How Do I Take Close-up Pictures on My Phone?

It’s amazing how far today’s phone cameras have come.  In some cases, phone cameras have more mega pixels than your old camera.

Three things that are the most annoying for parents who rely on the phone as their primary camera:

1.  Forget about close-up pictures

2.   The zoom isn’t strong enough

3.   You can’t take pictures fast enough to capture the exact moment you want

It has always frustrated me that I couldn’t take close-up pictures on my phone.  No matter how great the phone camera, I’ve resigned myself to using my real camera for pictures in which I would like to show more detail of the subject. But advancements in phone technology and in phone/camera accessories are rapidly becoming more available.  I recently came across the  Carson Optical LensMag which a 2-pack of magnetic lenses that you can stick on the lens of your Samsung Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5.  You just place it on the back of your phone, match up the lens, and you’re ready to go.  Dependent upon the phone case you have, you may have to take your case off before trying the LensMag.  I have a thin cover case on my Galaxy S4, so the LensMag magnet held on to my phone just fine.

The LensMag comes in a two-pack with a 10x and 15x magnifying zoom.  The case is easy to pack up and take with you.  I will definitely take it with me this upcoming year to the Consumer Electronics Show in January.  But other ways I plan to use the LensMag are:

• with my kids’ science projects – finally we’ll be able to get a clear pic!
• with the Odyssey of the Mind kids I’ll be coaching soon – I’ll show them close-ups of things and ask them to use their imagination to figure out what they are
• to take close-up shots of products I might need for home inventory (serial numbers on products)
• to take close-up pics for items I might want to sell on eBay or through Craigslist – I haven’t sold anything but cars on eBay yet, but this would help if I do!
• to take close-ups of flowers and bugs – these pics have turned out so fuzzy in the past
• to use with blog articles to focus in on particular details of a product
• to take a picture of my daughter’s flute serial number before turning it into a musical repair shop

Here’s a close-up of a Penny.  The one on the left is with the 10x lens and the one on the right is with the 15x lens.  You can see that the 10x shows a good amount of detail and allows for a fuller picture, but not as much detail as the 15x lens. Here’s a picture of George Washington’s face on the dollar bill.  You can see a lot more clarity in his eye in the 15x picture on the right. Here’s a picture of my engagement/wedding ring.  Unfortunately for me, the 15x lens shot shows too well the residue from soap left on my diamond.  (note to self, clean the ring first before doing a close-up!)   I couldn’t resist from taking a picture of our Halloween cookies from the Cake Walk my son won.  It’s amazing the detail the LensMag can capture, making your pictures…and collages…so much more interesting.  Pinterest, here I come!   The LensMag for the Samsung Galaxy S4, ML-415, sells for $9 plush shipping from B&H Photo  and the iPhone , ML-515, sells for $11.31 plus free shipping at Amazon on orders over $35.

A Mom’s Perspective

At last, I have answered my question, how to take close-up pictures on my phone.   Hopefully, I have answered it for you as well.  The LensMag is very reasonable and readily available for the iPhone 5.  The Android LensMag sold out on Amazon and is harder to find.  I know some of you are wondering if the LensMag will work with the Galaxy SIII or iPhone 4.  While I can’t speak personally for the iPhone 4, I can say I’ve tried it on my Galaxy SIII and have found that it does connect magnetically to the phone and it appears to line up with the lens pretty well.  However, the magnetic hold is not nearly as strong as it is on the Galaxy S4.  Nonetheless, the 10x and 15x magnifying lenses work well with the SIII and take great pictures.

I think the LensMag is one of those products that you don’t know how you’d use it until you have one.  Then you begin thinking of all sorts of things to magnify.  Over the weekend, my kids got new fish at a carnival.  Guess what we’ll be taking pictures of this week?   What close-up pictures can you think of that would be fun to take with the LensMag?

*  I was given a LensMag in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions and dirty rings are my own.