But sometimes those built-in cameras need a little extra boost to get that photo looking just right. Whether you're wielding a DLSR, smartphone or a point-and-shoot, here are some of the more fun and innovative tools for photographers we've come across lately.
This list is by no means comprehensive, so if you've come across a cool something we didn't include, please share it with us in the comments section below.
Have a little fun with your iPhone photography with this Kickstarter-funded set of three lenses for the iPhone 4 and 4S. The lenses -- macro, fisheye and wide-angle -- are all mounted onto a single clip that slides over the camera of your iPhone. We had great success with the fisheye and wide-angle lenses, but had difficulty using the macro lens because the iPhone couldn't focus at such short range.
If you'd rather have your lenses built into a case rather than attached to the top of your iPhone, you might want to take a look at this set of four lenses for $49.00.
Price: $69.99
Upload your photos and videos directly to your iPad or iPad 2 one of these CF or SD card readers. They can read all cards up to 4GB and a few larger ones. If your card doesn't work, you can plug in your camera directly via USB.
Price: $15.00 - $35.00
Named Innovation of the Year by Popular Science, Lytro is a camera that captures all of the information in its light field, letting users adjust the focus after the photo has been taken. The camera itself is long and rectangular, with only two buttons and a slider for zooming. It comes in three colors and two different storage models: 8GB, which is enough for 350 photos, and 16GB, which will hold up to 750. The camera is currently available for pre-order and will go on sale early next year.
Price: $399 - $499
We love this handheld, aluminum-bodied video rig for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S devices, which comes with an adjustable VeriCorder mic, a 0.45 x 37mm wide-angle adapter lens, four tripod sockets and dual-sided grip. At 1.1 pounds, it's heavy enough to keep your phone steady and light enough to be portable.
If you're not planning on shooting video outside, you might want to check out the setup of AllThingsD's Drake Martinet, which includes many of the same elements for a little more than half the cost.
Price: $159.00 - $169.00
If you're hankering for a bit more creative freedom with your Olympus or Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera, you might want to check out this manual focus lens, which is capable of a range of lo-fi effects: low contrast, soft bokeh, vignetting, lens flare and shallow depth of field. Aperture ranges from f/1.4 to f/16.
Price: $90.00
This iPhone Telephoto Lens allows you to take photos with an 8x closer view, which could be useful for concerts or other events where you're likely to use your iPhone 4/4S's camera but won't have a near-range access to your subject. Simply screw the lens into an accompanying iPhone case, adjust your focus and shoot. Although it may look unwieldy, the lens is light and can be capped and carried around in your pocket or purse. The drawbacks? It's a fixed telephoto lens, so you can't zoom in and out, and it can be tricky to sync the lens's manual focus with the iPhone's automatic focus. Comes with a mini tripod and cleaning cloth.
Price: $35.00
This attachment, which is designed to sit at the end of an SLR zoom lens, is ideal for taking candid photos -- whiter of of your kids (who won't let you photograph them), a bride and groom, or stylish individuals on the street, etc. Aim your camera in one direction and snap a shot in another.
Price: $50.00 - $55.00
Although it's significantly pricier than the other iPhone lenses on the market, we were impressed by the look of the iPhone Lens Dial for iPhone 4 and 4S devices. Like the other sets, it comes with wide angle (0.7x), fisheye (0.33x) and telephoto (1.5x) lenses. Conveniently, the dial is built into a case that can be easily removed and stored, and has two tripod mounts: one for portrait shots and the other for landscapes. The whole thing weighs 10 oz.
Price: $249.00
You can leave your index cards at home with the White Balance Lens Cap, which comes with both neutral and warm color domes in thread sizes 52, 55, 58, 62, 67, 72 and 77mm.
Price: $45.00 - $65.00
Have a little fun with your iPhone photography with this Kickstarter-funded set of three lenses for the iPhone 4 and 4S. The lenses -- macro, fisheye and wide-angle -- are all mounted onto a single clip that slides over the camera of your iPhone. We had great success with the fisheye and wide-angle lenses, but had difficulty using the macro lens because the iPhone couldn't focus at such short range.
If you'd rather have your lenses built into a case rather than attached to the top of your iPhone, you might want to take a look at this set of four lenses for $49.00.
Price: $69.99
Upload your photos and videos directly to your iPad or iPad 2 one of these CF or SD card readers. They can read all cards up to 4GB and a few larger ones. If your card doesn't work, you can plug in your camera directly via USB.
Price: $15.00 - $35.00
Named Innovation of the Year by Popular Science, Lytro is a camera that captures all of the information in its light field, letting users adjust the focus after the photo has been taken. The camera itself is long and rectangular, with only two buttons and a slider for zooming. It comes in three colors and two different storage models: 8GB, which is enough for 350 photos, and 16GB, which will hold up to 750. The camera is currently available for pre-order and will go on sale early next year.
Price: $399 - $499
We love this handheld, aluminum-bodied video rig for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S devices, which comes with an adjustable VeriCorder mic, a 0.45 x 37mm wide-angle adapter lens, four tripod sockets and dual-sided grip. At 1.1 pounds, it's heavy enough to keep your phone steady and light enough to be portable.
If you're not planning on shooting video outside, you might want to check out the setup of AllThingsD's Drake Martinet, which includes many of the same elements for a little more than half the cost.
Price: $159.00 - $169.00
If you're hankering for a bit more creative freedom with your Olympus or Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera, you might want to check out this manual focus lens, which is capable of a range of lo-fi effects: low contrast, soft bokeh, vignetting, lens flare and shallow depth of field. Aperture ranges from f/1.4 to f/16.
Price: $90.00
This iPhone Telephoto Lens allows you to take photos with an 8x closer view, which could be useful for concerts or other events where you're likely to use your iPhone 4/4S's camera but won't have a near-range access to your subject. Simply screw the lens into an accompanying iPhone case, adjust your focus and shoot. Although it may look unwieldy, the lens is light and can be capped and carried around in your pocket or purse. The drawbacks? It's a fixed telephoto lens, so you can't zoom in and out, and it can be tricky to sync the lens's manual focus with the iPhone's automatic focus. Comes with a mini tripod and cleaning cloth.
Price: $35.00
We're big fans of Eye-Fi's wireless SD memory cards, which will upload photos from your camera to your desktop, iPhone, iPad, Android device and a host of sharing sites (such as Facebook and Flickr) wherever a Wi-Fi connection is present. All you have to do is turn your phone on.
Some cards also come with geotagging and HotSpot-utilizing capabilities. Note that only the the $99.99 Pro card supports RAW uploads.
Price: $49.99 - $99.99
This attachment, which is designed to sit at the end of an SLR zoom lens, is ideal for taking candid photos -- whiter of of your kids (who won't let you photograph them), a bride and groom, or stylish individuals on the street, etc. Aim your camera in one direction and snap a shot in another.
Price: $50.00 - $55.00
Although it's significantly pricier than the other iPhone lenses on the market, we were impressed by the look of the iPhone Lens Dial for iPhone 4 and 4S devices. Like the other sets, it comes with wide angle (0.7x), fisheye (0.33x) and telephoto (1.5x) lenses. Conveniently, the dial is built into a case that can be easily removed and stored, and has two tripod mounts: one for portrait shots and the other for landscapes. The whole thing weighs 10 oz.
Price: $249.00
You can leave your index cards at home with the White Balance Lens Cap, which comes with both neutral and warm color domes in thread sizes 52, 55, 58, 62, 67, 72 and 77mm.
Price: $45.00 - $65.00
BONUS: 10 Photo Apps That Enhance Instagram
Travelers and adventurers alike will appreciate this app. With Instagram integration, you're able to send postcards from anywhere, anytime. Add the addresses of your favorite recipients. When something photo-worthy happens, snap a pic and send it. Your loved one will receive a postcard with your photo, which they can print for their fridge. Prefer magnets? Stickygram has you covered.
Price: FREE
If you've ever experienced a Japanese photo booth, you'll have fun with TypoInsta. Incorporate text and graphics to remember first dates, birthdays and travel memories.
Price: $1.99
This app adds frames and combines photos into single Instagram posts. However, it also delivers a pocketful of different styles and text options.
Price: $0.99
There's no sense in limiting your Instagram photos to the Interwebs. Calendagram gives you the ability to turn your Instagrams into full-color printed calendars.
Price: FREE
Want to see what people are doing around you? Instamap lets you tune into Instagram photos live, as they're posted, by mapped location. The app is also formatted for the iPad. Instalook is another app that provides similar functionality.
Price: $1.99
While the app's ratings don't promote much confidence, the idea of an Instagram photo contest is too good to overlook. The contest changes every three days, and offers pointers to regular Insta-tographers. Let's hope someone updates this app or builds upon this concept.
Price: $1.99
When you see another user's beautiful photo, it would be nice to be able to download instead of having to take a screenshot. The Instake app lets you download the Instagrams of your choosing -- whether you took the shots or not.
Price: FREE
Turn your iPhone or iPad into a lovely picture frame with Instashow. This app lets you stream through a slideshow of photos from your feed, from someone else's or from the most popular photos on Instagram.
Price: $1.99
My InstaAlbum is one of the most highly-rated app accompaniments for Instagram, and sort of acts as an Instagram client. You can use it to share photos, view pics on a map, organize photos by date or upload snapshots to Dropbox. Fotogramme is a similar client.
Price: $1.99
If, like many, your phone doubles as a clock, Clockstagram is perfect for you. This app turns your photos into a time display.
Price: FREE
Travelers and adventurers alike will appreciate this app. With Instagram integration, you're able to send postcards from anywhere, anytime. Add the addresses of your favorite recipients. When something photo-worthy happens, snap a pic and send it. Your loved one will receive a postcard with your photo, which they can print for their fridge. Prefer magnets? Stickygram has you covered.
Price: FREE
If you've ever experienced a Japanese photo booth, you'll have fun with TypoInsta. Incorporate text and graphics to remember first dates, birthdays and travel memories.
Price: $1.99
This app adds frames and combines photos into single Instagram posts. However, it also delivers a pocketful of different styles and text options.
Price: $0.99
There's no sense in limiting your Instagram photos to the Interwebs. Calendagram gives you the ability to turn your Instagrams into full-color printed calendars.
Price: FREE
Want to see what people are doing around you? Instamap lets you tune into Instagram photos live, as they're posted, by mapped location. The app is also formatted for the iPad. Instalook is another app that provides similar functionality.
Price: $1.99
While the app's ratings don't promote much confidence, the idea of an Instagram photo contest is too good to overlook. The contest changes every three days, and offers pointers to regular Insta-tographers. Let's hope someone updates this app or builds upon this concept.
Price: $1.99
When you see another user's beautiful photo, it would be nice to be able to download instead of having to take a screenshot. The Instake app lets you download the Instagrams of your choosing -- whether you took the shots or not.
Price: FREE
Turn your iPhone or iPad into a lovely picture frame with Instashow. This app lets you stream through a slideshow of photos from your feed, from someone else's or from the most popular photos on Instagram.
Price: $1.99
My InstaAlbum is one of the most highly-rated app accompaniments for Instagram, and sort of acts as an Instagram client. You can use it to share photos, view pics on a map, organize photos by date or upload snapshots to Dropbox. Fotogramme is a similar client.
Price: $1.99
If, like many, your phone doubles as a clock, Clockstagram is perfect for you. This app turns your photos into a time display.
Price: FREE
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