Not everyone has the money for the latest flagship smartphone with the latest camera tech. Sometimes we have to make do with what we got, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have options out there to improve your current setup. Basically, if you want up your camera game with what the new phones have, and all you have is a single regular camera, you can just buy lens attachments to give you telephoto, wide-angle, and fisheye look at a fraction of the cost. Take for instance MOVO and their line of clip-on lens attachments for your smartphone. The MOVO SPL-FE, SPL-TELE, and the SPL-WA provide those with just a regular camera more creative opportunities to express themselves.
The MOVO lenses are attachment lenses that clip on top of your phone’s camera lens. Each lens kit comes with its own plastic clip that the lens attaches to. Basically, you just screw the lens to the clip and then clip the whole thing to your smartphone. The lenses themselves are really well made with a full metal body and glass optics. They even come with a metal lens cap to help protect the lens when not in use. Basically, you can just clip them to your bag and not have to worry about them getting damaged when not in use.
Below I’ve take some photo examples of what the MOVO SPL-FE, SPL-TELE, and the SPL-WA are capable of. These shots were taken with a Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra using the normal settings, no zoom or cropping.
For the most part, I’d say the results look pretty good with some minor issues. The telephoto lens is pretty clear in the center but softens up as you move towards the edges. There’s also major vignetting at the corners from the lens. With the wide-angle lens attachment, the results are pretty much the same as well. The center of the image is very clear and softens up at the extreme edges. Overall I’d say both these lenses work out pretty well and make great additions for anyone who wants more from their single-camera smartphone.
The last lens we’ll talk about separately because it’s a super fisheye lens. Fisheye lenses aren’t generally all that useful and are really more of an art lens. These lenses cause huge distortions around the edges that give the look of a fisheye, hence the name. The results definitely are interesting and give a much wider view than even the wide-angle lens.
The MOVO lenses do have to be purchased separately though. There is no kit that comes with all three. That means you can just buy the lens you want, though it also means you’ll have to catty each lens separately and not in a case made to hold all three because there isn’t one. Each lens will set you back about $40 so keep that in mind when choosing the lenses you want to get. Only the MOVO SPL-WA comes with its own carrying case. There does seem to be a space for you to include an extra lens in the case, however.
So are the MOVO lens attachments worth it? If you have a phone that only has one camera on it, I would say so, especially the SPL-TELE and SPL-WA. Both these lenses provide the functionality to your single camera phone that most newer phones have now. In essence, you’ll have a 1x, 3x, and wide-angle camera now. As for the SPL-FE, not everyone is going to like the fisheye effect. For those that do, this is the perfect lens for you to have fun with. For everyone else, you can probably skip the fisheye and just pick up the other two and you’ll still be happy. With that said, the MOVO Smartphone Lenses are a go in my book if you want more oomph with your current camera setup.
You can grab the MOVO attachment lenses below on Amazon:
