For my first “Macro Monday” post, I decided to do a short blurb about the gear I use for macro shots now that I’ve abandoned my DSLR camera.

I’ve numbered each item. If you’re viewing on a phone, you may have to stretch the photo to see the numbers.

I’m currently shooting with an iPhone 12 Pro and I plan to stick with this one for a while. There are a few features I like with the 14 Pro, but I believe that phone camera abilities are about to explode, so have decided to wait for an upgrade until I see what happens, particularly in terms of the optical zoom capabilities on future phones.

All of the gear in my feature photo is available for android phones as well.

1. Moment case. This case is designed specifically to allow the attachment of moment lenses to your phone. It’s sturdy and user friendly. The cases are available for a variety of smart phone makes and models. That silver ring you see in the centre doesn’t come with the case. It’s a security ring I added on.

2. Lens Pouch. Each Moment lens comes with a microfibre carrying pouch that doubles as a very effective lintless lens cleaner.

3. Moment Macro Lens. This tiny lens provides 10x magnification. It has a solid metal housing with a high quality glass lens. Besides the great user reviews, I chose Moment brand lenses because of the solid build. The lens screws into the case with an easy quarter turn.

To give you a better idea of how compact these lenses are, here are a couple of photos of the macro lens and lens hood attached to my phone.

Thin but mighty

4. Lens Cap. Each lens comes with its own protective cap which affixes snugly

5. Lens Hood. The Moment Macro lens comes with a lens hood. The hood serves two purposes. It provides a beautifully filtered light, (especially valuable when shooting on a sunny day), and it serves as a guide as to how close to get to the subject.

6. Lens Cleaner Pen. I ordered this separately from Moment. This pen has a retractable brush at one end and a fine felt tip at the other. I use this pen consistently when I’m using my phone camera, whether I’m using external lenses or not. Phone cameras are by nature, usually pretty smudged up or dotted with lint because we carry them in our purses and pockets.

7. Carrying case for my phone camera gear. This little compact shoulder purse was gifted to me by a friend a few years back. It’s lightweight and easy to pack inside any bag when we’re travelling or to just sling over my shoulder when I’m out for a photo walk.

I reached out to Moment last year to inquire about a possible reduction in future purchase prices if I promote their products in my blog. They replied promptly and gave me information on a program they have to reward people who promote their products. After giving it some thought, I decided that I’m not blogging to make money, so I didn’t sign up.

Photo Note: Because my phone was in the photos for this post, I shot the photos with my iPad. The quality isn’t the same as the iPhone photos would have been but I had no other option. I did a little bit of post processing for clarity by using the details tool in Snapseed. The difficulty for me when using my iPad camera, is that the bigger size of the iPad makes it awkward to stabilize when shooting, so there’s always some blur from camera shake.

“The less gear you use, the more you grow as a photographer. Although there are fewer options available, you’ll find more creative ways to capture what you feel! In a way, all your technical options before turn into creative solutions that improve your photography even more.”

Marius Vieth