Double Dose Of IPhone Camera Hacks

Why take an iPhone, a slim device that already takes decent photographs and add several macro magnifying lenses? For [Mathijs], simply because he could, But now he can take some awesome macro pictures.

[Bhautik] (maker of the tilt-shift Plungercam) took the concept further. With some more trademark plumbing supplies and a lot of duct tape, secured an interchangeable SLR lense assembly to the back of his iPhone.

Check out some photos from both setups after the break.

[Mathijs’]

[Bhautik’s] (Before hack/After)

34 thoughts on “Double Dose Of IPhone Camera Hacks

  1. Very nice, although I do note one hell of a chromatic aberration on the latter two pics, more visible on the second (the fountain), and the skyscraper features a bit of spherical distortion.

    Think the axes and focal lengths could be matched up better to reduce these?

  2. I’ve actually taken photos through the lens of both a pocket magnifying glass, as well as a kaleidoscope using my crappy Motorola SLVR(funny story why I still have one actually :P), used my cheapo digital camera as well, though it was harder to keep everything lined up.

  3. WTF? I mean really. WTF?

    It invalidates any benefits of either a camera phone or a full-sized camera, while keeping not only all of the disadvantages of both simultaneously but even managing to throw in a few more for good measure.

    I love screwing around but what really is the point here?

  4. @Gerd:
    Ok he can, and he did. But I don’t consider ductaping an expensive SLR lense to an expensive camera phone a hack. Escpecially when the end product is impractical to use and the end result is far worse then any of the products original uses.

  5. wow thats not an iphone im pretty sure thats an htc of some sort

    Posted at 11:26 pm on Dec 1st, 2009 by mikeymike

    having one myself it is an iphone in a protective case….. moron

  6. Not to burst Bhautik’s bubble (as he says on the page he thinks this is the first time anyone has done this), but a nearly identical commercial product has been around for awhile:

    http://gizmodo.com/348586/iphones-telescopic-zoom-lens-comes-with-a-case

    Granted it isn’t using a high-quality SLR lens…but the example shots are about 100x times better than what he is currently getting with his setup (assuming that shot is legitimate and not a mock-up from the manufacturer, the page doesn’t say).

  7. @ThunderBird: Yeah, first off the alignment of the optical elements could be a _lot_ better – I’m tweaking that now. Also, the little DVD lenses I’m using aren’t tweaked for visible light – the coating they’ve got on them are for laser wavelengths, so they are a likely contributor to the chromatic artifacts in the image.

    @MS3FGX: Yeah, I’ve seen quite a few of the cases – some really nice ones with sets of interchangeable lenses too. It’s what inspired me to put an actual EF-mount on the coupler :)

    The main point of the hack was an exercise in seeing what it takes to build an optical coupler – what works, what doesn’t. Plus it’s much more interesting than getting that info out of a textbook :)

  8. For small values of “decent”… the iCam is on the mediocre side to begin with and those are some pretty distorted pictures! G1 has a fairly nice camera for a phone. Personally I use my SLR lenses on my SLRs, it works surprisingly well.

    As for originality I suppose some Macolytes might think Apple invented digital cameras with the iPhone because until Apple copies an idea it doesn’t register, but people have been aiming various digicams through their binoculars to see what happens for at least 1,000 years.

  9. Just…No.
    The iphone’s excuse for a camera is bad enough without adding to the awful quality.
    And what a waste of perfectly usable EF-S lenses!
    I’ll admit that the wonky photos can be neat, but you can make them look wacky in software afterwards, especially if you have a camera that uses the EF-S lenses.

  10. @stunmonkey

    Why would anyone who cares about audio hook Bose speakers up to anything, anyway?

    Personally, I think it’s a nice enough hack. The distortion and colour shift adds to it, rather than taking away. And, you may not have noticed, but it gives DOF, manual focus, and all the other good stuff that decent lenses give.

    It’s neat.

  11. @Mr Foo:

    ‘The distortion and colour shift adds to it, rather than taking away. And, you may not have noticed, but it gives DOF, manual focus, and all the other good stuff that decent lenses give.’

    You have to be joking right? If by adding you refer to a – b = a + (-b) I totally agree.

  12. Sure doesnt seem like a hack more like a mod would be nice to see someone build an injection molded case to acvtually receive the lense properly so as to eliminate abberation and undesirable effects

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