If you take a jewelers eye loop , and put the iphone lens on it you get really sharp and good looking macro pictures.
Takes a bit to figure it out, but I do it all the time to show close ups.
Not an every day solution, but works
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Explores Adding a Lens Mounting System to the iPhone
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you take a jewelers eye loop , and put the iphone lens on it you get really sharp and good looking macro pictures.
Takes a bit to figure it out, but I do it all the time to show close ups.
Not an every day solution, but works
It would be great if Apple developed a changeable lens system, but filing for a patent on bayonet mounting of lenses? That's 50-60 year old technology. Can't imagine what's left to patent for what would be a simpler system than an SLR.
Does anybody want to buy my Nikon D7100 and 70-300mm VR lens? It's obviously obsolete now!
And whoever suggested digital zoom? No just no. It's guaranteed to send your photos to the trash!
And whoever suggested digital zoom? No just no. It's guaranteed to send your photos to the trash!
iPhone owners buy a separate camera if they think the iPhone isn't good enough. And it is quite pointless to buy a separate camera that is only slightly better than the iPhone, so they buy an expensive camera.
Every time the iPhone camera improves, the number of people thinking the iPhone isn't good enough shrinks. If Apple built an "iPhone 5 with camera" which doesn't look as nice as an iPhone 5 but takes a lot better photos, that would hurt Canon, Nikon etc. And Apple has the advantage that a new iPhone has a very powerful processor which can do things that a camera can't do.
Uh, they could have a bayonet mount that is spring-loaded. It's flush when not in use, and a quick toggle with the lens base would pop it out.
. . . just like the iPod Touch loop mount. The whole point of that loop mount was to test their manufacturing tolerances and long-term reliability for such a mechanism on a massive scale, not because the loop was particularly cool or anything.
A magnet strong enough to lock lenses in place could be havoc for people who have keys, change, pens, and magstripes in their pockets close to their phones. So basically everyone.
And of course,
That was my thought, but that's not what's in the drawing. I can't imagine Apple creating that wart on an iPhone. A recessed mount (though a dust magnet) would make more sense.
As other people suggested, though, magnets seem much more practical. If they can have an iPad cover snap perfectly into place, they can do the same with a small lens.
If Apple continues to make the iPhone thinner, they may well be forced to have a camera bump like the iPod Touch. Especially if they are adding Optical Image Stabilization which takes more room. If they are going to have a camera bump anyways they might as well turn it into a mounting system for optional lenses. Being able to market an otherwise undesirable camera bump as a lens mount would certainly appeal to Apple.
Looks an awful lot like the rumored iPhone 6 casing and protruding lens we were reading about a couple days ago...
I can't even imagine Apple doing that.
Maybe I don't have sufficient imagination, but it just seems to me that the cost and complexity are too high for the benefit. How many iPhone users are going to bother to buy and use extra lenses?
And it will pick up every shred of magnetic crap around. Not saying it's a bad idea, but I've worked with magnetic tips on CMM systems, and they pick up small metal shavings and other debris and it throws everything off... A screw mount would be preferable, if the threads are course enough to resist cross threading, maybe...
I'm sure Apple will find a way to 'innovate' themselves out of that problem. Heck, they could have almost threaded the lens housing on the latest Touch and already have lenses for that due to the distance the lens already sticks out.
Point: Whatever the choose, it has to be durable, and easy to connect properly...
Agreed, what's the point for carrying around extra lenses with your phone? IMO it would make more sense to just get a dedicated camera since the point of the phone cameras is that you always have it in your pocket. There are some very nice compact camera systems on the market for dedicated photography. Interchangeable lenses aren't super cheap and this seems to be a very niche market, again, IMO.
I don't know about you but I don't have metal shavings around me everywhere I go.
No. They don't care at all. People don't choose DSLR's over phones. They choose both. One has no effect on the other. Even hobbyist photographers are going to buy actual cameras. Hell, most parents will buy a camera for shots of their kids. This is in no way any threat to DSLR's.
do you carry keys? how about a wallet that contains cards that use magnetic stripes or pins?
How about change in your pocket?
I think what would make them **** themselves with fear would be if someone came up with a really usable camera that also did phone and music player functions. Why not have a Nikon camera that also had a phone built-in that allowed both the casual and professional user to carry one less battery hungry 'thing'. Imagine having networking built-in, and the ability to send pictures, etc... Although there is the Nikon 1.
similar to what Samsung has tried with their NX series of Android powered SLR's?
only thing it's missing is the LTE band.
However, in comparison to the actual Photo capabilities of Canon's and Nikon's consumer SLR's, Taking on Android doesn't suddenly make an SLR more accessible.
Most poeple buying SLRs are buying it for the photo quality first. Not for connectiviity. not for "smart" features. But the ability to take photos in great quality, on a great sensor, with great glass.
I enjoy Android as a platform. But tacking Android onto a $700 camera, charging $1200 doesn't suddenly make it good. for $1200 i would much much rather buy better body and glass.
The iPhone 7 needs to have a 24 MP full-frame sensor and a large selection of Carl Zeiss lenses. Otherwise, Apple is doomed.
No, 64 MP!