Moment lenses — the DSLR killer?
I travel with a Canon DSLR and two primes, a 35mm f1.4 and an 85mm f1.2
(endearingly nicknamed, “the fat kid”). Switching lenses is cumbersome and not
ideal in certain environments, like a Saigon street market, densely crowded
with vendors, tourists and thieves.
After lugging this camera kit through six countries last
year, I upgraded my iPhone to the X in hopes of replacing the DSLR as a travel
camera. Despite our Editor in Chief’s praises for the iPhone X’s camera, it
wasn’t enough for me. I needed more creative control and didn’t want to rely on
mobile software.
The first few Google search results for “best iPhone
lens” led me to Moment, a company that started off with a 2014 Kickstarter fund
and since has grown into a well-respected smartphone lens manufacturer.
Moment recently released a new version of their four lenses: Superfish
(fisheye), Wide, Tele Portrait and Macro. The update includes a new attachment
interface where the lenses are slightly larger in diameter to provide a more
secure attachment to the Moment smartphone cases. Their Wide lens also received
a glass upgrade to a multi-element aspherical design for edge to edge clarity.
Prices range from $89.99 to $99.99, with an additional
cost of $29.99 for the Moment smartphone case — you’ll need it to attach your
lens
These lenses are not
cheaply made of plastic, mass-produced in some dingy factory. They’re heavy
little nubs handcrafted with aerospace-grade metal and the same high-end glass
used in 4K film lenses.
They mount to the Moment
case using a twist and lock system. Snapping it in was quite simple and I
roughly shook the phone to make sure the lens was secured — it was.
I opted out of the Superfish lens (it’s not really my aesthetic) and
packed the other three with me on a recent trip to Little Corn, a remote island
several miles off the Nicaraguan coast.
Although I had planned to extensively use the lenses, the
week was spent mostly napping in hammocks and eating lobster tacos, as one does
when on a tropical island far away. I did, however, spend a couple afternoons
testing them out.
New Wide Lens
By far, this was my
favorite of the three. The images produced were clear, dynamic and without much
edge distortion.
L: iPhone X
lens, R: Moment Wide Lens
L: iPhone X
lens, R: Moment Wide Lens
It’s ideal for landscapes and cityscapes, but I would probably use it as
an everyday lens; it adds character and a certain quirk to portraits.
New Macro Lens
With the macro lens, I
was able to capture the tiniest details, from the filaments of a hibiscus flower
to its petal veins. The removable diffuser hood softened the light so whites
weren’t blown out.
L: iPhone X
lens, R: Moment Macro Lens
L: iPhone X lens, R: Moment Macro Lens
Image quality is almost on par with my Canon macro lens,
which also happens to be about 9x its cost. On the London map below, the
letters in the street names are approximately 1mm tall.
L: Canon EF 100mm f2.8 Macro, R: Moment
Macro lens (blur on the top left corner due to a slight tilt when I took the
photo)
There’s one drawback to the Macro Lens: you have to get
close to the subject, real close (less than an inch away).
I would not recommend using this lens on a black widow or rattlesnake.
New Tele Portrait Lens
As a portrait lens, I
was disappointed. I took pictures of Sam in several locations around the
beachfront and wasn’t thrilled with any of them. Bokeh was barely noticeable
and I’m pretty sure I could’ve just taken a few steps closer to achieve similar
results.
L: iPhone X lens, R: Moment Tele Portrait
Lens
After finishing the first draft of this review, I decided
to try the lens again before I made a hasty assessment. I was wrong; moving a
few steps closer doesn’t achieve similar results. I had forgotten about
distortion when up close on iPhone X’s semi-wide lens; however, the difference
is subtle.
I’ve actually grown fond of this lens after testing it
out one rainy morning in Brooklyn. While the 60mm focal length gets you closer
to subjects without having to resort to digital zoom, the blurred edges add a
nostalgic element similar to film cameras.
The iPhone X has a
built-in telephoto lens, so I did a quick comparison.
L: iPhone X telephoto lens, R: Moment Tele
Portrait Lens
There’s a faint, faint difference. If you’re on an iPhone
X and are fussed about soft edges, skip this lens. On smartphones that don’t
have built-in telephoto lenses, this would be my second choice to break away
from sterile smartphone picture-taking.
Moment lenses add a bit of charm and perspective to mobile photography,
to the point where you can trick the average person into believing the pictures
were taken on a real camera.
I can’t completely switch over to a Moment lens mounted iPhone
X as a travel camera just yet. It has nothing to do with Moment. Their lenses
are impressive, but they’re not going to magically transform smartphone photos
into DSLR-quality images. (I had naively hoped for this.) The iPhone X’s camera
is great for daily snapshots, but the image files lack enough detail and
information for my anal retentive Lightroom and Photoshop workflow. For now,
I’ll stick with my clunky 5D.
For everyone else, step
up your Instagram game. Moment’s reputation for producing the best smartphone
camera lenses is well deserved.