Are you looking for high-quality, affordable iPhone lenses for macro or wide-angle photography? If so, the Hitcase iPhone lenses might be just what you’re looking for. Read on to discover more about the Hitcase Macro, Wide, and SuperWide lenses… and how they performed when we tested them out.
Hitcase iPhone Lenses
Hitcase offers three add-on iPhone camera lenses:
- Macro lens for close-up photography
- Wide lens for wide-angle shots
- SuperWide lens for an ultra-wide fisheye view
The Hitcase lenses feel solid and well-made. The lens body is made from anodized aluminum. And the lens itself is glass – unlike some lower-quality plastic lenses.
Lens elements are anti-reflective and have anti-scratch coatings.
All Hitcase lenses are completely waterproof, dust-proof, and snow-proof.
Each Hitcase iPhone camera lens comes with a front and back lens cap. So when you’re not using your lenses, pop the lens caps on to protect them from damage.
With each iPhone lens, you get a cloth case with integrated lens cloth for cleaning.
There’s also the option to buy a padded case for carrying all three lenses.
Each Hitcase lens cost $39.99. Or you can buy all three lenses with the padded case for $99.99.
How To Attach Hitcase Lenses To Your iPhone
So, how do you attach a Hitcase camera lens to your iPhone?
You can only mount Hitcase lenses onto a Hitcase iPhone case.
There are several case designs – from slimline leather to sturdy waterproof cases.
Each Hitcase iPhone lens has both a built-in magnet as well as a screwthread.
Most of the Hitcase phone cases let you attach the lenses magnetically.
The magnetic mounting system definitely has some benefits. It’s very easy to attach and detach the lenses. And it’s quick to switch between different lenses as you’re shooting.
But the magnetic mount isn’t as secure as the screwthread mount. So you have to be careful not to knock the lens as you’re shooting.
It’s quite easy to dislodge the lens if you knock it. And this can result in it moving to the wrong position or even falling off completely.
For this reason, I’d recommend using the Hitcase PRO case ($99.99). This case has a screwthread lens mount, allowing you to attach your lens very securely.
The PRO case is waterproof, so you can take amazing underwater photos too!
Now, let’s take a look at each of the Hitcase iPhone lenses in more detail…
Macro Lens For Incredible Close-Up Photography
Do you want to take stunning close-up macro photos of flowers, insects, and other small objects?
Then you’ll need the Hitcase Macro lens!
This 3x magnification macro lens lets you focus at very close distances (12-22mm). So you can capture tiny close-up details that are hard to see with the naked eye.
Some iPhone macro lenses suffer from heavy blurring around the edges of the image. But the Hitcase macro lens for iPhone has edge-to-edge clarity. And this results in fantastic image quality.
As with all macro lenses, the depth of field is very shallow. So keep in mind that only a small part of the scene will be in focus from front to back.
I found it easy to achieve sharp focus with the Hitcase macro iPhone lens. And it captured the tiny details and textures of my subjects.
Macro photography opens up a whole new world of creativity.
And the Hitcase macro lens is definitely one of the best lenses for iPhone macro photography. It produces clear and sharp images with fantastic detail.
Wide Lens For Getting More Into The Frame
Do you often struggle to fit everything into your photo?
This can be especially difficult when shooting landscapes, wide-open spaces, or architecture.
If you want to capture a wider field of view with your iPhone camera, the Hitcase Wide lens is perfect.
This wide-angle lens for iPhone allows you to fit twice as much into the frame.
It’s perfect for landscape and travel photography as you can fit more scenery into your photo.
I shot the photo above with the Hitcase Wide lens. For comparison, I took the photo below with the built-in iPhone lens.
As you can see, you can get a lot more into the frame with the add-on Wide lens from Hitcase.
The Wide lens is also ideal for architecture photography as you can get more of the building into the frame.
In the photo above, the Hitcase Wide lens allowed me to get the entire church into my photo.
For comparison, the photo below was shot from the same position without the add-on Wide lens.
Some wide-angle iPhone lenses produce images with very blurry edges. But the Hitcase Wide lens has great clarity.
On some photos, I could see some very slight blurring in the corners. But it’s barely noticeable.
One thing you’ll notice with a wide lens is that straight lines can appear curved.
In the photo below, notice how the sides of the house are curved rather than straight.
This kind of “barrel distortion” is normal when shooting with a wide-angle lens though. The wider the angle, the more distortion you’ll get.
Overall, I was impressed with the Hitcase Wide lens. And I’ll definitely use it whenever I want to get more scenery into my shot.
SuperWide Lens For An Ultra-Wide Field Of View
The Hitcase SuperWide lens allows you to capture an extremely wide field of view.
With this lens, you can fit a huge amount of the scene into your photo.
Ultra-wide lenses produce a “fisheye” effect. This is where the photo appears to bulge out from the middle.
With the Hitcase SuperWide lens, the curving of straight lines is very apparent.
You wouldn’t want this effect for all your shots. But it can definitely produce some interesting and creative results.
While much of the image has excellent clarity, you’ll definitely see a bit of blurring in the corners.
But this is typical of ultra-wide iPhone lenses. And the clarity is much better than other fisheye lenses that I’ve tried in the past.
One problem that you get with a lot of iPhone fisheye lenses is dark vignetting around the edge of the image. But you get hardly any vignette with the Hitcase SuperWide lens.
As you can see from the image above, I got a tiny amount of darkness in the top corners. But you could remove this using either the Crop or Healing tool in an editing app like Snapseed.
You could use the SuperWide lens for landscapes, cityscapes, or building interiors.
It’s also great for team photos and sports photography.
The Hitcase SuperWide lens offers an extremely close minimum focusing distance (16mm). And this allows you to take ultra-wide close-up photos.
You’re unlikely to want this SuperWide lens for everyday photography. But it’s certainly great fun to experiment with!
Hitcase iPhone Camera Lenses: Review Summary
If you’re looking for high-quality, affordable iPhone lenses, Hitcase is a great choice.
Each lens (Macro, Wide, and SuperWide) costs $39.99. Or you can buy the Hitcase Lens Kit containing all three lenses for $99.99.
The Hitcase Macro lens for iPhone is perfect for photographing flowers, insects, and other small subjects. It produces clear and sharp photos at very close distances.
The Hitcase Wide lens allows you to capture more of the scene in a wider-angle shot. It produces great quality photos with little or no blurring around the edges.
The Hitcase SuperWide lens lets you capture an even wider field of view. It does produce some blurring around the edges. But you get barely any of the dark vignetting that’s so common with this type of fisheye lens.
Hitcase are definitely amongst the best lenses for iPhone. And they offer a great range of cases for mounting your lenses onto.
From the slimline CRIO case ($19.99) to the waterproof PRO case ($99.99), you can choose one to suit your needs.
The only downside I could find with the Hitcase lens system was the magnetic mountings.
While it provides an easy way to attach and detatch the lenses, they don’t stay on securely when you’re on the move.
Maybe they’ll offer screwthread mountings on all their cases at some point. But for now, I’d recommend using the PRO case which lets you securely attach the lens with a screwthread.
With this setup, you can even experiment with amazing underwater photography!
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