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Moment announces T-Series accessory lenses designed for the future of smartphone cameras
20% larger mount designed to support the larger cameras on Android phones
It has been ten years since Moment launched its original Kickstarter campaign for a pair of accessory smartphone lenses. As phone cameras started to shift to a wider field of view, the original lens mount was replaced with the M-Mount, which became something of an unofficial standard for other lens producers. As it turns out, history was doomed to repeat itself and modern smartphones have outgrown even that design; and today Moment is back with a brand new mount and redesigned lenses aimed at supporting future generations of smartphone cameras.
The first cellphone with a camera landed on American shores in 2002. Since then, OEMs have been racing to produce better mobile cameras. The dawn of the smartphone era in 2008 and the rise of social media made having a good phone camera a must for everyone who wants to keep up with the Joneses. But before mobile cameras began taking most of the world's photos, pictures were taken with devices that were larger than nearly all the mobile devices that replaced them. How is this possible? What's going on inside our phone that lets it take 200MP photos?
Xiaomi built this wild concept phone designed to tantalize serious photographers
Sony’s best 1-inch sensor is paired with Leica’s M-series lenses
Smartphones have been slowly encroaching on the territory of dedicated cameras for the last decade. The combination of rapidly improving camera sensors and very clever software has broken many of the long-held rules of digital imaging. However, the larger sensors and interchangeable lenses have allowed dedicated cameras to retain the lead in image quality. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi is experimenting with building the first smartphone to truly support interchangeable lenses, and it looks pretty incredible — even if you'll probably never get to buy it.
Oppo adds Hasselblad camera partnership to the list of things it shares with OnePlus
Hasselblad to the bone
OnePlus teamed up last year with Hasselblad for a long-term partnership to develop next-gen camera tech like the OnePlus 9 with XPan mode. Oppo must have liked what it saw there since it just followed suit, signing its own long-term deal with the iconic Swedish camera manufacturer.
Most people don't bother to carry a dedicated camera with them anymore, not since smartphones basically obliterated the market for point-and-shoot cameras. With the launch of the Pixel 4, we're even seeing more impressive zooming capabilities and shooting modes that deserve all of the attention they're getting. However, if you're missing the ultra wide lens or want to push beyond the 8x zoom, or if you have another phone that still has room to improve, it might be time to slip on a lens to achieve that extra optical breathing room. Moment is running a sale that will net up to 20% off on all of its lenses, and if you ordered a Pixel 4 in either size, now is also a great time to get an order in for a Photo Case to go with it.
Moment continues to build out the selection of accessories designed for smartphone photographers and videographers. Last year brought the launch of a special filter mount designed to adapt 62mm filters, but it only fit on top of Moment's lenses. But for those times when you want the original perspective provided by your smartphone camera, or maybe you don't want to travel with a huge filter on the front of your phone, Moment is now launching a new mount and a line of smaller 37mm filters that attach directly to their Photo Cases.
Smartphone filmographers were treated to something special when Moment began shipping its new anamorphic lens to Kickstarter backers back in August. For those that aren't familiar with anamorphic lenses, they allow a camera with a square-ish sensor (4:3 aspect ratio) to capture a widescreen image, 2.40:1 in this case. This is done by ("squeezing") optically compressing an image on a single axis. The footage can be "de-squeezed" or stretched afterward to look normal.
Moment originally launched with a Kickstarter campaign back in 2014, featuring a pair of lenses and a stick-on mounting plate. But these days, Moment cases and lenses have become some of the top accessories for those aiming to get a stylish look on their phones and more control over their photos. Today, Moment is launching a newly updated 58mm Tele lens designed to work with the latest smartphones, including those with dual-camera configurations.
Technology always trickles down to less and less important uses over time. Case in point: speech recognition. It was, at one time, futuristic and incredible that computers could understand us, but now it's just kind of a given. In keeping with its trajectory of increasing mundanity, speech recognition has made its way to perhaps the most frivolous use case of all: Snapchat lenses. (They're actually pretty neat, though.)
When Google launched the Pixel 2, there was quite a bit of talk about a little lens maker named Moment. Get it, 'little lens' maker... I'll show myself out. The company made a name for itself with the iPhone crowd, but over the last couple of years the product line has expanded to include some of our favorite Android phones, like the Galaxy S8 and S9, Note 8, and both Pixel generations (and sizes). Now Moment is stepping into the Play Store with its own camera app.
Moment's made a name for itself creating lenses for smartphones (which we just published a review of today, by the way), but the company is now venturing into a new segment: filmmaking. This campaign is being kickstarted (pun not intended) by a $149 anamorphic lens, and the results look pretty impressive. That's probably how the Kickstarter already has over $370,000 (and climbing) in funding on a $50,000 goal.
The cameras on smartphones are getting ridiculously good --- good to the point that most households don't even own standalone cameras anymore. But given the dimensions that phone cameras are restricted to, they're not as flexible as something like a mirrorless or DSLR with interchangeable lenses. That's where Moment comes in. The company offers a small collection of lenses that can be individually purchased and attached to its Photo Cases, which are available for a variety of phones.Of course, this isn't the first time that someone has come up with the idea of attaching lenses to phones. There are loads of cheap solutions on Amazon, though none are as high-quality and cohesive. But that quality comes at a price; Moment's current-generation lenses all hover between the $90-100 mark apiece. With that said, if you want the best lens interchangeability without having to buy a dedicated camera and you've got a lot of cash to spare, Moment is your best bet.
If you've heard of Leica, then you probably know your way around a nice camera... or at least a very expensive one. The German manufacturer, a private company that's over 150 years old, specializes in extremely well-crafted point-and-shoot and swappable lens cameras, plus lenses for a few other camera makers. With prices that start at around $1000 for the cheapest models and go up to over 20 grand for specialty and professional cameras, they're generally restricted to the most extravagant of luxury buyers or career photographers.
The Google Glass team knows that if you're thinking about mounting a computer on your face, you should do it with some style. Today, Google and the Luxottica Group announced a partnership that will see the two companies working together to design stylish and comfortable frames to pair with Google Glass. This follows the the Glass team's own Titanium line of frames launched back in January.
Questions about Google Glass and conventional prescription glasses have been flying since the project was announced, but Google finally seem ready to initiate a program to make the two come into conjunction. The Glass team announced frames for prescription lenses and sunglasses for Glass on Google+, along with a glitzy video. The titanium glasses frames will be put up for order exclusively to Glass Explorers later today.
Sony just got finished announcing its interesting and slightly goofy QX lenses, detachable camera modules that use your Android smartphone as a frame/control center/viewfinder, at IFA. But Amazon beat them to the punch: even before the announcement, Sony Alpha Rumors spotted the QX100 and cheaper QX10 on the ubiquitous retailer. They're available for pre-order now and set to ship on September 27th.
There can no longer be any denying it – Sony is about to announce a self-contained camera inside a lens that attaches to your smartphone. The Sony DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lens camera modules have been spotted a few times, but this is the largest cache of pictures so far.
Sony has a history of doing odd things with mobile devices, but this is pretty out there. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, which has a good track record on all things Sony camera-related, the company will soon announce a range of "lens cameras" that snap onto Android phones so you can take better pictures. It's every bit as strange as it sounds.
Smartphone cameras have quickly taken over as the primary point-and-shoot for many people, and while they offer up a quick way to take a shot, their use is still fairly limited. If you're looking to get more out of your smartphone's camera, then these add-on lenses may be just what the doctor ordered.