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Top 25 Gadgets that Help Smartphones Take Awesome Photos

Updated on by in Hardware

We are living in 21st century, where people are already talking about artificial intelligence and stuff, however, lets talk about how smartphones are the latest hype and changing the way we move on about our life. From checking emails to ordering food, smartphones have taken over every single aspect of our life. However, the most dynamic change that they brought about is how people capture candid moments of their life.

smartphone-camera-gadget

Most smartphones these days are equipped with powerful primary snapper with support for advanced features and filters. This allows users to capture DSLR like images and most of them now prefer capturing using their smartphones instead of actual cameras because they are convenient and always near hand. This phenomenon has encouraged accessory right, left and center to come up with innovative gadgets that further improve the quality of images taken as well as convenience.

Here we will introduce you to a broad classification of these accessories and those which are already available in the market.

Selfie Sticks

selfie-stick

These are the talk of the town and have taken the photography to a next level with a unique take on clicking selfies. These are available in various price range from ultra cheap to expensive ones and are readily available everywhere. With an extended arm, selfie sticks provide a wider angle and creative angle for the user to up their selfie game.

Remote Camera Shutters

remote-camera-shutter

Remote Camera shutters for smartphones were introduced with selfie sticks so that users can conveniently click the camera with stick completely extended. However, it was soon realised that these can be put to a much varied array of use and manufacturers started selling standalone remote camera shutters. They allow users to place their smartphones at creative angles or at places which are out of their reach, perfectly position themselves in a great pose and click away with ease. This accessory is a must have for any smartphone user who rely on their phones to express their inner photographers.

Pocket Flash

smartphone-pocket-flash

Pocket flashes are the latest fad in the smartphone photography accessory market and are as useful as remote shutter for a smartphone photographer. These flashes are available for a dirt cheap price and need no additional app to function. All you have to do is plug them in the 3.5 mm audio jack of your smartphone and get instant soft white light for brilliant low light photography. Most experienced photographers tend to opt for these flashes instead of integrated smartphone flash for the reason that short bursts from integrated flash tend to wash out images whereas portable flash provide consistent soft light for better lightning. A must have for anyone who love to use their smartphones for photography specially indoor.

Tripods
Tripods have long been a trusted accessory for every professional photographer allowing them to position their cameras at any point they want with increased stability. However, with smartphones coming with advanced imaging features like slow-motion videos, time-lapse and manual control over various imaging aspect.

Clip-on Lenses
Clip-on lenses is another popular category of smartphone photography accessories that have been made popular by iPhone users and is now available for almost every smartphone out there across different platforms. These lenses are attached over the camera module of the smartphone and offer an enhanced capturing experience to user. Most clip-on lenses are usually available in three types viz. Fish eye, Wide angle and Macro. These are slightly more expensive than other accessories mentioned in this article and cheaper ones cannot be trusted to produce good results.

clipon-lenses

Having recognised the types of smartphone gadgets for photography, let us take a look at top 20 gadgets available in the market. Most of these are branded and readily available online or local market in your vicinity. However, there are some that are not available in India yet and can be brought from their official websites or international ecommerce sites. Lets take a look at most popular accessories available as of now.

Solocam
Solocam is a unique take of its manufacturer on a selfie stick and we must say we like what we see. This particular selfie is a boon for those who review products or broadcast live on apps like Periscope or Youtube. Solocam is a standard selfie stick with extendable arm, however, there is an integrated mic in the grip of this smartphone, which makes capturing videos and broadcasting videos a breeze.

Outback Pole
As far as selfie sticks go, most of them are pretty inexpensive and are of inferior quality. Outback Pole is slightly expensive but as solid as it gets with aluminum build and support for a large number of devices from Go Pros, Apple iPhones to Android smartphones. You can affix your device on this selfie stick and forget worrying about dropping it regardless of the angle and situation.

Cliquefie
Cliquefie is yet another take on selfie stick by a different manufacturer and is intended more for fairer sex owing to its glossy, firm, compact and multipurpose build. This accessory comes with an integrated bluetooth shutter control, extendable arm and an in-built tripod to make for an all purpose photography accessory.

Pocket Spotlight
Pocket Spotlight is one of the best portable flash that money can buy at the moment and it provides even soft light for enhanced imagery. It can be fitted on to your smartphone through headphone jack and pivots two ways for adjustable lighting.

GripTight Mount
GripTight is one of the leading names in smartphone accessories market and it has launched a high grade tripod for almost all devices that exists as of now. This mount can tightly fit any smartphone or tablet, with cases on it as well. The ability to accommodate a tablet as well is the USP of this mount.

RetiCAM Smartphone Tripod Mount
RetiCAM Smartphone Tripod Mount is not exactly a tripod but an avante grade mount that can accommodate any smartphone or tablet and can be affixed on any type of tripod. Built completely from metal, this mount has been designed to last and is a reliable companion for any smartphone photographer.

Olloclip Active Lens
Olloclip is one of the leading manufacturer when it comes to clip-on lenses for iPhones and Android smartphones. Olloclip Active lens is a versatile offering from the brand that comes with an ultra-wide and telephoto lens included. Ultra wide lens allows users to capture more landscape in one shot with wide angle and telephoto allows for impressive zooming in on the subject.

Life-Phorm All-in-One Positioning Device
Life-Phorm All-in-One Positioning Device is a gripping mount and positioning device designed for smartphones as well as tablets. It has been designed to resemble a spider and comes with flexible, shape sustaining legs that allows user to position their device literally any-which way. They can choose to make it hug a pole or a tree branch and get an awesome time-lapse video of it.

Sony QX10 and QX100 “Lens Cameras”
Sony QX10 and QX100 “Lens Cameras” have been around for quite a while now and are standalone cameras that can be attached to the body of a smartphone. These lenses can be connected the smartphone through NFC and come with higher megapixels count as well as features.

Bevel
Bevel is world’s first smartphone accessory that can be attached to a smartphone and is capable of capturing real 3D photographs on any smartphone or tablet. Though there are other accessories of similar nature that capture 3D images by enhancing the depth, however, they failed to render a realistic 3D image or file. The highlight of Bevel is that it actually creates a usable file that can even be used for 3D printing.

IndieVice
IndieVice is probably the best smartphone accessory to have invented by the man since it literally transform your smartphone into a professional camera. It is a smartphone housing that allows 180 degree swivel, optical zoom, interchangeable lenses and closed viewfinder to get better idea of the scenario.

Picosteady Camera Stabilizer
Picosteady camera stabiliser is your go to smartphone accessory if you like to capture your life moments in videos and are fed up with shaky video during trekking or partying. This accessory need the smartphone to be adjusted on the mount with counterweights and thereafter you can do anything from shaking your legs at a disco to trekking, with the smartphone in your hand and it wont get shaky.

Lumu
Lumu is yet another brand manufacturing a unique smartphone photography accessory that is quite handy for budding photographers. It happens to be a portable light meter that can be fitted into the headphone jack of the smartphone and give out accurate light reading of surroundings. It allows users to gauge light, exposure, flash and color temperature meter to take brilliant images.

HISY Bluetooth Camera Remote Shutter
HISY Bluetooth Camera Remote Shutter is probably one of the best bluetooth camera shutter that is as easy to use as eating a cake. The highlight of this camera shutter button is that it also supports video mode and needs no app to work with a smartphone. All that a user need to do is turn on bluetooth on their smartphone, pair HISY and start clicking.

Panono
Panono is one of the greatest innovation in smartphone photography accessories industry. It is a basically a ball with a diameter of 11 cm that has 36 fixed-focus cameras adorning every bit of its surface. All that user has to do is pair it with an accompanying app to be installed on the smartphone and throw the ball in air, it will produce an instant 360 degree view of surrounding area.

Manfrotto Klyp
Manfrotto Klyp is a continuous, soft, daylight-balanced LED panel which comes combined with a case and is ideal for low light photographers. It comes with an accompanying app that allows users to click images simply clapping their hands.

HTC RE
HTC RE is a go pro like camera from the Taiwanese handset maker that comes with water resistance capability and can be used alongside a smartphone by syncing with an accompanying app. This way you can use your smartphone as a viewfinder and click pictures underwater or at an impossible angle.

Dot
Dot is an accessory that serves the same purpose as that of Panono ball, however, it is more primitive in its approach. It is a simple case with attached lens that can capture 360 degree videos with user moving around to take the scenario in.

Triggertrap
Triggertrap is a smartphone accessory that lets users connect their smartphone with their DSLRs and use it as as trigger. Users can engage Triggertrap to perform standard trigger, motion trigger, sound trigger, time-lapse, distance-lapse, face-detection trigger, customizable HDR and star trails after having set their cameras in a position.

Belfie Sticks
Probably the weirdest out of the whole lot, Belfie Sticks actually exist and are more popular than regular selfie sticks. Belfie is short for back selfie and thus this selfie stick comes with an extendable arm that can also be bent to take selfies of back portion of your body. However, the bendable construction of the stick allows users to take unique pictures from interesting angles, which is what makes it a hit with most users.

This conclude our extensive list of some of the most popular smartphone accessories that make smartphone photography a delight. Some of these are crazy expensive and hard to obtain, whereas others are readily available online as well as in brick and mortar shops. Let us know in the comment box below if you are using one of these or which one of these caught your attention and why.

Author: Sanjeev Kumar

This post is created by Sanjeev who blogs about mobile technology on PriceRaja.com blog. You can catch him on twitter @kumarsanjeev_me

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