The Imvio iPhone Lens Kit ($69.99) is an add-on lens solution for iPhones that looks pretty slick in terms of implementation. It includes a sturdy protective case with an attractive design, and makes it easy to attach and detach the included add-on lenses. But it only includes wide-angle and fish-eye lenses that are somewhat redundant in function, and noticeably detract from image quality. If you're serious about add-on lenses for your phone, you'll need to spend a bit more to get quality optics, like the lens included in the iPro Lens Trio Kit ( at Amazon) .
Design and Performance
Imvio offers its phone case ($29.00 at Amazon) in black, red, tan, or teal. Cases are available for the iPhone 5, 5s, 6, and 6s, as well as the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus. I received a teal case which I paired with an iPhone 6 Plus.
The two add-on lenses ship in a protective case that's matched in color to the phone case. Each screws into the phone case. I did notice that some paint strips off of the thread mount when screwing and unscrewing, resulting in fine black powder surrounding the phone lens. It was easy enough to clean using a lens wipe.
Similar Products
Lensbaby LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens for Mobile
iPro Lens Trio Kit
Lensbaby Creative Mobile Kit
Optrix PhotoProX
The wide-angle attachment is quite compact. It stretches the 6 Plus's camera to cover a field of view that I'd approximate at 20mm, which is noticeably wider than the 28mm that the camera captures by default. The shot above was taken with the iPhone's camera sans attachment, and the one below with the wide-angle lens. Image quality in the center is fine, but using the lens noticeably blurs the edges of the frame. So yes, the frame is wider, but a good portion of what's added is unacceptably soft.
The story is the same for the fish-eye attachment. The lens captures a field of view that's much wider than your phone can manage on its own, with the distinct curved look of fish-eye optics. It's so wide that you get black vignettes at the corners of the frame. And again, as you can see below, much of the added field of view is a blur. All three images in this review were shot from the same vantage point.
Conclusions
Add-on lenses for a smartphone can be useful and sharp, like the pricey offerings from iPro, or creative and fun, like those from Lensbaby ($129.32 at Amazon) . The Imvio iPhone Lens Kit doesn't really hit either of those marks. The two included lenses are somewhat redundant in function (a macro or telephoto would have been a better complement to a wide lens), and both detract from image quality to the point that you're best off saving your money and looking for other add-on options. Imvio does promise that more lenses are coming in the future, but we'll have to wait and see if they materialize, and if they'll be of higher quality.
The Imvio iPhone Lens Kit adds wide-angle and fish-eye lenses to your iPhone, but they aren't very good.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
