Zoom lens adapter attached to a Redmi Note 13 Pro+ (Express Photo)
We have been seeing third-party lenses for phone cameras – the types that you can attach on top of your phone’s camera – for a while now. Once a rage (Sony even made dedicated lens-shaped cameras for phones at one stage), their popularity has been dipping in recent times as phone cameras get better – you now can get decent zoom (2-4x) and ultrawide options on the phone itself. But that does not mean that the third-party camera lens is dead, especially at lower budget points, where smartphones still have limited or no good quality zoom. And if you are looking to add some zoom muscle to your phone but do not want to spend a bomb in the process, then we suggest you try the Adcom 8x Telephoto Zoom Mobile Phone Camera Lens, which is generally available at a price in the rage of Rs 900 – Rs 999. As its name indicates, it adds 8x telephoto zoom to your smartphone and if handled well, it actually does a rather good job of it.
Fix it, clip it onto the phone and shoot
It comes with a carry case and a clip (Express Photo)
The telephoto lens is in the form of a black cylindrical tube, which Adcom says is made of anodised aluminium, with lenses on either side. One of the ends can be attached to a clip, which is then placed over the camera of the phone to which you want to add zoom, with the clip holding it in place. A very nice touch is the option to sharpen the focus by moving a ring on the front of the lens – a slightly DSLR-like feel. The whole system seems very solidly built with the parts of the clip that are attached to the phone being soft in texture so as to not scratch the display or the camera. The attachment of the lens to the clip is not very smooth, however, and is a little on the rough side. This does result in your taking a bit of time to screw the lens on and off the clip (the grooves are a little rough), but on the flip side, ensures that the lens does not get removed accidentally. This is not a set-up for those who want to take those quick, impulse snaps – it takes a minute or two to get everything ready from attaching the lens to the clip to getting the clip right over the camera you wish to shoot from. We would also have liked some sort of carrying case for the clip and lens – you get a very basic plastic ziplock bag.
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There is no software involved in using the lens. Just figure out the camera you want to use zoom from and clip the lens over it. This is normally that difficult as most devices have cameras on the top left corners of their backs, although some like the Pixel and the Nothing Phone (2a) (review) have them towards the centre, which can make placing the lens a little awkward. Another challenge that comes up is that the lens never fit exactly over the camera on which we placed it, resulting in spherical bordering. Zooming in a tiny bit (1.5x) generally solved the issue. A software issue that can spring up while using the lens is that many phones automatically switch cameras, which can result in the viewfinder moving away from the camera over which you have placed the lens. Our recommendation is to turn off this option, wherever possible, and otherwise shoot in Pro/manual mode, which allows you to choose the camera you wish to shoot from. The lens and clip weigh about 50 grams, so yes, they do add a bit of weight to your phone, but then that is to be expected when you are looking at a telephoto lens.
A very handy, but sometimes not very sharp zoom
Can be attached to most phones without any issue (Express Photo)
We tested the Adcom 8x Telephoto Zoom Mobile Phone Camera Lens on the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ (review), using the lens over the main 200-megapixel sensor (which takes 12-megapixel shots by default), and our experience was a reasonably good one. The lens is good in terms of adding an immediate 8x optical zoom to the camera. However, snaps can appear a little faded, perhaps because light has to travel through two additional layers of glass before reaching the camera sensor. As a result, we often got reasonably good snaps of objects that were quite distant, but not with the sort of sharpness you expect from an optical zoom, which this actually is. Autofocus can also tend to be a little erratic from time to time. We would recommend using that focus ring on the front of the lens to improve sharpness, as it actually makes a significant difference.
Mind you, using the focus ring is a bit of a problem, as it leaves you holding the phone with one hand, making it a little shaky. Perhaps Adcom could think of adding some sort of tripod or maybe even make the clip a little broader to allow it to double up as some sort of support.
Camera sample 1 (Express Photo) Camera sample 2 (Express Photo) Camera sample 3 (Express Photo)
Capable of delivering very good zoom for not too many bucks
However, what cannot be doubted is that when you set things up right, you do get some amazing snaps. We were able to get some very good images of birds and distant objects. Colours sometimes seemed a little faded but the results we got were definitely better than anything we could have got from a mid-segment phone camera. The lens is of relatively limited use when it comes to videos and shooting in low light, though – it is at its best when you have a subject that is relatively steady in very good light conditions. In good conditions, it can actually take some brilliant snaps – we were able to catch textures of food that would have been impossible to capture with a normal phone camera. In fact, we think that this is actually a great option for those who want to take a lot of food and fabric shots, or just want to snap birds on branches. The lens generally turns in very good results and in some cases, gives you an almost macro-like effect, though colours and details are ever so slightly faded.
At its price of Rs 900-999, the Adcom 8x Telephoto Zoom Mobile Phone Camera Lens is perhaps the best option for those who want to add some zoom to their mid-segment devices without breaking the bank. The lens is not perfect but can deliver pure magic when used effectively. We would not recommend it to premium and high-end phone users, as those devices generally will be able to run it close thanks to larger sensors and higher megapixel counts, but it is definitely a terrific option for those looking to zoom into subjects with phones priced about Rs 35,000 or lower.
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