses, superwide, wide, and macro, so it's all the basics I would need. The higher price probably produces a higher quality that I would be willing to invest in, the only downside to this is it doesn't come with a clip for the lenses as it is something that has to be ordered separately for an additional $15 also at Hitcase.

  Many of the other phone lenses I researched were very pricey for my range or may not have included everything I was looking for, these were the best kits I could find for reasonable prices. I think my best option is definitely the second one listed. It comes with a lot more and can give a really professional look to short film shot on an iPhone. It is also adaptable to almost any smartphone so it is something I can keep for a long time and use for future projects. It's a good investment for a starters kit.