iPhone Super Ultra Tele Telephotos
- Blake Calhoun
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 11
No, there's no such thing as an iPhone Super Ultra Tele Telephoto (yet anyway) - but there is a Super Telephoto and a Ultra Telephoto and a 48mm Tetraprism Telephoto and a 72mm Tetraprism Telephoto...
There are even more from Shiftcam, Neewer and I think now SmallRig and Freewell, too.
So, what are they?
They are 3x and 2x teleconverters for the iPhone telephoto lens. And specifically for an iPhone 15 Pro, 16 Pro and 17 Pro. And the 17 Pro really performs great, especially with the 3x version. They also work on some Androids, but I have no experience with those devices so I won't be covering them (check with the brands for info).
The only company that doesn't seem to be embracing this trend is Beastgrip, but they do have a nice 1.7x telephoto (designed for the main camera).
This can all get a bit confusing, but ultimately using the 2x or 3x teleconverters you simply get double or triple the focal length of the built-in telephoto. So on the 17 Pro, the 100mm becomes a 300mm and the 200mm becomes a 600mm.
I personally had never used a 600mm telephoto, and so my first time trying it out was really cool I have to say. I've used some zoom lenses (on traditional video cameras) that would go to around 300mm, but never 600mm. And I've never gotten anywhere near that focal length before on an iPhone. These are truly unique.
And if you shoot sports, wildlife, documentary or news these converters can really make a hug difference. That was always a big drawback to using phones in that kind of work - the telephoto reach was limited. But not anymore.
This lens category all started with the ReeFlex 240mm Super Telephoto, which by the way is still probably my favorite of the entire bunch. It's very sharp, very small and very lightweight - and gets you a 2x magnification. That's why they called it a 240mm - it was originally designed for the 15 Pro's 5x or 120mm equivalent lens. So double that is 240mm.
Then Shiftcam and Sandmarc followed suit and now today we also have the 3x versions (though not yet from Shiftcam).
I've covered all of these and more on my YouTube channel. And my most recent video I do a rather film geeky comparison of the ReeFlex and Sandmarc 3x lenses. Watch it below:
I think these are all really great and should be part of every serious mobile filmmaking kit.
And if you only wanted to add one? For me I'd probably go with the original ReeFlex 240mm. As I mentioned above, it was the OG and is very portable with great quality. But the new 3x versions are great, too. So really just depends on your needs.
Happy mobile filmmaking!
-BC
