Best iPhone lenses for professional photography

The iPhone takes great photos for a smartphone, but with the right accessories it can replace your DSLR entirely.

As we can see from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple is taking iPhone photography very seriously. Both devices have exceptional rear-facing cameras, and the Plus has a twin-lens model whose potential we are only beginning to explore. But whether or not you’ve got one of Apple’s latest handsets, there are plenty of way you can improve your iPhone photography. Here we reveal the best lenses to take things to the next level.

Seek Thermal Compact XR Price: £249 from tinyurl.com/k57wae7

A professional thermal imaging camera can cost you anything from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand, and not everybody has that sort of dough. This sits at the affordable end of that range.

Built for outdoor use, the CompactXR will turn your iPhone into a fully functioning thermal imaging camera. It sports a 20-degree field of view and picks up heat from 1,800 feet away. As well as letting you take super cool images as though you were James Bond, you can also create a personal tool to seek out intruders and animals in suspicious scenarios. It plugs straight into the handset.

Insta360 Nano Price: £209 from fave.co/2q5X1sJ

Virtual reality is taking over the world right now, although to make your own VR videos and stills, you’d normally need to get an expensive 360 camera. The Insta360 Nano lets you shoot and live-stream HD virtual and panoramic media straight from your iPhone. It clips on to an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s or 6s Plus. Additionally, it can be attached to a bike, helmet, drone or selfie stick.

Once you’ve created a film or image, you can convert the device into a VR viewer to experience your immersive masterpieces. Spec-wise, it sports two 210-degree fish-eye lenses, an 800mAh battery and a 64GB memory card slot.

Olloclip 4-in-1

Price: £69 from fave.co/2q5PxWu Olloclip makes a wide range of lenses for smartphones, but this 4-in-1 lens is one of its flagship products. It’s portable and versatile, with fisheye, 10x Macro 15x Macro and wideangle options, turning your iPhone into an infinitely more professional point-and-shoot.

The little lens is small enough to stick in your pocket but when attached to your iPhone open up the world in front of you to photograph. When out and about it’s great to take a few instinctive snaps – with the 4-in-1, those moments will turn out even more professional.

PNY 4-in-1 Lens Kit

Price: £36 from tinyurl.com/kmbncv8 If you’re really into your photography, you’ll understand there are lenses for different functions and purposes. Instead of going down the route of buying lenses separately, which can prove expensive and timely, you can get a 4-in-1 lens kit from PNY Technologies.

Costing under £40, you get a complete set of accessories so you can turn your iPhone into a state-of-the-art camera. There are four different lenses in total: super wide angle, fisheye, wide angle and macro. The best thing here is that they’re so easy to use, sporting magnetic clips that attach straight to the iPhone.

TECHO Universal Professional HD Camera Lens Kit

Price: £15 from tinyurl.com/lofuqdu This is a very simple, budget option if you’re not quite sure you want to splash out on an iPhone camera lens. It’s pretty versatile, and should work with all smartphones provided the camera is in a position you can easily clip the lens in front of. It comes with two lenses, one is a 0.45x super wide-angle lens and the other is a 12.5 super Macro lens. Both give great, easy results and might just draw you into a world of photography on the move.

YOPO Camera Lens Kit for iPhone

Price: £35 from tinyurl.com/L9ghL74 This little kit from YOPO is excellent. It comes with a fair few accessories to get you snapping in no time – it’s designed for iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus only. The snap-in cases paired with the lenses and tiny tripod allow you to set up a sturdy photography system, while the kit is versatile enough to go hands-free if you prefer.