Top 5 Mobile Lens Kits for Filmmaking

Today we will talk about the most sought-after mobile lens kit for filmmaking.

Nowadays, a clip-on lens is a right option for obtaining the best value for your money. Smartphones are becoming the choice both of amateurs and professionals when it comes to filmmaking and vlogging.

To keep up with the current trend, distributors are rushing to find a new hot sale. Add-on lenses are many, and the choice can be tricky. Here is what you need to know.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mobile filmmaking trends
Mobile lens for filmmaking types
Anamorphic lens
Wide-angle lens
Macro lens
Telephoto lens
Our Reality

Mobile Filmmaking Trend

Following social media obsession, mobile filmmaking has become a widespread trend. Millennials tend to prefer emerging mobile filmmaking accessories over expensive professional camera setups.

This group of customers asks for enhanced image quality. In answer to consumers' demand, manufacturers have been investing in mobile lens add-on development.

The major selling point is offering something that a standard phone camera cannot achieve. Besides, a mobile lens kit can easily be carried around and attached to the smartphone. Practicality is the key advantage of their success, together with compatibility with varied smartphone models.

Whether you have an old or new mobile phone, it doesn't matter.

Mobile lens for filmmaking types

Why shall we use mobile lens kits? This is a valid question that comes to mind.

Smartphone lenses cannot exceed a specific size. Optics size plays a significant role in imaging rendering. Due to these limitations, external lenses have appeared, reducing the gap with digital cameras.

Nowadays, there's no doubt that even the most reluctant photographers have started considering the value of mobile camera lens kits.

Clip-on mobile lenses are a great way to expand users' options at minimal expense. Mobile lenses type is countless and differs in utilization.

This article will focus on filmmaking's mobile lenses' main categories: anamorphic, macro, wide-angle, and telephoto lenses.

Let's dive right in!

ANAMORPHIC LENS

Smartphone anamorphic lenses were designed to improve the quality of videomaking. This type of lens allows you to obtain cinematic-style shots, with the classic "squashed" format with black bands on the horizontal edges typical of Hollywood films. The shape of the lens also manages to create flare and particular light effects. Due to these elements, an anamorphic lens can add originality to the shots.

Distinctive features

Horizontal flare
Oval shaped bokeh
Shallow depth of field
Higher vertical resolution

When buying, customers consider the product composition. The top brand offers high-quality precision casing, cinema glass with excellent optical coating.

Users also seek mobile kits that can easily attach to filters ( e.g., ND filters), allowing them to control the image's exposure.

Ultimately, many photographers want to achieve special lighting effects and horizontal reflection to increase professionalism. The primary choice is a 1.33x anamorphic lens, which gives 2.4 anamorphic stretches. The 2.40 stretch ratio is the most popular for streaming and videos shareable on Youtube.

APEXEL HD 1.33X Anamorphic Lens for iPhone

At Apexel, we went one step further. Our team has developed a 1.33x FMC coating anamorphic lens. Blackened lenses offer sharp imaging, and they are compatible with 37mm filters. The horizontal vision is expanded by 33%, opening up to a 2.4:1 ratio with less than 3% distortion.

The "C" mount design grants accurate positioning and makes it easy to adjust the smartphone horizontally or vertically. The result is a fantastic tool for video creation ( especially suited for portrait and landscape).

WIDE-ANGLE LENS

Smartphone wide-angle lenses allow you to focus on a larger portion of the scene from a shorter distance. Simply put, a wide-angle lens is used to exaggerate perspective making objects closer to the lens look larger.

These types of lenses are useful for filmmaking to capture master shots of a whole scene. With amazing effect results, filmmakers have also been using the well-known fisheye lens. Fisheyes lenses push wide-angle to the limit creating a deliberate deformation of the image (180 angles).

Distinctive features

Short focal lengths
Improved depth of field
Enhanced perspective

Ultimately, videographers are mainly concerned with the sharpness of the image. The quality of wide-angle lenses is based on the measurement of focal length. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view, and the lower the magnification.

Especially for filmmaking, improved depth of field is crucial. This point translates into how much a scene is blurry and how much is sharp.

APEXEL 110 Degree Wide Angle Lens & HD 195 Degree Super Fisheye Lens

Material and manufacturing processes are the secrets behind these optics' performance. Multi-coating optics glass with aircraft-grade aluminum alloy can minimize reflections. The overall videos are clear and crisp, keeping under check the distortion effect.

MACRO LENS

A macro lens is capable of enlarging images showing more details about the subject. Overall, these lenses guarantee ultra-sharp and super detailed photos. The smartphone macro lens is ideal for shooting videos about natural landscapes, small animals, and plants.

Filmmakers use macro lenses usually to capture tiny subjects such as insects, vegetation, or artwork.

Distinctive features

Longer focal length
Magnification ratio of 1:1
Minimum focusing distance

A common worry about macro lenses are their minimum focusing distance and magnification. These elements can drive people crazy, especially with moving targets like insects.

For this reason, users are seeking tools with longer focal lengths. Longer focal length lenses have a greater working distance than a shorter ones. The advantage of the larger working distance is the ability to stay farther from your subject.

APEXEL HD 100mm Super Macro Lens for Smartphone

At Apexel, we have developed a multi-layer optical coated macro lens that increases light transmittance and reduces light reflections. At the same time, the focus of Apexel macro lenses ranges from 4cm to 7cm (as compared to 3cm of standard lenses). Such a wide focus width results in sharp images and maintains the subject's original color. For this reason, macro lenses are perfect for filming insects and other tiny subjects.

TELEPHOTO LENS

Telephoto or zoom lenses can "crop" the scene. The primary use of these tools is to shoot faraway objects, highlighting their details. When it comes to taking videos, these optics can also become important for close-up streaming or vlogs, as they highlight people's face.

Distinctive features

Focal length of 60mm or longer
Shallow depth-of-field
Improved bokeh effect

The telephoto lens also can freeze the image of distant subjects without affecting the shot's quality. This characteristic, together with stabilization, is highly demanded by users. Another requirement is the improved bokeh effect (the effect of soft out-of-focus background), which is used frequently in telephoto videos.

APEXEL HD 2X Portrait 60MM Telephoto Lens for Smartphone

Among our iconic products, we have the 60MM telephoto lens. The portable clip makes it easier to stabilize the image with HD pure optical glass. The 2X telephoto lens refers to optics with a focal length of 55mm-135mm, designed for video shooting of character close-ups. As for other models, these types of lenses support filters and are practical to install.

Our Reality

Apexel has over ten years of experience in developing and manufacturing photography and professional video equipment. We have provided our partners with OEM & ODM one-stop services.

We have passed CE, ROHS, REACH certifications, bringing quality control up to international standards. Our patented mobile lens components are compatible with 98% of the smartphone models on the market.