Get more out of your iPhone photos with the Imvio Camera Lens Kit

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Folks in the market for an iPhone lens accessory should consider adding the Imvio Camera Lens Kit to their list of prospects. The kit includes an iPhone case, a Fisheye and Wide Angle lens, a protective carrying case, and it’s available for every late-model iPhone starting with the 5s.

I’ve been using Imvio lenses on my iPhone 6s for the past week, and I have to say that overall, it’s a solid product. The case fits well and the lenses attach and detach easily. It’s not perfect though, and I did find a few things I didn’t like during my testing. Read on for my full review.

The Good

The first thing I pulled out of the Imvio box was the iPhone case, so we’ll cover that first. I’m not a fan of the carbon fiber-esque strip across the back (it’s actually a separate piece used to keep the fit tight), but as I said before it fits my phone well and it feels like it would really protect it in the event of a drop. It also has openings at all of the necessary spots, including the headphone jack, speaker and Lightning connector, and the screw mount makes for quick and easy lens attaching/detaching.

I also really like the included lens carrying case. It’s plastic, but it feels solid (like it’s not going to snap in half anytime soon) and the inner foam lining keeps your lenses tight and secure. The highlight, though, is the locking mechanism, which acts like a tiny zipper that allows you to lock and unlock the case with ease. It’s a minor detail, but one that definitely stood out to me.

As for the lenses themselves, they have a really nice weight and feel to them—this is definitely metal and glass here, not plastic. I would have liked to see a macro lens in the set, but the wide angle and fisheye lenses perform as advertised. I’ve seen iPhone photos in the past that claimed to be taken with a clip-on lens and I just couldn’t tell the difference. That’s not the case here. As you can see in the images I’ve posted below, there is a clear bubbling effect with the fisheye lens, and using the wide angle glass expands the capture area by 1-2 feet on both sides.

IMG_0111No lens

IMG_0110Wide angle

IMG_0100Fisheye

The Bad

I hate to do it but I have to point out the ugly carbon fiber design again. Perhaps it’s just me, but I feel like this case would look significantly better if this piece was just solid black. Some of my other gripes about the case include its size—it’s noticeably bulkier than my other cases—and the smaller port openings on the bottom mean it likely won’t be compatible with your favorite dock. I know it seems like I’m nitpicking here, but if you don’t like the case, you won’t use it, and that means you won’t use the lenses.

Other than that, I really don’t have a whole lot of complaints here. Like I said, this is a very solid product.

The Verdict

If you’re after a full lens kit, or at least one with a macro lens, then obviously this isn’t for you (in that case I’d probably recommend the Olloclip or a kit from Photojojo). Otherwise, I have no problem recommending the Imvio kit. The case fits well, and feels protective, and the lenses not only take great photos, but they screw in and out of the case very easily, and store away neatly in the included carrying case. If you don’t want to take my word for it, check out Amazon, where the kit currently has a perfect 5-star rating.

The Imvio Camera Lens Kit starts at $59.99, and goes up to $69.99 depending on your model. You can find out more details and purchase it here.