It’s no secret that smartphone cameras are getting increasingly better with every new release. But did you know that you can enhance your smartphone photography even further with lenses? There are several smartphone lens manufacturers out there, but one of the most popular and premium choices out there comes from Moment. This Seattle-based company offers four lenses that can take your smartphone photography to the next level. I’ve long been curious about these lenses and was delighted to finally have a chance to try them out.
Specs
Currently, Moment has four smartphone lenses on hand: the Superfish (fisheye), Wide, Macro, and Tele Portrait. Each lens ranges in price from US$89.99 to US$99.99. The lenses are attached via a custom Moment smartphone Photo Case, so you’ll need one of them too. Presently, there are Photo Cases for Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and iPhone. Each case varies in design and price depending on your smartphone brand, but they’re in the US$30 or less range. This test and all resulting images were done with a Samsung Galaxy S8.
Build quality
Physically, each lens varies in presentation, which helps tell them apart at a quick glance. All lenses are made of metal and glass and have some nice heft to them. They also come with rubber lens caps that protect the front element. While there are no end caps to protect the back elements, at least they are small and relatively easy to keep clean and protected if using the included velvet lens drawstring bags.
Attaching the lens to your Smartphone
Lenses attach to your phone via the bayonet-style mount on Moment’s custom phone cases. You simply match up the lens mount to the phone case and twist the lens to lock it into place. It’s relatively easy to do with no added tools required. However, the lens mount is so small that it can take some trial and error to get it mounted. Once locked in place, these lenses are solidly attached to your phone case and it would take significant force for them to accidentally fall off.
Wide lens
Moment’s wide lens is equivalent to 18mm, which is significantly wider than my Samsung Galaxy S8’s 26mm (35mm equivalent) focal length. It’s a rather large lens with a curved, fisheye-like lens. However, there are zero fisheye effects in the resulting images. In fact, there’s no distortion, vignetting, or blurring around the edges.
Superfish lens
This 170-degree Superfish lens offers the widest field of view out of all Moment lenses. It’s rather compact with a flat front-facing lens. However, the resulting image generally takes on a fisheye appearance.
Macro lens
Moment’s macro lens is arguably the best-designed lens of the bunch. It’s also the flattest and most compact lens. Offering 10x magnification, the Moment macro lens comes with a plastic diffuser hood. This hood is very important for helping you determine how close the lens needs to be to a subject (hint: it’s VERY close), but the hood can also be removed. Design-wise, I love how detailed this lens is, particularly on the front element of the lens.
Telephoto lens
While I didn’t get to test the Moment telephoto lens, here’s a brief overview. This 60mm equivalent lens offers roughly double the focal length of most smartphones. Best of all, this lens gives you a telephoto effect without having to use your smartphone camera’s digital zoom, which often degrades the quality of your images.
If you can only buy one lens…
These lenses aren’t cheap, so it makes sense to invest in one or two initially, and then build up your collection from there. Personally, I found the Macro lens to be the most fun. It offers a unique perspective on just about anything and can be great entertainment for all ages. I’d pick the Superfish lens as my next favorite as it also offers a fun and different way to capture your surroundings.
Moment lens accessories
Straight out of the box, each Moment lens comes with a velvet drawstring bag. It’s a thin lens case that is better than having no protection at all, but it doesn’t offer the best padding. As a result, I highly recommend investing in the Moment Lens Pouch. This pocket-sized zippered pouch is nicely padded and has enough room to store two Moment lenses. If you need a bigger carrying case, the Moment Travel Case is a larger version of the Lens Pouch with room for 4 Moment lenses and extra accessories.
Bottom line
If you’re on the hunt for premium lenses to extend the capability of your smartphone camera, Moment offers the very best. Not only do their lenses look and feel professional, but the resulting images are noticeably sharper. Sure, there are much cheaper smartphone lenses out there, but they often compromise on physical quality. You won’t find any compromises if you go with Moment. The only catch is that you have to use one of the high-end smartphones that Moment makes a phone case for.
Moment lens sample photo gallery
Moment Lens Superfish Lens
Moment Lens Superfish Lens
Moment Lens Wide Angle Lens
Moment Lens Wide Angle Lens
Camera phone – before the next Macro lens shot.
Moment Lens Macro Lens – Seashell
Moment Lens Macro Lens – Coffee Beans
Moment Lens Macro Lens – Back of my hand.