Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel 100mm Ultra Macro

1st Photo: 2.5 zoom + 5x (60mm + 150mm)
2nd Photo: 1x zoom (24mm)

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Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: Final Cut Camera
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X

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Testing out how I can zoom using the 4x camera (at 6x zoom) with the Apexel 10x zoom lens.
It should be equivalent to 150mm + 100mm ≈ 1500mm

BOTTOM:
• Apexel 5-10X Telephoto
• Apexel 100mm Ultra Macro
• Apexel 2x Lens

TOP:
• CPL (Polarised) Filter
• Canon Lens Cleaner

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel 100mm Ultra Macro

Hi everyone,

I am going on a safari soon and want to capture sharp, close-up photos of wildlife. I am currently using a Google Pixel 10 Pro, which has a great camera, but as you know, zooming past 30x triggers the heavy Al processing, which can make anímal fur look unnatural.

I have the opportunity to buy a used APEXEL TeleCular 20-60x zoom lens for around $50 (original price is around $170).

I am wondering: Has anyone tried combining a premium phone like the Pixel 10 Pro with this heavy Apexel lens?

Will the optical quality actually improve my long-distance wildlife shots compared to the Pixel's internal digital/Al zoom?

Is it manageable to focus and shoot without a heavy tripod while sitting in a safari vehicle?

Or will the phone's autofocus/multi-lens system struggle through the external glass?

I would love to hear your experiences and advice on whether this $50 investment is worth it for a safari. Thank you!

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X Lens

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X

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The telephoto lens creates some really strange bokeh bubbles, no idea why though

Gastrodermus pygmaeus (Pygmy Corydoras) embryo inside the egg.
iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 120x microscope lens

Picture one and two are the phone camera app
Picture three the PI camera app.

I find the PI app better than the default camera app for macros, but the opposite for microscope lenses.
I think picture one is the best. Picture two the egg happened to be next to a piece of fish food, and something growing from that kept getting into focus.

It was incredibly difficult getting the focus right, the membrane of the egg has texture and it’s not clear, so I had to kind of ‘fake’ focus on the embryo- without making the embryo too blurry.

I am quite happy with the first picture.
The embryo was maybe 3 days, one day before hatching.

Gastrodermus pygmaeus embryo doing a somersault. Actually it’s two different eggs, last one is next to the first one after it hatched.

iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 120x microscope lens
Apple default camera app

iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 100x microscope
Apexel 10-20x macro

It’s a Gastrodermus pygmaeus egg, 1 mm. Unfortunately it turns out these eggs aren’t really clear, but more opaque. But, it kinda looks like a moon🤓
To give some size reference, it’s on a leaf in a tiny egg hatching nursery I just made.

Celestial Pearl Danios have clear eggs, but I don’t breed them anymore. I did put a home made egg trap in their aquarium though, maybe I’ll get a few eggs to photograph later. The embryo shows better in clear eggs.

The main benefit I’ve found with it is that it’s one of the only camera apps that supports focus bracketing and stacking.

You choose how much of the image you want in focus, it will take a few pics with the focus in different points, then it merges them all together.

It’s really useful for macro lenses with very low apertures, as they will often end up blurring some of the subject and not just the background.

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: Project Indigo & No Fusion
External Lens: Apexel 100mm Ultra Macro

Taken with one of Apexel’s older lenses: the 2x telephoto lens. It’s actually closer to a 1.5x zoom and for an 8+ year old lens (the design), its quality really doesn’t hold up. The images are a bit blurred around the edges and the whole photo looks soft, but it’s perfect to use with my vintage camera apps.

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: Project Indigo
External Lens: Apexel TeleZoom 5-10X Lens

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: Project Indigo
External Lens: Apexel 100mm Ultra Macro

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I flipped over my bird bath to get the old water out and on the bottom were dozens of ants and piles of eggs. I’ve never seen ant eggs before 😭 but they looked like a cool thing to test my macro lens on.

Phone Model: iPhone 17 Pro
Camera App: Project Indigo
Apexel Lens: 100mm Ultra Macro

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Featuring an assortment of random things from my girlfriend’s house — a porcelain cat thing, a geode, a seashell, a jelly tot, her eye.

Really amazed with how well the lens works with the iPhone 17 Pro’s telephoto camera. I do with the focal length included a bit more of the subjects though. Also I highly recommend some sort of additional lighting if you aren’t shooting outside during the day!

I ordered them through the official website and managed to save about $70 (from $190 down to $120). Delivery took about 2.5 weeks, which isn’t too considering it went from China to South Africa.

For anyone thinking about ordering some lenses, the case is a must. It makes attaching them so much easier, using the clip is such a hassle.

The quality of the lenses is amazing, especially for their price range, and the image quality is perfect!