Zoom Lens: Field Test - Zoom You Can't Fake

The moment the frame clicks

There’s a kind of image phones rarely deliver: your subject stays crisp while the world behind them seems to surge forward. That’s the telephoto look—not a digital punch-in, but a change in how the scene reads. We’ve been testing our new Zoom Lens on iPhone’s 5× camera to see how that look plays in the real world. It’s quick to mount, quicker to feel—the frame tightens, the background moves closer, and suddenly the shot you wanted is right there.

Field notes: Yosemite, golden hour

This is one of our favorite spots in Yosemite National Park. When the sun drops, the ridge turns to silhouette and the air glows. With the Zoom Lens, the mountains pull closer—that’s tele compression—so the scene feels bigger and more dramatic from the exact same place. It’s the kind of frame that makes you say, “Ohhh—that’s the shot.”

The hike up is gentle, the kind where you pass photographers hauling long glass and full tripod kits—amazing setups, just heavy. We kept it light: phone in hand, Zoom Lens in a pocket.

Same spot, simple gear —proof that the tele look isn’t reserved for a backpack full of equipment.

Designed for the 5× era

Tele is quickly becoming the most exciting part of mobile shooting. Stadium seats, balcony views, ridgelines, the moon—shots that used to feel out of reach are now fair game. This lens is built specifically to pair with the 5× periscope camera: align, lock tele, and you’re composing with real optical reach and that unmistakable tele compression. Think of it as permission to dream further with your phone—frames that feel closer, scenes that read bigger, stories that carry more depth.