Tag Archives: iPhone accessory

Lanyard and Latch iPhone Case for those quick shots and less worry about shirt pocket drops

I keep an eye out on Kickstarter for interesting ideas. This one, a month ago, didn’t strike me as anything I ‘needed’. Then today, as we walked about town doing street photography, I discovered the need for the special lanyard.

The Kickstarter project is for a lanyard and iPhone case with a special release between the two. No, I’m not looking to have my iPhone swinging about hanging from a lanyard about my neck. What it will be very nice for is those times I’m doing a lot of shooting and still need my hands, like downtown. I need to touch and pick up things as we walk and the great shots are coming fast enough it is difficult to keep reaching info my pants pocket to get the iPhone out. I tried having the iPhone in my shirt pocket but then felt it start to scoot out of my pocket several times when I leaned over. If the iPhone was in a protective case, hooked to a lanyard, I could keep it in my shirt pocket without worrying about the iPhone jumping out onto the floor.

I now see the need, that is the good thing, the bad is that the project is only half way funded and has 48 hours to go… here’s hoping for a bunch of folks to jump in at the last second. That said though, the Kickstarter project mentions it is being offered by a gent that already has iPhone photography accessories available so he may still do the Lanyard/Case/Latch combo even if not fully funded.

 

iPhone 8X Telephoto Lens kit from a source I didn’t expect – 15% off this week

Shuffling through my emails this morning, there was on from Richard Solo. The company usually has a fun gadget like a new iPhone stand, speaker or remote control race car. Although the type of product will at times look like it should be ‘toyish’, everything I have purchased from Richard Solo has proven to be of very good quality. I best know them for their little mobile batteries for recharging my iPhone on the go. I have traveled the world with their little rechargers in fact. This isn’t a all-products recommendation for what can found on richardsolo.com. Like anything examine for yourself prior to buying.

The latest email mentions a 15% discount through the weekend on the Richard Solo 8x Telephoto Lens kit. I have played with a few options in this area before so I went to the site expecting to see the usual. I was happy to see their offering is above the normal in the field of iPhone add-on lenses. And, it’s a complete kit in one rather than having the fun of trying to match up a unusual case to someone else’s tripod.

The Richard Solo kit appears complete. A manual focus 8x telephoto lens, cases (one for iPhone 3 body and one for the iPhone 4) to hold the lens to the iPhone, a wrap around mount to attach your iPhone to a tripod… and the tripod. The lens extends out 2.75″ from the iPhone so you may not want to be walking in a crowd with it attached. Luckily, it appears the lens appears to be easy on/off. the 5-inch tripod is made of aluminum and really should be used if your trying to extend your iPhone’s view out so far with the lens. The lens comes with caps for both ends and there is a pouch included to make everything easier to carry. From the site, the photo tech speak is:

  • Measures: 5″ x 5.88″ x 7.75″ (12.7 x 14.93 x 19.69 cm)
  • Weighs: 5.5 oz (155.92 g)
  • Lens measures: 1.18″ x 2.75″ (30 x 70 mm)
  • Magnification: 8x
  • Aperture: 15 mm objective
  • Minimum focal distance: 3 m
  • Field of view: 246 — 1,000 m
  • Angle of view: 16°

Don’t forget the discount if the lens matches your needs. From the email: “Regularly $34.95, now only $29.71 thru Monday 3/26 or while supply lasts. To obtain the discounted price, please enter the code word “view” in the coupon code box during check out.”   Do I need to say that the kit doesn’t come with the iPhone, you have to provide that.