Telephoto lens add-on on my iPhone for a cruise

There are several good brands of auxiliary lenses for your model iPhone. I recommend the Moment and Reeflex lenses.

Here’s a soft of review of Moment’s lenses on 15 PM.

https://www.shopmoment.com/articles/iphone-15-with-moment-lenses-compatibility-example-images?srsltid=AfmBOortuYfiX_Qpk3jCXlZGyLIobBw1PXjnzSEp3IGlDWuJlz7hpcl1

Please understand attaching the lens requires their iPhone case as well. The T Series lenses are producing very good images from what I’ve seen.

Reeflex has several lenses as well.

https://reeflexstore.com/en-us/products/super-telephoto-240-macro-add-ons

https://reeflexstore.com/en-us/products/g-series-telephoto-60mm

There are plenty of reviews online of both lenses.

I don’t have personal experience with either lens, but have played with ProRaw files from each and the images seem very good, given inherent limitations of these type cameras and lenses.

I think it really comes down to whether you want to lug around a much bigger and heavier package. Is the primary reason for the trip photography or other? iPhone certainly lets one be more in the moment and experience more of the trip and people you’re traveling with.

Safe travels!

There are a number available on Amazon; check out the reviews.

There are differences between an iPhone camera and a “real” camera; it’s a choice of convenience vs image quality. The iPhone cameras are probably the best in a handheld device, but:

• The CMOS sensor in a “big” camera (DSLR) is huge; about the same size as a 35 MM frame
• The lenses on a DSLR are less prone to lens flare
• The lenses also have more light gathering capacity (smaller f-stop value)
• You can get much longer lenses for a DLSR that you can for an iPhone, and they will be higher quality.

That said, I take my iPhone everywhere, and my DSLR rarely these days.

There’s a saying that the best camera is the one you have with you at the moment.

To show just one advantage of a DSLR with a 300 mm lens: Do you see the 2 rock climbers scaling a shear rock face in Zion National Park? This is a 3 day climb; the sleep in a sling each night. I tried with my iPhone, and you couldn’t pick them out.

I can't speak for Lawrence, but I had a friend who did and the results were less than great. You can try, but what I think Lawrence is trying to tell you is that while iPhone is an amazing photographic tool, it has its limitations. If you want great telephoto pictures from your cruise a dedicated camera with a dedicated telephoto lens is the way to go. I still use my Nikon DSLR with a high quality telephoto lens (the lens cost more than my iPhone) when I travel in some situations where I know I'll benefit from using the DSLR.

Yes, and I agree with lobsterghost1. For a start you are not going to find a 300mm equivalent.

Jeff Donald wrote:

I would say the digital zoom is fair to good up to about 12X to 15X. Here’s a recent shot zoomed to about 20X.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/3bb44df3-c3d2-43ca-bb39-6c968f43b70b

Is it as good as my Canon mirrorless camera with a decent zoom? No, but my iPhone is much lighter and costs much less.

Yes, not bad, but if you had shot at 5X, then cropped the resulting image, you would have gotten exactly the same result. But sometimes digital zoom is easier than planning to crop later.

Mrdaveaelaud wrote:

Thanks Ghost. I have a cannon 5D Mark 3 and really love it. I will probably take it. I have a 15 pro max and the pictures are good, I have not traded in for a 16 yet. Thought I might wait for the 17.

You're welcome. Marvelous as the little cameras in an iPhone are, nothing can really compare to a good DSLR and the 5D Mark 3 is certainly better than GOOD! As far as the cameras in iPhone go, I tend to get the new phone annually. We're approaching the value of diminishing returns as yes, iPhone 16 Pro Max is better than my 15 Pro Max was, the improvements are incrementally better. And most people who really don't much about photography, really won't notice a difference as they mostly just point and shoot and never make any adjustments as they do. What has proven to be a wonderful accompaniment to the 16 Pro models is the camera capture button, which makes it so much easier to change settings as you shoot, simply by tapping and sliding your finger to change things.

Mrdaveaelaud wrote:

I may have to reconsider going to the phone store. Thank you.

Again, you're very welcome. I know so many people who have no clue how to use the Camera Capture button, but I've spent a lot time using it and now I wouldn't want to be without it.

I have an iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max but even iPhone 16 can go to 25x. But remember, it's a digital zoom, so at that zoom level, the results will be just acceptable. If the cameras are important to you, which seems to be the case, I would recommend a Pro model as they have better cameras.

Mrdaveaelaud wrote:

What zoom can you go to in the 16.

5x optical, 25x digital. But digital zoom is a hoax; all you are doing is cropping the image to 1/5 the area of the sensor (5x optical, another 5x digital). In most cases you will get better results shooting at 5x, then cropping after you shoot.

I would say the digital zoom is fair to good up to about 12X to 15X. Here’s a recent shot zoomed to about 20X.

Is it as good as my Canon mirrorless camera with a decent zoom? No, but my iPhone is much lighter and costs much less.