5 of the Best Camera Lenses for Android Phones

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One area where modern smartphones have improved significantly compared to their early days is photography. Most phones come with multiple camera lenses for versatility, and the lenses have become larger and good enough to take decent photos. The best camera phones offer a versatile camera setup with multiple compatible lenses and can take better quality photos than your average smartphone. However, despite the improvements, there is a limit to what a smartphone camera can do. This is why purchasing one of the best clip-on camera lenses can help improve the quality of photos the device can take.

To help you find the best camera lenses, we’ve scoured the internet for lenses that can up your Android phone’s photography game in an instant. Whether you want to take photos with a wider or narrower view than your phone is capable of, get better zoom for remote shots, or add a little fun to make your photos unique, our guide to the best Android camera lenses will satisfy your needs. Our methodology section at the end of the article explains in depth how we compiled this list, so you know we didn’t choose the goals at random.

If you want a great value, versatile kit that offers a variety of options for just a fraction of the price compared to purchasing individual lenses and filters, look no further than Apexel’s $26 10-in-1 Phone Lens Kit. As the name suggests, it has 10 different lenses, providing a simple and inexpensive way to upgrade your phone’s camera. However, some lenses are simply filters that you can use to add creative built-in effects to your images. Specifically, the kit includes four lenses that will be useful in different scenarios and six filters for in-camera effects.

Some of the key lenses available in the kit include a 0.63x wide-angle lens for capturing expansive views and a 15x macro lens for taking close-up images. You also get a 2x telephoto lens for capturing objects at a distance and a 198-degree fisheye lens for images with spectacular distortion. For filters, there are CPL, radial, star, kaleidoscope and flux filter. In addition to the lens assortment, the kit includes a wireless remote shutter, which can come in handy for taking photos of yourself from a distance.

Digital Camera World tested the Apexel 10-in-1 Phone Lens Kit and named it the Best Value Lens Kit. The team cites its universal compatibility, wide lens assortment, and value for money as the main reasons to buy it, while noting that the 2x telephoto and star filter lenses are the weakest lenses in the kit.

The Apexel 36X telephoto lens is perfect for anyone who wants to take close-up photos of distant objects with its zoom capabilities. If your phone has trouble taking images of distant objects, this lens could prove useful, as its 36x optical zoom can make distant objects closer than they really are, making it perfect for taking photos of birds, wildlife, and even artists performing on stage. This $70 lens has an all-metal mini-tripod, which is very useful because when you zoom in on an object, camera shake becomes considerably pronounced, leading to blurry images.

Besides telephoto images, you can also use the lens to capture still images and cinematic videos. An interesting feature of the Apexel telephoto lens is that it also doubles as a monocular telescope. Simply attach the accompanying rubber eyepiece to the back and you can get a closer look at distant objects. Using the lens shouldn’t be a problem, as it comes with a universal spring-loaded mount that should make it easy to attach to any phone. In the real world, Digital Camera World loves the 36x zoom, which it says is useful for videography and nature photography, although maintaining sharp focus on a distant moving object is an issue due to the shallow depth of field.

The Moment Wide Angle Lens is a unique lens with a focal length of 18mm, providing a wide field of view. It’s perfect for specific types of photography that require incorporating more of the view into the frame – you can think of landscape, architecture and real estate photography. While it’s not as versatile as the Apexel 10-in-1 kit which offers a wide variety of lenses, it’s aimed at those who understand what they need and only want to address a specific weakness in their phone’s camera.

However, unlike the other lenses we’ve reviewed, there is one special thing to consider when purchasing this one to ensure you get the right one for your camera. It comes with one of two mounting interfaces: T series for newer phones and M series for older ones. Photography YouTuber David Addison says the Moment wide-angle lens is a game-changer if your phone doesn’t have an ultra-wide lens, because it’s “much wider” than a standard phone lens.

In his opinion, there is no jarring or fish-eye effect when using the lens, and distortion is minimal. On the other hand, Digital Camera World claims that this lens has good build quality, offers excellent image quality, and is an excellent choice for shooting video. However, you may need a Moment case to use it, which is an additional purchase.

The Xenvo Pro Lens Kit offers two lenses for added versatility: a 0.45x wide-angle lens for capturing expansive views and a 15x macro lens for detailed close-ups if you’re interested in macro photography. The 0.45x wide-angle lens provides a 140-degree field of view, allowing you to capture more of the surroundings or a specific object in the frame. For best results with the macro lens, the company recommends placing the phone half an inch from the subject.

The kit comes with a GlowClip LED light that you can attach to your phone to illuminate the subject, which can be useful in macro photography. Both lenses are constructed of glass for durability, and out of the box, the Xenvo Pro Lens Kit offers a lens clip to mount the lens to your phone. According to Gear Lab, the Xenvo Pro Lens Kit is easy to install and allows for easy switching between wide-angle and macro lenses thanks to the built-in dual-lens system.

Tom’s Guide says the kit offers good image quality, solid construction, and handy accessories, but notes minor blemishes at the edge of the wide-angle lens, a relatively high price, and two lenses as the biggest drawbacks. This kit costs $40 on Amazon, although it has seen lower prices in the past, according to price history, one of Amazon’s helpful new features.

The 15x macro lens included in the Xenvo Pro Lens Kit is ideal for macro photography, but if you need to go further in shooting miniature objects, consider Apexel’s $96 3-in-1 Phone Microscope Lens Kit. The kit comes with three lenses, all intended for microscopic photography. The only difference between them is the magnification level. The first objective is 100x magnification, the second is 200x magnification, and the third is 300x magnification. The Apexel team recommends 6-10mm as the optimal distance between the lens and any subject.

A built-in circular-shaped LED light surrounds each lens with adjustable brightness levels and a variety of modes to choose from. LED lights help illuminate the object you want to photograph, which is important in macro photography because placing your camera closer to the subject can block the light. The kit makes it easy to switch between lenses using a special mounting kit that attaches to the phone with a sliding rail design for swapping lenses.

The clip to mount the lenses is universal, so it can be attached to any Android phone, and the slide design ensures that you can properly align the clip-on lenses with your device’s camera. This is another camera lens kit that Digital Camera World vouches for, saying it’s easy to install, can fit most phones, and takes impressive microscopic photos. The only downside is that the clip mount may interfere with the buttons on some phones.

To come up with this list of the best camera lenses for Android phones, we based our research on several factors. The first was to determine if the lens would fit most Android phones. The lenses we’ve selected are all compatible with most Android phones (and some can be mounted on iPhones) and they’re easy to install and remove. The second aspect we considered was the actual functionality of the lens.

For this, we relied both on our expertise and on the opinions of different experts who examined the lenses. Image quality played a key role in choosing one lens over another, and we relied on expert reviews to determine whether a lens could take excellent images or video.

In addition to image quality, we made sure to include lenses and kits that can meet the needs of different types of users in order to maintain a balanced list. We’ve included products offering wide-angle, telephoto, macro, and fisheye lenses, either individually or as part of a kit that bundles a variety of lenses and filters for those who want a little bit of everything in one package.