Accessories
Olloclip for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Review
When Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, many iPhone photographers worried about losing access to their favorite iPhone photography accessory: the Olloclip.
The Olloclip fastens to the iPhone and puts a various lenses over the iPhone camera lens on the back to create some awesome effects. Olloclip makes what they call the 4-in-1 Olloclip, which comes with four lenses and a nice lanyard for carrying it around the neck while out and about.
The Olloclip for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus makes macro, wide-angle and fisheye photography possible.
Fortunately, Olloclip finally released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus version ($79.99) and we got an early look. Does it remain one of the best iPhone camera accessories, which is what we called the previous version?
Who’s the Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens For
If you’ve ever tried to take an extreme close up shot of a bug or a product to post for an eBay auction with an iPhone, then Olloclip for iPhone 6 will help. In addition, if you’ve ever tried to shoot a great wide-angle landscape shot or struggled to get all your friends into a group shot in a tight space, then the Olloclip will help. Most iPhone photographers use their cameras for these kinds of shots. A few also like the fisheye effect that makes things look distorted due to an extreme wide-angle like the shot below.
This shot illustrates the effect we get with a fisheye lens on the Olloclip for iPhone 6.
Most cameras, on a phone or point-and-shoot cameras, struggle with getting these extreme close-ups. A camera can focus on a subject that’s a couple feet away or further, but trying to shoot an item up close only produces a blurry shot. The camera can’t focus when the camera lens is only inches from the subject. But the Olloclip macro lens can handle that close up shot.
I took this shot of some pepper spilled on my table using the 15x macro lens on the Olloclip for iPhone 6.
Design and Function of the Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens
I took this shot without an Olloclip for comparison.
This 10X Macro lens shot taken with an Olloclip for iPhone 6 Plus shows that it’s hard to hand hold the shot and get a clear image. Also, the black on the edge shows that one must attach the Olloclip properly or it will cover part of the lens.
Here’s an example of a fisheye shot taken with the Olloclip on the iPhone 6 Plus. The fisheye effect gives such a wide-angle, that the shooter must take extra care not to include fingers, as the above shot illustrates.
Olloclip did a great job making the 4-in-1 Olloclip for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus fit the new design of the phone. The clamp that holds the lenses fits perfectly. There’s an insert intended to fit the Olloclip to the iPhone 6 Plus, but I don’t think it’s needed.
To get the 4 different lenses, the user leaves the detachable lens on the Olloclip for the Wide Angle lens on one side and the fisheye lens on the other. Remove the fishey or wide-angle lenses to use the 10x or 15x macro lenses hidden under the detachable lenses. I wish Olloclip offered a protective cover for the back of the lenses like they do for the front of the lenses, for those times when I remove them to use the macro lenses.
I took this shot without an Olloclip to compare with the next image below taken with the wide-angle lens.
This wide-angle shot taken with the iPhone 6 and the wide-angle lens on the Olloclip for iPhone 6 shows the wider view we get. We see more of the trees on the left and of the building on the right.
Included in the package we get a lanyard that fastens to one of three colorful attachments to hold the Olloclip to the lanyard. I prefer the blue one. It snaps on and off the lanyard attachment. There’s also a small drawstring bag to cover the Olloclip when not in use. They made the bag using a lint-free microfiber cloth so the user can also clean their lenses and the iPhone screen with it.
The Olloclip remains one of the best photo accessories for the iPhone, continuing their excellent tradition.
Olloclip App for iOS
The Olloclip app for iOS helps users get the most out of their 4-in-1 Olloclip for iPhone 6. The app works like a camera app with some advanced features that help the user get great macro shots, correct things like the barrel distortion that the fisheye lens creates and do even closer shots.
The Olloclip app comes with great features to make the Olloclip more useful, but also with stability that makes it crash.
The app crashes often when switching between modes. It also pesters the user to rate the app on the App Store.
When it works, the app offers excellent features like the following:
- Mesh Editor – correct the barrel distortion in shots taken with the fisheye lens
- Macro Mode – take sharper macro lenses
- Photo Stabilizer – helps reduce camera shake
- Stability Meter – checks the camera’s stability in real-time
- Slow Motion Video Recording – gives users the great slow motion that the iOS camera offers
- Photo Library – manage the photos taken with the app
Fortunately, the Olloclip works with any camera app. I prefer the Camera+ app over this one, but the Olloclip app comes free in the App Store, so try it out. If Olloclip gets rid of the bugs, it will make for great photography experience using the 4-in-1 Olloclip on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Value and Recommendation
iPhone 6 photographers should get the Olloclip for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. It’s one of the best iPhone 6 photography accessories available. There’s only one complaint: the 4-in-1 system would be better if they replaced one of the macro lenses. The difference between the 15x and 10x doesn’t offer enough functionality. A nice zoom would make more sense. That may not be physically possible in a 4-in-1 design, though.
The Olloclip app needs some work, but using the system with the built-in camera, or a great camera app like Camera+, makes it a must-have accessory for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners that love taking pictures, shooting product shots for posting on eBay or to a blog and who like the fisheye effect. The extra width we get from the wide-angle lens adds a lot to beautiful landscapes and helps people take better groups shots in tight spaces.
Slide Show of Shots taken with Olloclip for iPhone 6
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- Taken with the wide-angle lens on the Olloclip for iPhone 6
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- 10x Macro shot with Olloclip for iPhone 6 Plus
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- 15x Macro shot with Olloclip for iPhone 6 Plus
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- The Olloclip lanyard strap taken with macro lens
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- Another macro shot of the side of a drink cup.
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- Pencil taken with macro lens.
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- Another pencil taken with macro lens.
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- Fisheye shot taken with Olloclip
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- This shot without the Olloclip was shown to compare with the next image below.
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- This wide-angle shot taken with the iPhone 6 and the wide-angle lens on the Olloclip for iPhone 6 shows the wider view we get.
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- Taken without the wide-angle lens
Truffol (@Truffol)
12/03/2014 at 6:58 pm
Any images of the Olloclip actually applied onto the iPhone?
ABC
12/26/2014 at 1:20 pm
Did you guys actually test it on an iPhone 6plus? On the 6 you out it on and are able to access both fro t and back cameras easily. No problems here! On the iPhone 6plus you have to slide it around to make it work on both cameras. This is a problem. It means substantial lag time and constant wear and tear on my device. They needed to make a separate ollo clip for the plus. Not just pass this one off as something that works on both.