If you’re like me… by which I mean clumsy as !!#$, you want permanent protection on your iPhone.
Permanent..shall we say..”life”proof protection, or as my parents would say “Jade”proof…
Also if you’re like me… by which I mean incapable (some would say unwilling) to learn all the buttons on a DSLR, you want to be able to use your iPhone as a camera, and that means it’d be nice to be able to throw a couple different lenses on it.
Now there’s a plethora of highly advanced lenses for your iPhone out there, one case even allows you to put ANY DSLR lens on your phone, no joke. But unfortunately, most are incompatible with permanent and waterproof protection for your phone.
Sure you can get gopro like casings like this Hitcase that come equipped with a wide angle lens.
Or you can get some plastic sleeves to throw your phone in when you’re dangerously close to water like the Scuba Suit or the Drycase…. but I don’t want a gopro, and I never know when someone’s going to push me into the pool.
I want a phone that I can take artistic photos with, AND won’t fry when I forget I left it in my back pocket before taking a pee
(guilty. as. charged.)
Now if you’ve learned anything about me yet, you should know I’m stubborn, and unwilling to compromise sometimes, so I did my research.
I started with the water protection, because I paid more for this phone than I’m willing to admit, and if I MUST compromise it’ll be on photo quality, not permanent electrocution and death of my device.
Lifeproof
I found that the Lifeproof Case
The new one for the 5 doesn’t have a plastic thing over the screen which most people complained about and instead makes a water-tight seal directly with the glass on the phone.
It’s recommended you test its waterproofness with their sham phone instead, so I did. No leaks, works great.
I’d love to tell you it works with the actual phone in too, but I’m chicken $#*! and haven’t tried it.
Don’t judge me, like I said, I don’t plan on using it like a go-pro, I just want to make sure it doesn’t accidentally fry.
How about you try it with yours and tell me how it went ;)
Pros:
- security
- slimness
- access to all the buttons
- seamless touch-screen function
Cons:
- no one can hear me on the phone unless I open the little flap for the charger, so hopefully I don’t trip in a puddle while I’m on the phone.
- the sound is distorted a bit, I don’t mind too much, but others might
- the jack access slots are tiny and might need adaptors for some accessories (it comes with a headphones adaptor)
It’s pretty easy to pop the thing on and off again, but Lifeproof only recommends doing this 55 times until the warranty’s null, so I can’t do that every time I want to take a picture.
Thus, the only solution I found that would allow me to put lenses on my phone, with my case on, was the Photojojo magnetic lenses for all mobile devices. (they’re not paying me either, however if you get their lenses from this link, you get $5 off, that’s our gift to you)
Lifeproof and Photojojo
They come with little magnetic rings you stick onto your device and then you pop them on and off as you see fit.
It’s pretty awesome.
HOWEVER, they’re not technically made to be used with a case, so some issues do come up with the Lifeproof + Photojojo lens combo.
Namely, the wide angle and fisheye give you a mandatory vignette effect around the corners, and it’s hard to focus on what you actually want to focus on, it seems the focal length has been moved by exactly the distance of the width of the case, but it’s not too hard to work around it.
Take a look for yourself, these pics are the first that I took with the Lifeproof + Photojojo combination, and have not been altered at all.
Yes, that’s a home-made light box, thanks for noticing our ghetto photo skillz.
Thanks Photojojo for the Dino Pet!
As you get used to the combination, you’ll get better at using them. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the only way to take a picture like this:
while still making sure your phone is 100% waterproof.
One day I’ll muster up the courage to submerge my phone underwater and let you know how that works out.
Though, I don’t think the lenses are made to go underwater, there are a lot of places the water could get in under the glass and get stuck and give you all kinds of problems, so don’t do it.
Voila!!
What’s your favorite photography combination?
Great tips and awesome photos you took with those lenses.
For some reason I have never been able yet to take a good underwater photo, for the rest of my photos I just use a compact camera cause I want all to be quick and easy. After seeing your photos maybe I will need to reconsider.
Thanks Freya! Good underwater photos are tough. If you’re using fancier gear they make red filters to get that ugly green hue you tend to get out of the shot. As for everything else, It’s all about the light!! I hate Gabriel’s DSLR, it’s just too many buttons for me, so I love my iPhone because it’s always in my pocket, and as soon as I see a photo op I can take it out and give it a shot. It helps me learn a lot more. One day I’ll be confident enough to give the big fancy machines another go.
Awesome review! Super thorough =D
Have you tried the fish eye lens out a little bit more since the first picture? That’s the main reason I want the photojojo lens but in the photo, it looks like it doesn’t line up that well with the camera. Have you found that it always cuts a portion of the photo off?
I also am curious about how the metal rings stick to the lifeproof case. Do these stay permanently on the case? Or do you have to remove them after use? If so, what prevents them from losing their stickiness over time?
Anyway, the photo’s came out pretty awesome. I love the dinosaur at the beach concept ;). I had a dream about that the other night actually, haha. And there was a giant red crocodile with a curly tail and her baby croc by her side in this prehistoric paradise. Pretty cool.
Thanks for the awesome article!
I have used it a little bit more, but to be honest, it’s not the one I use the most. You do get better at sticking them on so the vignette disappears more. I’d say go for it.
As for the ring, it’s permanently attached, as permanently as something adhesive can be. They give you replacement rings in case it falls off, which is good because I’ve had to replace mine once already. I mistreat my phone a lot, which is why I wanted the lifeproof case to begin with.
Sounds like a fun dream :) Thank you for reading!
Hi jade. I have both the lifeproof and the photojojo for a little while now. But i’m kinda scared attaching the ring to the back of the case. I noticed that the camera area of the lifeproof is made of rubber-like material. I was thinking.. If you attach the ring, wouldn’t that rubber thing come off if you keep on using the lens? Because i noticed that the magnet between the lens and the ring is really strong. And if it comes off or becomes loose, the case will not waterproof anymore. I’m looking forward to your reply on this matter. Thanks. :)
Hey Ken,
On the case that I have, the camera part is made out of solid plastic, so it wasn’t even a question for me. Having said that, even if it is made of rubber on yours, I don’t think it should be a problem.
While the magnet is very strong, the glue that hold the ring on is not that strong. That’s why my ring fell off once. I’m sure that the ring would come off before the rubber. If you’re really worried about it, instead of just yanking the lens off, give it a little twist-and-slide, which is what I’ve been doing so I can prolong the life of the glue, and don’t have to replace the rings as often.
Of course, i can’t give you your money back if something fails, so you might want to send the people of life proof or photojojo a message just to be sure, but in my opinion, you’ll be just fine!!
Hope that helps, and thanks so much for reading and commenting!!
Have a lovely day. :)
Thanks for the reply jade. We have the same lifeproof. :) last question tho, after using your lifeproof+photojojo for a time now, have you tried if its still waterproof?
Yes, checked it just recently, to write the post and take picture of the case in water actually, so far it’s still waterproof :) I’ll update the post if I ever find it’s lost integrity! Thanks for the questions!
That’s really great to hear. Thank you jade. You’ve been a great help. :)
Thank YOU ken for reading and commenting! Feel free to share some of the pictures you take with the combo we’ll gladly feature some on the post if you’d like that!
I tried the lifeproof plus photojojo lens combination but I could not get rid of the vignette with the telephoto lens. I can’t get the lens to work with any case. Any suggestions? Thanks
Hey Diana!
Like I said in the post, because the lenses are made to be stuck close to your phone’s lens, anything adding space between the phone and lens will distort the lens’ intended design. I’ve been able to get rid of the vignette, but only with fussing around with it until it disappears.
On the fish eye though, I just deal with it. Usual I crop it out, and that’s that.
Unfortunately, I know of no better combination, in fact, photojojo has started selling the lifeproof case right from their website. I would write to them and tell them they should come up with a better system. In the meantime it’s the best we have I guess!
Let me know if you come across a better solution in the future.
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the review!! When you bought the lenses did you get the universal lenses or the ones specific for your phone, like iPhone 5s?
Thanks!!
Hey Alex, You’re welcome. As far as I know the lenses were, and still are, universal, correct me if I’m wrong, I’m pretty sure they’re a one-size-fits-all-devices sort of deal.
Thanks for stopping by!
How is image quality using Lifeproof vs not?
Hey Kele,
As mentioned, other than the focusing trouble sometimes and the vignetting effect, the photo quality overall seems unaffected. :)
Thanks for popping by!