After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the new Moment iPhone lenses and accessories are now available for pre-order. Here we take a look at some of the first reviews coming from iPhone photographers who have already been testing out these lenses.
There are two lenses available, each selling for $99.99. The 2x telephoto lens enables you to capture more intimate shots without having to use the digital zoom – great for portrait or street photography.
The 18mm equivalent wide-angle lens widens the field of view to capture more of the frame than the standard iPhone lens – ideal for wide open landscapes.
Insisting on DSLR-level multi-element optics in the design process, Moment claims these lenses capture better images that any other lenses on the market, with no distortion or blurring around the edges. And they’ve designed an ultra-thin metal mounting plate that sticks to your iPhone or existing case.
If you decide to purchase a Moment lens, you may also be interested in their gorgeous retro-style leather carrying holster. It’s selling for $39.99 which isn’t cheap, but it definitely makes a style statement as well as keeping your lenses safe.
So, let’s take a look at what iPhone photographers are saying about these lenses…
Review by Michael Frank from Outside Magazine
Michael has been testing out the Moment lenses, and you can read his full review on the Outside Magazine website. Here are some extracts from his review:
– “Shooting with a Moment lens is dead easy.”
– “The Moment clicks into place just like a DSLR lens. Attach, shoot, detach, keep rolling.”
– “That quality is what impressed us most. The two lens options, a 2x telephoto and an 18-millimeter wide-angle, were designed by engineers of hi-def cinema lenses, and they sweated hard to eliminate edge distortion and increase the camera’s light-gathering potential.”
– “The final design utilizes multi-element glass (think $5,000 Nikon lenses) that will exponentially improve the crispness of your images—no editing applications required.”
– “For the time being, we expect Moment to go viral. Trust us: Instagramers aren’t going to be able to live without it.”
– “There’s one caveat: Outdoor enthusiasts who love their armored cases aren’t going to be able to mount Moment lenses. We modded one hard case to shoot some sample action shots with the Moment, but Lifeproof cases among others are incompatible with this lens system, at least for the time being.”
Josh Kerr Review
Josh has also been using the Moment lenses and provides some photographic examples on his blog. Here’s a summary of his review:
– “To attach the lens you simply rotate it on to the plate. This works well and provides a very sturdy connection between the lens and your phone.”
– “The telephoto lens is great. The photos I took with this lens are high quality and look pretty good.”
– “The Moment lens and mount allow you to use your iPhone in a way that feels more like a camera and provides more flexibility than the built in lens. The quality of the photos are good too.”
Reviews On Twitter
Moment’s Twitter feed is full of praise for these new lenses too.
Jorge Quinteros has been using the new Moment lenses, and when asked by iPhoneographer Jack Hollingsworth how he would compare them to using to other iPhone lenses, Jorge replies: “Using Moment lenses literally feels like using a Canon L glass on your iPhone. And it’s built like one too.”
Simon Collison tweets: “Even better than expected, beautifully packaged, and clearly made with a lot of love. Amazing. Wide angle also superb. No distortion, easy to use.”
Taylor Davidson tweets: “I really liked the Moment lenses. Good heft and build, great image quality.”
Summary
So, from the above reviews and comments it looks like Moment lenses might be one to look out for if you’re thinking of purchasing telephoto or wide-angle lenses for your iPhone. We’ll keep you posted as more information comes in.
I received my Moment Lenses and I have to say these beat any other lens attachment on the market for their quality of build, superior optics and sharp photos. I would recommend this to anyone looking for lens attachment for their iPhone.
One small issue I had was it would not work with the Incipio Dual Pro case even after I modified it so I went out and got the Tech21 Impact Check case and it works great. I am glad I got the case as it provides the protection I need for my iPhone when I am using the Moment Lenses.
Thanks for the information Chris 🙂 Great to hear your views on these lenses, and thanks for the heads up on the case issue!
FYI, on their website, it shows that each lens is selling for $99.99, not $79.99, as you have here. 🙂
Thanks for update, they changed prices after this was posted.
Curious about use with iPhone 6 models coming
Yes, they’ll need to design a new mounting plate for the new iPhones. You can keep up to date with their progress here: http://momentlens.co/iphone6/
Sample photos really what i was looking for
I received my Moment lens about 3 weeks ago. I was very excited to try out this product, seemed like an amazing alternative to the olloclip. I ordered the wide angel lens to give a try first. Loved the packaging and unboxing. Once I followed the instructions on the packaging I was ready to go. The first few times you attach the lens its a bit snug, just to work in the grooves after manufacturing. After a couple days the lens was easy to attach and performing well. Loved the quality of the images I was getting how wide the moment lens actually made them. Everything was great really until about a week ago…
For the past week the connection between lens and phone seemed to get looser and looser to the point this morning (01/07/14) that it barely doesn’t hold at all. I contacted moment lens to see what I could do to fix this issue. First they had asked about the “plate” to make sure that I had it fixed to the phone correctly. After responding to them that it was not an issue with the plate attaching to the phone, rather the lens to the plate, I got back a surprising email. The suggestion from Amanda a representative with Moment was to replace the plate online, spending $10 dollars. At this point our conversation was quick replys back and forth. Until my reply stating that I was unhappy having to replace something I just received two weeks prior, stating that this lens would be very expensive if that were the life of these plates.
Still no word back. I was planning on ordering the telephoto lens today which would have come with another plate anyways. But after the poor customer service, lack of confidence in product, and currently lack of communication. I may be going back to another competitor.
I would just say give it a try and hopefully you don’t have to contact support to get help.
Don, I am having the same EXACT problem as yours. I just got an email from a guy from Moment under the name “Zach Reed”. I wrote a very polite email asking that my plate has got so loosen within just a few uses and my lens fell off a few times. Within a few hours. I got a short reply email from Moment team and here’s what they said (if this is what they call “customer support” I think this company will fail in no time.
Hey,
It sounds to me that you probably just need to purchase another plate for your iPhone 6. Sometimes the plates can be warped or threaded incorrectly which will cause the lens to not mount tightly into the plate.
As I said above, my best recommendation would be to order a new plate, that should fix your issue.
Thanks!
// Zach Reed
Moment
I’m having that same exact issue and have bought my second mounting plate, still doesn’t stay on. I don’t understand now how to fix the issue.
I got these lens for my phone.
After playing around with it a few days, I noticed the edges of pictures were too blurry.
So, when I tried to remove the metal plate glued to the back of my phone, to return the lens…..some of the my phone’s paint came off as well. There goes my resale value of the phone.
BEWARE: the metal plate glued to your phone is PERMANENT. If you attempt to remove the metal plate from the back of the phone, it will also pealed off the paint of the phone. They use some sort of super strong glue.
not always wil remove the paint but probably could happens. removed from the 6+ nothing happend. But was disapointed with the soft edges on the photo