Introduction: Making a Macro Lens for Your Smartphone Camera. (Nearly Free)

By Shreyash Mishra
About: An Unsanctioned Soul of Computerdom.

This is my first instructable after discontinuing my old account for some unavoidable reasons. This instructable will guide through making Macro Lens from your old laser pointer. No matter which smartphone you use this little hack will work. In My case the results are from Sony Xperia T2 Ultra (13 MP Camera).

Step 1: Ripping Off the Laser!

You can consider this the most tedious step to do that is finding the Laser Pointer and rip it apart. First find an old laser which you used in your childhood days or maybe using it now. If you seriously love your laser then you go out and buy a new one. Open your laser very gently so that the glass inside it is not damaged. Make sure you clean up the glass once it's removed.

Step 2: Making the Stand

Now take a paper clip and straighten it completely then curl one end of wire (straightened clip) around the glass which you have obtained from the Laser. Now make sure that when you wrap the glass you tighten it properly as it may fall loose. This will act like a stand to your lens and you can always come up with some creative steps to make this.

Step 3: Placing the Lens.

If you don't mind spoiling the back of your phone a bit then you can place the glass over your camera and stick the other end of the wire/clip and your phone with a relatively less adhesive tape as the chances of damage become rare. I didn't prefer doing that so I chose to hold it in front of the camera. But that can cause problems while clicking in unstable positions.

NOTE: Place the center of the lens(glass) over the center of the camera lenses for better results. If you have studied optics in high school this may sound relevant to you.

Step 4: Results

You can see 2 images here, one of which shows a blurred images that is when the lens is not placed properly and the other is when it is placed correctly. The Picture is a close shot of a newspaper. I hope this helped you make a cost free and effective Macro lens for your smartphone. Have a happy time clicking pictures.