I’m a non-photographer travel blogger: Can olloclip save me?

I guess I’m not really a non-photographer travel blogger. I mean, all my blog posts include photos taken by me or Steve. But, my photography skills are limited to what I can do with my smartphone camera and the editing I know how to do on my laptop. I’ve thought about getting into the whole DSLR camera thing, but I’m just not there. Now I’ve discovered olloclip for iPhone lenses and I’m not sure a high end camera will ever be in my future.

 Dislcosure: olloclip provided me with its Macro Pro Lens for reviewing purposes. As always, opinions are my own.

iPhone Photography

In every iteration of the iPhone, the camera features get better and better. Although there is no competition with a pro photographer using a DSLR, you can’t beat it for portability and ease of use. When I see photographers roaming tourist destinations with their long lenses and tripods I say, “Wow, they’re going to get some awesome photos here.” Simultaneously I think, I’m so glad I don’t have the stress of carrying expensive, heavy equipment like that around with me on this trip.

I have a mini tripod that fits in a daypack or purse easily. That’s the extent of my specialized equipment. I admit that my photos could be much better, but as they are, I think they’re pretty good in terms of the investment of my time, energy and money.

olloclip Macro Pro

I was eager to try one of the olloclip lenses as soon as I learned about them. They are relatively small in size, appeared to be good quality, and maybe they could take my photos up a notch.

Being largely photography ignorant, I was thrilled that olloclip would send me a 3-in-1 Macro Pro lens for me to review. I didn’t know that a macro lens takes photos super close up (duh!). It functions similar to a digital microscope with three macro magnification options (21x, 14x, and 7x).

The lens also comes with Instafocus™ hoods that diffuse light to facilitate focusing.

Don’t get me wrong, the features of this lens looked amazing, but I wasn’t sure how I’d use it for travel photography. Capturing the granular details of objects is obviously well suited for medical or artistic photography. Think skin rash closeups or a single raindrop on a leaf. I’m not sure anyone wants to see that level of detail in the lobster bisque I ate at that fabulous restaurant in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Our first practice photo. Look at the size of those sunflower seeds!

Nature Shots with the Macro Pro

We did take it with us on our recent tour of Eastern Canada. It’s small and portable after all so why not give it a try in the wild? We probably could have been more creative with the shots (we’re just learning).

We took these flower photos in Gros Morne National Park and were quite pleased with the results. It’s a different kind of keepsake photo from our travels, but we discovered that at microscope magnification, the world is still quite a beautiful place.

olloclip’s Clever Design

All olloclip lenses comes with a clip that is easy to snap on and off your iPhone. You have three case colour options so you can choose one to suit your mood or outfit, I suppose. The cases also attach to a handy lanyard that you can hang around your neck for easy access. There was also a little pouch to store the hoods. All in all, I neat little package with nice attention to detail.

Sold on Quality

Although I’m not likely to use the Macro Pro lens on a regular basis, testing it has me convinced that I want to try the olloclip Active Lens, which allows you to take wide angle and telephoto shots. All of the components on the Macro Pro are solidly built and simple to use. Coincidentally, I’ve got a birthday around the corner … Steve, are you reading this?

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