With current phone cameras, being as good (and expensive) as they are these days, it makes getting a professional camera a very hard sell!
If your current phone is not exactly DSLR material but, you would like it to be, you can easily (and inexpensively) accomplish this with an add-on lens kit such as the Bitplay AllClip Mini and Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens.
The Bitplay clip-on lens is a nifty bit of kit that compliments the Bitplay inSpire, which is a neat compact tripod that you can stow away in a pocket and whip-out at a moment's notice. The Allclip Mini angle lens kit and inSpire Tripod make any phone an incredibly flexible tool for on the go photography.
The Bitplay inSpire Tripod comes with two additional accessories, namely an adjustable phone holder and a ball head tripod mount to connect the adjustable phone holder.
The ball head tripod mount consists of a ball-and-socket joint that allows you to move the phone holder vertically at various angles.
A D-ring screw is built-in to the side of the ball head tripod mount, allowing you to loosen and fix the the phone holder at a specific angle.
The Bitplay inSpire Tripod integrates a circular base plate, which is permanently fixed to the tripod via a long pivot that allows the circular base plate to be tilted and rotated at any angle up to 360 degrees.
The circular base plate integrates a quick lock/quick release mechanism for unlocking and locking the pivot so, you can quickly adjust and fix the circular base plate at the desired angle.
Each leg of the Bitplay tripod measures 11cm long, 3.5cm wide and 1.5cm thick. The tripod legs have a rubberized finish with an outward concave curvature that form a circle, allowing the tripod to stand upright when fully retracted. When retracted, the Bitplay inSpire tripod measures 17cm tall and when the legs are fully extended, the Bitplay tripod measures 12cm tall.
The Bitplay tripod legs cannot be locked in place at different angles so, you cannot adjust the height of the tripod. The bottom of the tripod legs feature rubberized feet that provide stability, while preventing the tripod from sliding off a smooth surface. The tripod automatically locks into place when fully extended.
The Bitplay inSpire tripod legs, joints and base plate are made of black anodized aluminium alloy, making the InSpire tripod very sturdy and lightweight. The ball head tripod mount also has an anodized coating, which is scratch resistant.
The Bitplay phone holder is made of hard plastic, featuring two 1/4-20 inch female threads, one on top and one on the front, allowing you to position the phone holder vertically and horizontally flat for macro photography.
By itself, the Bitplay tripod weighs 210 grams. When the ball head tripod head and phone holder are mounted on top, the total weight increases to 274 grams.
The Bitplay tripod also comes with a screw-on cap that screws on top to protect the circular rubber plate. The screw-on cap is fitted with a long (11cm) nylon loop strap that allows you to carry the Bitplay inSpire tripod on the wrist, as well as tie-knotting it to a daisy chain loop on a backpack.
The top of the circular plate is rubberized and fitted with bubble level and a standard 1/4-20 inch screw for attaching the included Bitplay phone holder, as well as any other device with a 1/4-20 inch female thread.
The bubble level helps leveling the tripod with the horizon, which is useful when shooting multi-frame panorama photographs.
Some phones are already equipped with wide angle lenses but, if your phone isn't, you can inexpensively fit an add-on lens to your phone without having to upgrade to a phone with a wide angle lens. There are a number of add-on lenses to choose from such as the Bitplay AllClip Mini and Bitplay HD Wide Angle, which is a 0.6x super wide angle lens (18mm focal length wide angle).
The Bitplay AllClip Mini and Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens clip-on lens kit lets you increase the standard wide view of a phone's camera lens up to 2x. The spring-loaded Allclip Mini has a crocodile clip design similar to a spring-loaded earphone cable clip but, without the teeth.
Instead of teeth at the end, the Allclip Mini features a hole opening and a circular silicone rubber disk to grip on to the display of a phone without scratching it. The Allclip Mini clip measures 7.3cm long, 2cm wide, 2cm tall and weighs 27 grams. The Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens weighs 50 grams.
Some add-on lenses can also attach to a phone case, making them less fiddly, while the Allclip Mini lens clips-on directly to a phone's lens.
The disadvantage with spring-loaded clip-on lenses is that they are not as stable or secure as they can slip-off. You also have to align them with your phone's lens, which can be fiddly at first until you get some practice.
That said, the advantages of clip-on lenses outweigh phone case-mounting lenses. For one, clip-on lenses can be used with any phone so, if you upgrade your phone you can still use the clip-on lens. Secondly, you can also attach a clip-on lens to the front-facing camera of a phone for wide angle selfies.
The Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens does not hinder the phone's image stabilization so, you still have the ability to record as good of footage as with the native lens of the phone.
The Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens measures 2.6cm tall and has a 44mm diameter that allows you to fit more into the frame, which is perfect for capturing shots in confined spaces and for shooting broad landscapes.
The body of the Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens is made of anodized aluminium with a short male thread on the rear to screw-on to the Allclip Mini clip.
The Bitplay HD Wide Angle Lens comes with a silicone rubber cover and a fabric hard-shell carry zip case with pre-formed EVA foam insert for securely storing the lens and the clip.