However, these beautifully made lenses boast plenty of character.
The 60mm telephoto lens is a winning choice for portraiture thanks to some lovely lens characteristics.
Meanwhile, the 1.55x anamorphic lens produces gorgeous lens flares and letterbox widescreen footage.
(Image credit: Future)
ShiftCam is up against stiff competition in this market.
So, are these optics worth your money?
Find out in my full ShiftCam LensUltra review.
ShiftCam lenses are priced more or less in line with the competition from Moment andSandmarc iPhone lenses.
The ShiftCam 60mm telephoto lens is available for$129 / 129 at Amazonor atShiftCam.
As Ill cover below, the 60mm tele is ShiftCams best performing photography lens.
It has more character than the Moment 58mm and Sandmarc 58mm, although the Sandmarc 58mm is sharper.
The ShiftCam 75mm macro lens costs$129 / 129 at AmazonandShiftCam.
That said, ShiftCam only offers cases for iPhones.
ShiftCam LensUltra review: Design & build
ShiftCams lenses are built and packaged beautifully.
Theyre each made from sturdy metal, with a matte finish thats pleasant to the touch.
Each lens comes with a hard, zip-up protective case that features a carabiner hook for easy stowage.
I much prefer these cases to the pouches supplied by Moment and Sandmarc.
ShiftCams cases cost around$50for theiPhone 16 Pro Maxmodel, but its a worthwhile investment.
ShiftCam also offers a ProGrip, which is essentially aBluetoothcamera controller for your smartphone, with a hand grip.
Its also a separate product, so wont be covered in this review.
ShiftCam LensUltra review: 60mm telephoto
The ShiftCam 60mm is a really fun lens.
The blur itself is nice and tight, drawing focus to the foreground.
By contrast, the iPhone 3x lens has produced a much sharper result.
If you’re after sharp, clean images, this obviously isn’t great.
Personally, I love how these flares look, and the imperfect charm they add.
The ShiftCam 60mm is a great lens for portraiture.
The iPhone lens feels a little flat in comparison.
Below are two portraits of Toms Guide reviews writer Nikita Achanta.
The first is taken with the iPhone 14 Pros 1x lens, while the second uses the ShiftCam 60mm.
Once again the ShiftCam comes out on top, with a much nicer background blur.
Being able to position your phone further away means youre less likely to block light hitting your subject.
ShiftCam LensUltra review: 1.55x anamorphic
This is where stuff starts to get really interesting.
When it comes to video, though, external anamorphic lenses are well worth the spend.
ShiftCams 1.55x anamorphic lens is no exception.
I absolutely loved the character of this lens in testing.
I prefer the sharper focus drop off of Moments anamorphic lenses, but the flares of the ShiftCam.
Neither is better or worse, so Id choose the lens with the characteristics you most want.
Its the same story with Sandmarc, so ShiftCam isnt alone here.
Moments app is so good that I actually used it to shoot test images for this review.
ShiftCam and Sandmarc need to get their acts together in this regard.
(Image credit: Future)
The ShiftCam 75mm macro lens isnt worth the spend.
(Image credit: Future)
Taken on an iPhone 14 Pro using the ShiftCam LensUltra 60mm Telephoto lens.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Taken on an iPhone 14 Pro with the ShiftCam LensUltra 60mm Tele lens.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Taken on an iPhone 14 Pro using the ShiftCam LensUltra 75mm macro lens.
