Best Macro Lens for iPhone Photography

If you’re trying to get the best close-up photos using your iPhone, you’ll need to attach a macro lens.

Macro photography is hugely popular, and for a good reason – the world looks even more amazing when viewed up close.

Modern iPhones have a built-in wide-angle and telephoto lens, but they lack a dedicated macro lens.

Attaching an external macro lens to your iPhone’s camera allows you to keep the actual size of the subject being photographed the same as the sensor.

(The result is that the tiny subject in your image looks bigger.)

The best macro lens for iPhone users will depend on your requirements. Do you need true 1:1 magnification, or do you just need a magnified shot?

In this guide, we’ll take a look at the top products of the year as well as teach you some tricks to taking better macro photography with your iPhone camera.

4 Best Macro Lenses for iPhone in 2023

Image	Product	Features
	Xenvo Pro Lens KitOUR #1 CHOICE	Compatable with all Smartphones Truview 0.45x Wide Angle Lens Rechargeable LED Light Quick-releace Lanyard & Travel Case	View Price →
	Moment Macro LensTOP RATED	Removable Diffuser Hood Aerospace Grade Metal Easy to Attach Perfect for Macro	View Price →
	CoPedvic Macro Lens KitGREAT VALUE	4-in-1 Lens Attachment Includes Metal Tripod Telescope/Monocular Function Durable Design & Smooth Focus	View Price →
	Apexel Macro Lens Kit	Lightweight & Compact Compatable with 98% Smartphones Durable Multi-function of Lenses	View Price →

 

1. Xenvo Pro Lens Kit with Macro & Wide Angle Lens

The Xenvo Pro Lens option is an all-in-one kit that includes a macro lens ideal for iPhone photography.

The kit includes the TruView 0.45x wide-angle lens, the Clarus 15x macro lens, a TruGrip lens clip, and handy GlowClip mini rechargeable LED Light. The addition of a wide-view glass lens allows for stunning landscapes and architecture shots thanks to the 0.45x magnification.

In addition, the kit comes with a charging cable for the LED, a quick-release lanyard, a pocketable DuraCase, a single EasyClip, and a lens cleaning cloth. The lanyard attaches to the TruGrip macro lens clip, so you never lose your iPhone macro lens – it’s always around your neck and ready to go.

The surface of the TruGrip clip features a rubber coating to protect your iPhone from damage.

The Clarus macro lens is solidly constructed of aircraft-grade aluminum and features high-precision optical glass. The iPhone macro lens delivers 15x magnification for high-resolution iPhone macro photography.

The kit is compatible with all smartphones, tablets, and even laptops, but it works best on iPhone models.

The Clarus macro lens is compact, lightweight, and connects to your iPhone via the included TruGrip lens clip. It clamps the external macro lens to the iPhone while positioning it over the back camera.

With the Xenvo Pro Lens Clarus macro lens attached securely to your iPhone lens, you’ll capture stunning close-up images with exceptional detail.

No matter what you point the iPhone macro lens at, you’ll be amazed at the level of detail appearing on your phone’s screen.

As a result, the Xenvo kit is ideal for photographing food, jewelry, flowers, and of course, insects – if you can get them to stand still long enough!

What’s more, if you need a little more light to make your subject pop, the kit includes a GlowClip rechargeable LED fill lit. The light is charged via the included cable and features its own clip allowing you to attach it to the side of your iPhone.

The Xenvo Pro Lens Kit is one of the best options for those looking for an affordable, high quality macro lens for iPhone photography.

2. Moment Macro 10x Lens

The folks at Moment have a long history of making excellent accessories for iPhone photography.

As a result, it’s no surprise to learn that Moment makes one of the best macro lenses for iPhones. The Moment Macro Lens is a gorgeous little tech piece with a robust build with precision engineering.

It actually looks like a scaled-down version of a high-quality precision camera lens from one of the big camera brands.

Unlike other macro lenses, the Moment Macro Lens doesn’t feature its own clip to attach it to your iPhone. Instead, it features a secure locking mechanism that attaches to Moment’s M-Series smartphone case.

Unfortunately, the case sells separately, and you’ll need to order the exact case to match your iPhone model – this makes the whole package a considerable investment.

The downside is that if you upgrade your phone to a new generation, the case no longer fits, and you have no other way to attach your macro lens to the iPhone.

 

Therefore, you have to order a new Moment case to match your iPhone every 12-18 months. It further adds to the overall cost of the macro lens. It would be far better if they provided a clip as an optional extra or include it with the case.

Cost aside, if you’re looking for the best macro iPhone lens, it’s hard to pass up the image quality captured. The Moment macro lens delivers a 10x magnification of close-up objects in stunning detail.

Moment lenses, including their macro lenses, feature professional-grade hand-polished glass assuring edge-to-edge image sharpness and clarity – that’s why it’s one of the best iPhone macro lens options.

The Moment Macro 10x Lens comes bundled with a lens cap to protect the purity of that glass as well as a microfibre draw-string carrying bag. Another nice inclusion is the white opaque removable diffuser hood to avoid lens flare but still let in ample light.

As one of the best iPhone macro lens choices, it may be tiny, but it manages to capture gorgeous, larger-than-life photos of your favorite tiny subjects.

3. CoPedvic 25X Macro Lens Kit

If you’re looking for a comprehensive iPhone lens kit that includes a macro lens, the CoPedvic 25X Macro Lens Kit is a good bet.

Regardless of shooting iPhone photos or videos, the kit has everything you’ll ever need. In addition, it includes a great range of iPhone lenses that’ll also work on non-Apple phones.

Aside from the 25x macro lens, there’s a 22x telephoto option with a fixed focal length, a 205° fisheye lens, and a 4K HD 0.67X super-wide lens.

The super-wide and macro lenses screw together to form a single compact unit. The 22x telephoto external lens looks a little silly poking out from your iPhone like a toy Nikon telephoto superlens. However, with a 22x magnification, you’ll be able to capture the action in sports and wildlife with ease.

The inclusion of a telephoto, fisheye and super-wide lens gives greater flexibility for creative pursuits with most smartphones.

As for compatibility, the clip-on lenses use a small spring-loaded clip as the attachment method to mount the phone lenses to either the front or back camera.

The smartphone lenses will work with Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, LG One Plus, HUWAI, and any iPhone back to the 4S. Keep in mind that if you’ve got a 4S with a battery that still charges, you’re doing better than most.

These are not cheap plastic lens options – but lenses constructed from aerospace-grade metal and superior quality glass. In addition, the glass elements feature advanced coatings to minimize ghosting and flaring.

The clip-on lens kit provides one of the best macro lens options ideal for close-up shots indoors and out.

4. Apexel 11 in 1 Macro Lens Kit

To capture the best iPhone macro images, you’ll need something other than a cheap plastic lens to get great image quality.

Fortunately, the Apexel 11 in 1 Macro Lens Kit is ideal for capturing high-quality macro photos while on the go. The macro lens is lightweight and compact yet still delivers 15x magnification for stunning up-close details and image quality.

There’s more to the Apexel 11 in 1 Macro Lens Kit than just a single lens for iPhone macro photography.

The kit features no less than eleven lenses, including a 0.63X wide lens, 2X telephoto, 198 °fisheye, 15x macro lenses, and a funky kaleidoscope lens.

To further expand the creative options, it includes a CPL filter, ND filter, and star filter. And for good measure, there are grey, orange, yellow, and blue grad filters for dramatic outcomes.

Eleven lenses seem like a bit of overkill and results in a complex scenario sorting through the various lens attachments to take a shot.

A single lens is good, two lenses are great, and three lenses are probably a perfect kit. However, anything over five lenses makes it hard to know exactly what you what to shoot with – especially as most of the includes lenses look the same as one another.

In terms of compatibility, the lenses attach to your iPhone via an included clip that works with Samsung Galaxy, Huawei, Sony, LG, other Android phones, and of course, iPhones back to the 6S models.

It’s worth noting that the clip is not suited to dual-camera phones – this will limit the use of more recent iPhone models.

If you’re looking for much more than just the best iPhone macro lens, this kit has everything you could possibly want.

How Can you Take Macro Photos with an iPhone?

While it’s not quite the same as using external macro lenses, you can still take macro photos with an iPhone. Depending on the generation of iPhone you have, here’s the essential step-by-step guide.

• Make sure that your subject has enough light – avoid using the built-in flash on the iPhone.
• Holding the iPhone upside down allows greater control of the phone and the ability to get much closer.
• Zoom the camera lens in to gain greater detail on the iPhone screen while maintaining focus.
• Change the zoom up to 5X if your iPhone allows it.
• Get the iPhone as close as you can to the subject while still maintaining a sharp focus on the details with the most interest.
• If the key area you want in focus is a little soft, slightly move your iPhone in or away until you have sharp focus.
• Don’t worry if other parts of the subject fall into soft focus – this is an appealing look in macro photography.
• Take several photos from different angles.
• Once you have taken the photo, you can use the iPhone Photos editing tools to zoom in further and increase image Sharpness and Definition.
• You can also use the Crop tool to zoom in on the image. Be careful not to overdo it, as the edges of your object will lose too much clarity.
• Once you have finished editing your image, you’re ready to share it online or via social media channels.

You can also check our guide to the best macro lens for cameras.

What is the best iPhone for macro photography?

The best iPhone for macro photos is the one you already have!

Chances, are if you’re carrying an iPhone model released in the last two to three years, it’s suitable for macro photography. Each new model and generation of the Apple iPhones feature better cameras, lenses, processors, and editing tools.

The more recent models, such as the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 (Standard, Pro, Max, etc.), feature the best photography tools. These including the ability to zoom, shoot in low light conditions and achieve wide-angle shots.

The reality is, iPhones don’t feature dedicated internal or external macro lenses – it’s something they should address. However, they feature a combination of non-macro lenses and depth sensors to achieve amazing photos up close.

With the techniques described above, you’ll achieve good macro shots on the following models:

• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max

The other benefit of shooting macro images with a recent generation iPhone is the availability of add-on macro lenses (such as those listed above).

In addition, with a suitable attachment method or compatible phone case, you can add a range of macro lenses for close-up shots.

• How to turn on macro mode on iPhone 12?

Unlike newer models, the iPhone 12 doesn’t have a built-in macro mode. Instead, you can attach a macro lens to your iPhone or use the mobile’s telephoto lens to take close-ups.

Final Words

While we take it for granted, iPhones represent the latest in high-tech, pocketable wizardry. The things that iPhones can achieve today weren’t thought possible only a few years ago.

By far, the most significant advances have come in the form of iPhone photography and camera capabilities. As a result, iPhones are starting to make the traditional camera brands worry.

iPhones are great for macro photography as you always have them with you. So when inspiration strikes or a bee lands on a flower in perfect sunlight, they’re always ready to go.

What’s more, with an iPhone macro lens, you’ll capture stunning detail of tiny subjects. Of course, the best iPhone macro lens depends on many factors – the intended use, desired image quality, and of course, the model of iPhone you currently use.

Have you tried capturing close-up shots with the built-in lenses on your iPhone? Or, did you use a macro lens for iPhone, and if so, what was your experience? What are your thoughts on the kinds of macro lenses listed here in our extensive guide?

Share your thoughts, questions, and comments on the use of a macro lens for iPhone shooting. Become part of the conversation and discover all there is to know about iPhone macro photography.