Find a $1 Macro Lens for Your Phone Inside a Cheap Laser Pointer

If you want to take Lensbaby-style selective focus macro shots using your phone, go buy a cheap laser pointer. Photographer Zaheer Mohiuddin writes that the lens inside laser pointers (the one that focuses the laser) works well as a macro lens for the tiny cameras found on smartphones. After taking the device apart and finding the small gem-like lens, simply attach it to your camera with some tape to start shooting close-up pictures.

I thought laser pointers were more expensive, but a quick search on Amazon reveals quite a few in the $2-$5 range. A trip to your local dollar store might yield a $1 pointer like the one Mohiuddin used for his project.

The resulting depth-of-field is extremely shallow, and you’ll need to hold your phone less than an inch away from a subject in order to focus on it. It’s a fun toy to play around with though, and hardly takes up any space in your camera bag!

$1 IPhone Macro Lens (via Cult of Mac)

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Image credits: Photographs by Zaheer Mohiuddin