The Beastgrip Lets You Add SLR Lenses & Accessories to Almost Any Smartphone

There are all kids of systems for clamping a lens onto a phone, but few are as versatile as the Beastgrip, a Kickstarter project about halfway to delivery stage. Not only will the gadget work with just about any smartphone, it’ll also adapt lenses and other accessories you may already have for your SLR.

The rig consists of a sliding frame that will securely clamp your phone into position so its lens is lined up with the Beastgrip’s 37mm threaded lens mount. From there, it’s up to your gear bag, wallet and imagination.

Properly sized conversion lenses and filters will work well with little modification. Throw in enough step-down rings and/or depth-of-field adapters, however, and you can work with one of the prime lenses you already have for your SLR. The project page shows compelling results using fisheye, wide-angle, telephoto and macro lenses.

Here’s the project’s Kickstarter video:

But Vadym Chalenko, the Chicago-based inventor of the Beastgrip, didn’t stop at adapting glass to your phone. The rig also includes five standard quarter-inch threaded mounts and a cold-shoe for securing a tripod, speed lights and any other accessory that will fit.

With enough gear and desire (and hopefully some necessity) you can turn your phone into something that looks like this:

The Beastgrip’s modular design has allowed Chalenko to get pretty far prototyping with a 3D printer, but he needs $25,000 to get to production phase. With 24 days left he’s raised just over $11,000 of that and seems to be well on his way to making this a reality.

To find out more of get one of your own, head over to the Beastgrip Kickstarter. A pledge of $70 and up will put you first in line once production starts, and Chalenko expects to have the first Beastgrips in customers’ hands by February.

(via Imaging Resource)