THE BEST Lenses

Photography expert Mathieu Stern loves to work with unusual camera lenses. After being stuck at home sickened by COVID-19, he decided to build a lens using stuff he had lying around the house. He enlisted the help of his wife to design this LEGO camera lens, while he focused on the optics. We love the brick-shaped bokeh.

We shoot a lot of video inside of cars looking out the windshield. But the in-car footage often makes it look much slower than it felt zooming around the track. After watching this clip from Akiyoshi Kitaoka, we realize just how much of a difference having a wide angle lens makes when it comes to the perception of speed.

Want to shoot ultra-wide angle images with your iPhone? This high-quality glass fisheye lens has an 8mm focal length, increasing the width of the standard camera up a massive 238° field of view. Attaches securely to Lemuro’s case (sold separately).

Sirui’s value-priced 50mm prime lens captures truly cinematic imagery, with a 2.4:1 ultra-widescreen ratio. It has an outstanding f1.8 aperture, can shoot from 0.85m to infinity, and produces impressive lens flares and bokeh. Built from aircraft grade aluminum with German-made Schott optics. Works with most APS-C cameras.

With builds like this and this, maker Giaco Whatever isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. So when he wanted to shoot a promo video for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, he not only busted out one of those crazy Laowa probe lenses, but he fabricated a camera mount for an industrial robot to give it motion control.

Camera technology has come a very long way since World War I, though a lens is generally still just a lens. Photographerr Mathieu Stern decided to see what kind of video he could capture with a lens he snatched from a 100-year-old Eastman Kodak camera. The footage is quite good, with a dreamy and warm quality to it.

Sony’s latest G Master lens for FE-mount cameras is perfect for pro sports and nature photographers. The $13,000 SEL600F40GM is a 600mm F4 telephoto that captures razor-sharp imagery of even fast-moving people and objects at incredible distances, thanks to its quick focusing and optical stabilization.

This unusual lens lets you get up close and personal with nature thanks to its proboscis-like design. The 24mm F/14 macro lens has a teensy waterproof and dustproof lens tip, an LED ring light. It offers impressive depth-of-field, and is designed for both video and still images.

Canon’s new Speedlite 470EX-AI camera flash has a fully automatic bounce function. Point it at your subject and its mechanism will automatically position and maintain the optimal angle for flash bounce. It also has a semi-automatic mode.

These 1.5oz. shot glasses look like tiny Canon EF zoom lenses. Their threaded lid and keychain makes them perfect for carrying pills, jelly beans, and other small items. They’re made from food grade PVC with a stainless steel interior, and come in a set of three.

Perfect for viewing just about anything from a distance, this long-range monocular can zoom from 40x to 60x. It comes with a handy flexible tripod, as well as a mount to attach it to your smartphone for long zoom photos.

Add macro, wide angle, and fisheye capabilities to almost any smartphone camera with this bargain-priced 3-in-1 lens kit in The Awesomer Shop. The lenses attach and detach easily using strong magnetic rings which adhere around your phone’s camera lens.

A clever gadget for photographers which offers easy access to lenses. The hip-mounted holster hangs onto lenses securely using their mounts, and spins into position for quick lens swaps. It also provides storage for lens caps. Available for Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sony E lenses.

Tthe Hitcase Pro 2.0 is waterproof and drop-proof, and also allows for mounting of super-wide, wide, and macro lenses. The case itself is compatible with GoPro mounts for capturing action footage. Coming for iPhone 6 and 7, but we’re hoping for a 7 Plus version. (Thanks Matt!)

Seeing how costly and out of reach traditional lenses that increase the horizontal field of view of a camera can be, Moondog Labs has designed an affordable anamorphic lens adapter that works specifically for the iPhone 5/5s.

The Photorito Lens Wrap is a protective cover that resembles the tasty and beloved Mexican dish; lenses stay in place burrito-style with a built-in band in the padded Tyvek and neoprene sleeve.

Upgrade to your cellphone’s camera with these detachable wide angle/macro, telephoto and fisheye lenses. Mounted via a magnetic ring that adhesively stuck around your phone’s lens.

While the idea of using real Canon or Nikon SLR lenses on an iPhone seems a bit ludicrous, this adapter lets you give it a try anyhow. Surprisingly, the images produced look pretty decent.

This cool wide-angle pinhole cap works with Micro 4/3rds digital cameras, letting you take incredibly expressive photos you never imagined you could capture with a digi-cam. (Thanks, Justin!)