Sandmarc’s New 96mm Telephoto Lens

credits: Sandmarc

Sandmarc has announced a new 96mm Telephoto lens for iPhone, designed to give mobile photographers considerably more reach without relying entirely on digital zoom. The add-on lens mounts over the iPhone’s existing tetraprism telephoto camera and provides 4x optical magnification, using a multi-element, multi-coated glass design.

Exactly how much reach you get depends on the iPhone. On the latest iPhone 17 Pro models, Sandmarc says the combination can reach up to 32x, using the phone’s 8x “optical-quality” setting together with the 4x external lens. On the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro models, the maximum works out to around 20x. At those kinds of magnifications, keeping the phone steady becomes pretty important, so a tripod or some other form of support will make sense most of the time. The lens also works with Sandmarc’s optional polarising and ND filters.

One of the two things you will need for this lens to work is a Sandmarc dedicated iPhone case, which starts at $50, as the lens attaches directly to the case and not the phone, and Sandmarc also requires its free Sandmarc Camera app, which provides manual exposure controls, RAW shooting, and settings specifically for its add-on lenses. The new 96mm Telephoto costs $345 and joins Sandmarc’s existing 48mm and 72mm iPhone lenses, priced at $245 and $295 respectively.