Ever wanted to get into astrophotography, but couldn’t find the perfect smartphone camera for that? Well, that’s maybe because smartphones aren’t really made for that, at least not without an add-on such as this portable telescope.
In the past few years, smartphone cameras have seen a lot of accessories for macro photography and fish-eye lens effects, but no one has ever considered making a telescope that attaches to iPhones for on-the-go telephoto shots. Brando’s Super Spy telescope lens is an iPhone 6 camera accessory that’ll help people take photos at up to 80x optical zoom.
As its name suggests, this lens is not meant entirely for astrophotography, but rather for spying on neighbors, military bases and such. In case it wasn’t obvious enough, the Super Spy telescope lens works out of the box and is a plug-and-play (of sorts) device, being ready to use right after installation.
The Super Spy telescope lens measures 395mm in length when extended, and 88mm in diameter, at its thickest point, but the manufacturer doesn’t disclose the weight of this camera accessory. It can be used without a stand, but I imagine that it is quite hefty and doing so would make your hands tire after a while, so employing the included tripod might be better.
The kit also includes a black case for the iPhone that enables 360-degree shifting, and a velvet pocket, to make sure that the lens is protected from dust. Not sure how it would withstand physical damage, as a velvet pocket couldn’t possibly protect it against that.
All in all, the telescope lens could prove useful for animal observation and traveling, but I can’t possibly imagine anyone using something like this at a concert. The manufacturer, on the other hand, lists this as one of the possible applications of the telescope lens.
This particular model is compatible with the iPhone 6 exclusively, but Brando also makes other models that play nicely with Samsung’s Galaxy line. The telescope lens is available on the Brando’s website for $220, which is quite a steep price for a camera accessory. The manufacturer seems to have taken advantage from this point of view, as the Super Spy telescope lens currently has no competition.
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