Ztylus Z-Prime lenses – review with sample images

I’ve been looking for a good add-on lens for my iPhone 6S for some time. The standard iPhone lens is very sharp, and for stills it’s a useful 29mm equivalent wide angle. But it’s limiting for filmmaking: its built-in video stabilisation crops the image, making it the equivalent of around a 40mm focal length.

Z-Prime lenses

The Ztylus Z-Prime lenses come in 0.63x wide and 2x telephoto versions, which works out at around 24mm and 80mm for video. That’s a really useful combination.

The wide angle fits more in than the standard lens, gives dramatic perspective, and is easier to handhold.

The medium telephoto is ideal for details, and for undistorted closeups of people.

The kit I bought includes the two lenses, a part-metal case, a belt clip carrier with a carabiner for attaching it to a pack, and a bag and cleaning cloth. (If you buy single lenses, you get an all-plastic phone case.)

The lenses are only available for the iPhone 6/6S and 6/6S Plus.

The lenses

With the 0.63x wide-angle lens, the first thing I noticed is the lack of barrel distortion (lines bending outwards) compared with cheaper add-on lenses. Sharpness is very good at the centre, though it does fall off towards the edges. I couldn’t see any chromatic aberration (coloured fringes near the edges), which is a serious problem with some other lenses I’ve tried.

I was really impressed with the 2x telephoto lens. It’s great for picking out details, and gives a nice shallow focus effect.

It’s very sharp at the centre, with hardly any distortion. It’s tricky to hold the phone steady enough, though: I’d only use it on a tripod, or with the neat pistol grip kit that Ztylus also sell.

Going wider and longer

If you use Filmic Pro, rather than the native Camera app, you can switch off stabilisation to get the full 18mm effect of the wide lens. But Filmic Pro is trickier to focus. Unless you set your focus point near the centre of the image,  you can end up with  sharp corners and everything else soft.

With the tele lens, centre sharpness is good enough that you could shoot in 4K, then put the clips in a 1080p HD film and zoom in to double the size. That doubles the effective focal length to 160mm, but you’d need a solid tripod.

Sample shots

The top four shots, taken from the same distance, show how much of the scene each lens captures.

iPhone standard lens

Ztylus telephoto lens

Ztylus wide lens

Ztylus wide lens without stabilisation

The test images below were shot in 4K. Right-click (option-click on Mac) on the images to download full sized versions.

iPhone standard lens

Wide lens, with stabilisation

Wide lens, without stabilisation

Telephoto lens

‘4K crop’ telephoto shot in 1080p timeline

 

The Ztylus case and system

The lenses are part of a modular accessory system which includes a multi-lens turret, a ring light and a belt clip. The modular system means that when you upgrade your phone, you just buy a new case and you can carry on using the lenses and other accessories.

You fit the phone in its case by taking off the base (which is held on with a single knurled screw), sliding the phone in then reattaching the base.

The case is lined with thin foam to protect the phone and make for a firm fit. It’s a lot chunkier than a silicon sleeve. It includes a flip stand to prop the phone up for viewing.

The cutaway for the mute switch is well recessed, so it’ll be tricky for nail-chewers. The Lightning connecter and standard minijacks fit OK, but when I connected Rode’s bulkier SC-9 microphone/headphone adapter I had to leave the base off.

Attaching the lenses

The bayonet mount is quick and simple to use, with a simple twist-on/off action. The lenses lock securely into place, and you pull back on the red plastic tab to unlock them. They have neat spring-loaded lens caps which flip open at the press of a tab. The lens cap assembly is held on with a magnet, so you can take off the whole thing if you prefer.

Build quality

Build quality seems very good. Both lenses are multicoated, with five glass elements, and the bayonet fitting is metal.

On my case the lens mount didn’t sit perfectly level, so the lens tilted inwards slightly. I checked with Ztylus and it’s within normal manufacturing tolerances. It doesn’t seem to affect sharpness as long as you’ve set focus correctly at the centre of the frame.

Verdict

I think these lenses are really good. I’m using them together with the pistol grip kit as part of my high-end iPhone filmmaking kit.

Buying the lenses

You can buy the Z-Prime lenses from the Ztylus online store. Use this link to get 25% off your first order. They offer free worldwide shipping on orders over $50.

Non-USA orders are shipped from China; mine arrived within a week. (Customs charges and VAT will add quite a lot to the website price.)

Disclaimer

I haven’t been paid to write this review but Ztylus gave me a discount on the lenses. I get a percentage of the purchase price if you buy the lenses through my link.

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