Apple Now Offers New Wide-Angle Accessory Lens with Optics by ZEISS
ZEISS and ExoLens have developed a wide-angle accessory lens kit that is available now from Apple. The first lens to be launched from the accessory lens collection is the new ExoLens with ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T* wide-angle lens, which will be available in Apple stores and on apple.com starting 14 June 2016 and will retail at $199,95 US Dollar. In collaboration with its strategic partner ExoLens, ZEISS has developed the first aspherical lenses for mobile photographers that will forever raise the standard of mobile photography and videography.
In addition to the wide-angle lens, ZEISS and ExoLens are also planning to launch a tele and a macro-zoom lens this summer. The series of three high-performance lenses (wide-angle, telephoto and macro) is a new breed of mobile photography optics that will allow the massive community of iPhone photographers and videographers to tell a deeper story with gold-standard gear.
“The joint goal of ExoLens and ZEISS is to bring never-before-seen quality and versatility to the rapidly growing market of mobile photographers and videographers,” says John E. Fellowes, Chief Executive Officer of Fellowes Brands, which owns ExoLens. “The collaboration represents a truly pivotal step in the development of accessory lenses for mobile phones.”
“The quality of an image is decisively influenced by the lens and its technical properties,” says Dr. Winfried Scherle, Head of the ZEISS Consumer Optics business group. “The ExoLens with optics by ZEISS series has achieved the best possible technical balance between small size, light weight and high image quality to provide ambitious mobile photographers with top-quality tools to support their creativity.”
Premium-quality lenses with a solid bracket
Wide-angle and telephoto lenses feature the same aspherical lens technology that was previously reserved for high-end DSLR cameras and have brought them straight to the Apple iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus as a compact mobile accessory lens. All of the lenses also incorporate the proven T* antireflective coating from ZEISS, which minimizes reflections at the glass-to-air surfaces and improves the transmission of light. The innovative ExoLens bracket, which connects the ZEISS lens to your phone for a truly portable setup, which even fulfills professional demands, is made from precision-machined aluminum and includes soft interior liners to ensure a perfect fit and protection from scratches. The substantial and secure bracket also features an integrated standard tripod mount (1/4”–20) and cold shoe mount, allowing for compatibility with additional accessories such as a microphone or external video light.These wide-angle accessory lens kits include the ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T* wide-angle lens, machined-aluminum ExoLens bracket, soft device-specific liners (for the iPhone 6/iPhone 6s or iPhone 6 Plus/iPhone 6s Plus), lens hood and lens caps, and two microfiber lens pouches.
Leading the collection is the new ExoLens with optics by ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T* wide-angle lens. The lens is virtually distortion-free thanks to its aspherical design, has exceptional edge-to-edge contrast and achieves a unique picture quality. The wide-angle lens (35 mm-equivalent focal length f = 18 mm) is ideal for landscape, architecture and creative shots with unusual perspectives. It’s also perfect for the many videographers now filming professional-quality 4K videos on their iPhone, who want a wider shot than their narrow iPhone camera currently offers.
The ExoLens with optics by ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T* wide-angle lens and the telephoto ZEISS Mutar 2.0x Asph T* (35 mm-equivalent focal length f = 56 mm ) lens both feature an afocal optical design, which is different to traditional interchangeable lenses for system cameras. This means the lenses have infinite focal length, i.e. the focus is set at infinity. This enables photography of objects from infinity to the close-up range, the limits of which are defined only by the technical properties of the mobile phone camera. Protection against dust and water spray makes the wide-angle and telephoto lenses perfect for the challenges of outdoor use. Meanwhile, the macro lens is the first and only mobile lens to offer continuous focus adjustment function, giving a 40–80 mm focal length (35-mm equivalent). This enables the full-frame capture of objects with diameters of between three and twelve centimeters. An optionally attachable and semi-transparent diffuser serves as a spacer, allowing light to shine evenly on the object and enables convenient focusing, even with a short object distance and shallow depth of field.
Technical data for the ExoLens lenses with optics by ZEISS
Key –
1) iPhone® is a trademark of Apple Inc.
2) EP = Entrance pupil diameter of smartphone camera = f-number
3) Equivalent focal length including smartphone camera referring to 35 mm format (36 x 24 mm): f = 28 mm
4) Assumed mobile phone camera optical parameter referring to 35 mm format equivalent focal length f = 28 mm, sensor diameter Øim = 6 mm, minimum optical distance MOD = 80 mm, min. magnification β = 0.058
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
One Comment
Susan Rennie
A fabulous piece of glass, but the problem is it fits directly onto the bare iPhone, risking damages (I know) from a drop. Why not fit it to a case as Schneider Optics have done with their iPro lenses?