the brilliant invention that lets you use interchangeable lenses with any cell phone

Photography has been around for over 100 years. In that time we have seen the way of taking pictures changeslowly at first, and then accelerated in recent decades. Although there are still photographers who want to continue using chemical components, the digital industry has taken over and in most countries, such as Europe, users use digital devices, mainly smartphones, to take photos.

One reason is its lower cost since there is no need to reveal them or buy albums to store them. Almost everyone already uses some type of image storage system.like Google Photos or Amazon Photos. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for those looking for a more advanced experience.

For them, obviously, there are professional cameras from brands such as Nikon, Sony or Canon, among others. This, yes, These are very expensive devices, and increasingly, this encourages many amateurs to think carefully before embarking on a hobby that will take away a lot of financial resources. Between professional and amateur photography with smartphones there are different proposals, such as SwitchLens.

A professional camera

The idea behind this hardware project is simple. It is about provide the physical elements necessary for a mobile phone to obtain images similar to those that can be taken with an advanced cameraSmartphones increasingly have better sensors and software, but the limitation of the physical space of their cameras, for example, poses a problem when it comes to obtaining certain shots.

SwitchLens is an accessory that looks a lot like a professional camera, including the interchangeable lens system with a 4:3 architecture. The 20.75MP CMOS sensor included in the system allows you to take sharper and better quality photos than what you get with mobile sensors. In addition, when purchasing the device it is possible to pay to have a slightly better sensor, an M43 CMOS, even if it costs 99 dollars more, or a little more than 90 dollars.

Switching lenses

Alvarez del Vayo

But the main thing is that this device It has interchangeable lenses, up to seven, which means images can be transformed as needed. You can opt for a wide angle, an optical zoom, a special lens for portraits…

SwitchLens doesn’t have a screenand to avoid mounting this element, it is connected to the smartphone through a system of magnets, like a phone handle. Through a WiFi connection, it is possible to see what the photo will look like on the mobile screen, in addition to being able to configure professional capture sections.

The built-in 14,500 mAh battery means you don’t always have to be physically connected to the mobile, so we can place it anywhere and use the smartphone as a remote trigger, to take photos of much better quality than if we used the front camera of the device. The autonomy, according to its designers, is one hour of recording if you choose 4K video at 30 fps. Because yes, in addition to taking photos, we can record high quality videos, up to 4K60.

In addition to not having a screen, SwitchLens is low on internal memory, which controls the price. This is solved by a MicroSD card slot up to 1.5TBalthough it is still possible to use the internal memory of the mobile phone even if we do not have a microSD. Or vice versa, you can use the SwitchLens card to empty your phone’s memory if it is full.

One of the advantages of this accessory is the focusing system, which allows not to compromise the detail by bad framing or incorrect distance measurement. On the mobile screen, the area of ​​the image in focus will appear shaded in bright colors, so as not to make the mistake of not focusing on the desired area or not doing it correctly.

SwitchLens is designed for work with both major mobile operating systems, iOS and Android. In the case of the iPhone, it is compatible with MagSafe and can therefore be attached using images located on the back of the device. For Android phones, there will be compatible cases that integrate magnets, although they have not specified what type of smartphones will have them. The application is also available for both systems, because it could not be otherwise.

Rates and packages

SwitchLens has been in development for over a year and recently landed on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The product, according to its roadmap, should reach buyers before the end of the year. As usually happens in this type of proposal, there are several purchase options. The simplest includes only the handle, allowing you to buy one of the lenses separately, which costs between 39 and 139 dollars (between 35 and 130 dollars), depending on the model. The body itself has a price of 199 dollars (185 dollars). The only thing it includes besides the body itself is a USB-C cable and a case to carry it.

The second pack consists of the body and three different lenses, 25, 35 and 50mm. The price is $346 (around 325 dollars) and it is the most successful one on Kickstarter. In addition, in this case, the product comes in a well-designed case that allows you to keep all the elements stored and safe to take them on a trip. The third pack costs $649 (a little over 600 dollars) and includes almost all products. In addition to the body, there are six of the seven lenses available, the three from the previous pack and the fisheye, wide angle and night vision.

The project has experienced slight delays in publishing the first analyses, but It was a success. Its creators’ initial goal of $10,000 was largely exceeded, currently exceeding $220,000.