IPhone Home Made Macro Lens

Step 1: Materials Needed

Prepare any glass Biconvex lens,just like the glass we use to see on a regular magnifying glass….dont use plastic lens they are not as good as glass.,.plastics lens can be easily scratch…i used an old biconvex lens taken out from an old zoom lens of a projector. Trial & error test first if you will achieve to snap shot a macro type of picture.

X-Acto knife
E.V.A foam
Cutting board
Rubber cement for bonding the foam
Ruler
Pencil
Cardboard for pattern making only

Step 2: Lens Bezel Preparations

Cut foam accdng to the diameter of lens you are using.,here i use biconvex lens with 38mm diameter

Step 3: Lens in Bezel & Clip

Make a pattern using cardboard for foam cutting accdng to your iphone model.,here i use my old iphone 4.

Step 4: Bezel & Clip

Sandwich the lens in between of the base bezel & bezel cap.,and attached the clip made on the back of the bezel.,.make sure to align the camera lens of your iphone accordingly ,focusing on the center of the lens you are attaching.

Step 5: The Cover/clip

Make a cover like in this image.,this will serve as clip of your Macro lens.

Step 6: How It Looks

Front View

Step 7: How It Looks

Back view

Step 8: How It Looks

Another view

Step 9: How It Looks

Focusing on a coin as near as possible

Step 10: Comparison

iPhone standard shot compared to iPhone with Macro Lens attachement,in same distance shot using tripod.See the difference in text & on image itself.

Step 11: More Sample Shot

With HomeMade Macro Lens.,Easy to make & very low in cost compare if you buy it conmercially.

Step 12: HomeMade Macro Lens

In different views

Comments

[alanjamesblair]

Really swell! I have tons of lenses lying around that have been dissected from broken zooms. Will have to give this a try!

[rodski]

That would be a good project!,hoping you share it here too!

[alanjamesblair]

Thanks! Never thought to share a dissection. Will have to do that next time I have a bum lens in front of me.

[rodski]

I'll be looking forward to it! good luck!

[3366carlos]

nice

[rodski]

Thanks!

[rodski]

I used Biconvex Lens,.not a concave lens...just edited the step & images of it.Added screws to reinforce the cement.,& to add a little bit of design.

[rodski]

Glad that you like the pics..Honestly i'm just a new in photography,about the question you're asking,well i cant accurately answer that..Since the lens i used had 38 mm diameter & upon my notes it has a thickness of 3.8 mm from the center.All i can say is every time i shoot a small object,i just need to focus my iphone with macro lens attached to it in about 5 mm to 10 mm distance far from the object,& this is how i set my iphone camera,i just set it always to No-Grid,Non HDR,No Zoom & always set my Flash disabled...That was it...

I used tripod for the 10th step above Comparison shot,so i can accurately see the difference and the effectiveness of my project..

[stechi]

Well done, your pics look excellent. I really like the way you used the foam to attach the lens to the corner. One question, do you know the focal length of the lens? I'd need to find one similar, I have tried some that were too strong.