Did I Just Recommend a Clip-on Cellphone Macro Lens? A review of the Apexel Macro Lens for Cellphones
/Yes, I really did!
And not just a half-hearted nod, but an honest-to-goodness “You should get one of these things!” proclamation. “How is that even possible?”, I hear you thinking, “you are a macro photographer, a professional. Sure, you are snob. In fact, a really horrible equipment snob. You may actually be the wor”… Enough already! I get your point, you can stop thinking now.
A damsel fly shot with the Apexel 100mm Macro Lens and an iPhone 12
Twice in the last two decades I have unexpectedly found myself in dire need of a good camera and a better macro lens, while at the same time having access to neither. On both of these occasions I did have a cell phone on my person, not a sure bet most of the time, and far more strangely than that, was in the company of a person (different on each occasion) who happened to have a clip on macro lens on hand. I had no idea that the average person would keep such a gadget on hand. They didn’t know why they kept one either, neither one of them ever having had the opportunity or inclination to use it. On both of these occasions I had spotted a most unusual insect and wanted an image from which to attempt identification. Both images have long since vanished into the matrix but the experiences with the little department store clip on macro lenses have never left me. They were two of the most useless chunks of plastic ever to to have the word “macro” stamped on their black and pink outsides, respectively. So imagine my blend of nostalgia and queasiness when a quick perusal of my “box of absolute junk” revealed…
the remaining bits of the combo lens
Yes - all that was left of my wide angle telephoto macro combo lens! I had forgotten that the lady had let me keep the thing. Probably as a consolation prize after she told me she never wanted to see me again.
So what did I take away from this irrelevant and boring story? The conviction that these clip on lenses were a complete waste of $3, is what I took away and what I have steadfastly held to. Until now.
I got an email from a man, or a woman. I will never know. All I know for certain was that this person was not a GrandMaster Smalltalker. “Send you macro lens, you look, OK”. If there was a question mark, I don’t remember it. But I took it as a question and, instantly aclimatizing to my new friend’s conversational style, I replied “yes”. The exchange ended on that unsatisfying note. Thinking nothing further of the matter, I was once again in for a surprise when Pat the postman (unfortunate, but true) delivered to my humble abode, that very week, a package that must have been mailed at least a month earlier, if it was coming from the same China from which I source my adapters.
Inside the package was a box. The box was fashioned from the highest quality cardboard (sold on the moon, maybe, but utter tripe down here on earth). And that is all I shall say about the box. Within the box was a pouch of buttery soft, hand treated mink pelts (nope - fake velvet), and inside the pouch were a collection of metal, glass, and plastic parts that would, when skillfully assembled, take the form of my new macro lens.
The 100mm macro lens from Apexel
Since the beginning of this ill-advised misadventure in YouTubeLand, I have sustained myself with thoughts like “If I can just keep doing what I’m doing, work hard, be honest, and make videos, one day, when someone, asks me to take a look at their new macro lens, it be for my opinion on their latest, greatest, top of the line full frame macro lens, of the type one puts on a real camera. My first reaction was that this would be another a step or two in the wrong direction.
And so it was, deflated and crestfallen I began to inspect the Apexel 100mm Macro lens.
See! It says so!
In a nutshell, the lens is an impressive chunk of glass, and the clip that holds it, at least for the moment (pun intended), is rubbish. There are two ways, maybe more, that you could look at this. The generous way - wow these guys have invested to much time and effort and money into getting this lens perfect, they had nothing left over for the clip. Or the mean way - We are not wasting another yen on this joke of a lens so make the cheapest clip you possibly can. I suppose there is another possibility, when I think about it, this is beautifully engineered clip that will outlast the sun and I don’t know anything about clip-on technology.
For now, the clip works fine, it holds the lens in front of the phone’s lenses and has a sliding mechanism that allows you to reposition the lens over the selected camera. That last being a nice touch, I thought. I think the idea is that you take the phone case off to use it, but I didn't and it didn’t appear to make any difference when I tried it that way. Let us pretend that from this point on the lens does exactly what it is supposed to do, without the creative assistance the iPhone (more on this in a moment). As iPhone magnifying lenses go, this one is really nice. Unlike the granular, noisy digital zoom that passes for magnification in a cellphone, this allows the camera to be used in its standard, un-zoomed configuration. The result is bright, sharp, impressively magnified iPhone pictures.
A tiny yellow ichneumon
Just because this is an inexpensive phone lens doesn’t mean you can get sloppy. Nope - you still need to have plenty of light, as little movement as possible, and some idea of what you you are photographing. But take care of those basics and this lens will deliver some impressive performance. You can’t compare the best clip-on phone lens to any macro lens for use on a real camera because no matter how nice the lens is it is still taking a photograph on a cellphone - and that imposes some hard limits in any photography, but particularly in the world of macro. It makes more sense to ask what you are using this images for. I actually publish a large number of iPhone pictures every week, because it is my go-to method for capturing all the snapshots I use in my videos every week. And they are important to me. And this lens is a great tool for me to get the kind of quality images that you have come to expect.
Remember I said I’d get back to the iPhone - believe it or not, this is the weak link in this chain. It isn’t the clip on thing, or the ersatz cardboard presentation case, I can live with them, it is the iPhone. As I explain in great detail in the video (nope, I just rant), the camera that the lens snaps over is just one of 3 on my phone. It is the only one that gives a nice magnified closeup image. But as soon as the “DriveAllanMad” chip (also known as the M1 chip, by the way), senses that you have found a subject and attached the lens and are poised for your photograph of a lifetime, the chip pulls the switch, your camera goes to sleep, and a new one takes over. But it isn’t the one under your lens. So, go ahead, move the macro lens, I dare you. You do, and the ghost of Steve Jobs switches you to the fisheye lens. And so it goes, for eternity.
This is a problem and I wish the makers of this lens would find a way to prevent it from happening and give all of us, the customers, the magic spell to stop the shifting lenses. I’ll even be willing to brew up a noxious tincture or remove eyes from newts, if that is what it takes. The lens is a cracker, it takes tremendous images and absolutely killer closeup macro video, but that won’t do us any good if we all go mad from lens switching syndrome. Enough said.
It isn’t like I have put a note saying which images are iPhone snapshots and which ones took 4 hours and 300 frames to shoot, but this macro iPhone lens from Apexel is definitely narrowing the gap. Somebody is going to ask me how this lens compares to a high end lens like the Moment. To tell the truth, I have no idea, and I am pretty certain I will never know how they compare. Those who know me already know why. The Moment, in case you were not birthed in a changing room at mummy’s fave Neiman Markus, is a clip on magnifying glass for cellphones. Sound familiar? It won’t for long. This little $130 lens does not attach to your iPhone, no sir, not until it is first attached to a mandatory $50 plastic iPhone case. Like buying a new VW and having the salesman inquire into your interest in some wheels to go on the car, or maybe even the luxury package (an engine), or the foul weather special (doors).
Also not with the Apexel lens - I’m just showing you some of my pictures because I like you
If I find $180 burning a hole in my pocket and I’m in dire need of a clip on macro lens, I’ll get myself an Apexel and a new Godox to replace the broken one, or a couple of batteries (don’t get me started on batteries). Don’t get me wrong, I am sure the Moment is a cracking lens and it might be better than the $20 one, just like I’m sure the Novoflex bellows are just gorgeous. But don’t forget, one is a lens that goes onto a cellphone (not a Leica), and the other is something to keep the light out. It is a sign of growth that I am now able to sense when other people have had quite enough of my whinging - so I’ll stop.
This was not photographed with a clip-on lens - and it’s an eye, a corner of an eye, of a wasp.
There is a video that I made all about this lens from Apexel. If you watch very closely you may see me having fun. I was having fun communing with a dragonfly that thought I looked mighty tasty. By the time I had to tear myself away, I had bonded with the dragonfly, just like that crazy dude in the movie did with an octopus. The dragonfly, however, had not bonded with me, but wanted to eat me more than ever. You don’t have an experience like that as a woodworking enthusiast, or a scrapbooker. Then again, we don’t often get to chop our fingers off or be responsible for a grandchild aspirating a fist full of tiny plastic libraries. I suppose it all comes out in the wash.
Watch this video…
How was it?
Now buy a lens… I promise this lens was 19.99 when I made the video. It has gone up $12 since yesterday. By the way, I am an Amazon Affiliate and when you buy stuff from Amazon using my link, they give me a couple of cents (per dollar, but only if your purchase qualifies). You don’t pay anything extra - well, in this case you pay $12 extra ‘cause I got the price yesterday, but that’s different.
You don’t have a phone? Everyone has a phone! Oh, I’m sorry, I didn't realize. Here, buy one…
Did you buy it? It would be awesome if you did because I am an Amazon Affiliate and when you buy stuff from Amazon using my link, they give me a couple of cents (per dollar, but only if your purchase qualifies).
I have to run, see you next time.
Thanks Apexel, for the fun lens!