Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone review: Awkwardly packaged real optical zoom

When you add shutter buttons and lenses to an iPhone, it should improve the experience. The Telesin Master Grip Kit takes usable photos, but doesn't improve the experience or output, and is too expensive.

I love iPhone photography and Apple has done a lot of work to ensure its computational photography system provides the best and most personal output with each photo. Sometimes, adding accessories can help enhance the experience and elevate the end product, but that isn't always the case.

I've been testing the Telesin Mater Grip Kit for iPhone for a few weeks and I've struggled to find a reason to implement them in my photography workflow. Unlike other iPhone camera lens kits I've tested, like those from ShiftCam or Sandmarc, Telesin's is awkward to use and comes with some weird caveats.

I didn't have the best experience, but the lenses get the job done when the right conditions are met. The resulting photos are optically better than just using your iPhone and "zooming" beyond 100mm, but require special hardware and an app.

Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone review: Design & features

There are two lenses for sale that appear to be only available with a pre-configured kit. You don't need both, but Telesin doesn't give you the option of buying both if you wanted to.

Either lens can be attached to the Main or Telephoto camera on the iPhone using the Master Grip Kit case. Telesin suggests that the 3.5x is only meant for the Telephoto camera on iPhone, but the ReefColor app supports both cameras fine.

The case has a removable plate for the lens attachment. It's useful for if you want to keep the case on but don't intend to use the lenses at that time.

The lenses thread in with a standard size, so you can use the Telesin lenses with more advanced cases like one from Tilta Khronos. Telesin's case is a good quality material with plenty of grip and isn't bulky.

The MagSafe Grip has a mode dial, zoom lever, function button, and shutter button. It houses a 3,200 mAh battery that charges your iPhone via MagSafe while attached.

The base of the Grip has a USB-C port for charging, a power button for turning on the charging function, a wrist strap hole, and a 1/4" threaded hole for tripod mounting. I am not a fan of this grip for several reasons.

First, the lanyard provides a false sense of security. If you drop your iPhone while using the lanyard, the Grip will be spared, but the MagSafe connection won't always keep the iPhone attached, and may send it flying into the ground.

Do not rely on the lanyard or MagSafe connection in this way. You'll break the lenses or iPhone very easily the one time the MagSafe doesn't hold.

The Grip is also overly complex with all of these controls that only work in the ReefColor app. The Mode Dial swaps filters, which is pointless, while the zoom lever controls the artificial crop of the sensor.

Telesin would have been better off offering a simple shutter button and calling it a day. I ended up using the on-screen controls for everything anyway.

The remainder of this review will focus on the lenses themselves. The Master Grip is a poor add-on that other companies like ShiftCam have done much better in the past.

Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone review: Two lenses

Whichever lens you pick, you'll need the ReefColor app to use them. That's true even if you choose to ditch the Master Grip itself.

The reason being due to the lenses requiring an incredible crop of the sensor to work. When viewed through the iPhone Camera app, you see a tunnel and circle cutout where the lens obscures your view.

Now, there is some AI upscaling magic and filters helping the output of the ReefColor app. The result is a decent photo in most conditions that actually benefits from the optical characteristics of the lenses.

Sadly, needing a separate app and a crop of the sensor to achieve these photos renders these lenses almost pointless. What's worse is these kits are sold at a higher price than the premium lens options from companies like Sandmarc.

Sandmarc's lenses don't need a special app and don't unnecessarily create a circular cutout of your sensor. Telesin's optics might provide a good output, but the tradeoffs and third-party app make it much less desirable.

The 2x and 3.5x multipliers will tell you what limits you can shoot at with each lens. The 2x defaults to 105mm on the Main camera while it defaults to 200mm on the Telephoto.

That tells me that the 24mm Main camera needs a 2.2x crop before it can use the teleconverter lens. It's a worse 2.8x sensor crop to achieve the Main camera's 240mm with the 3.5x teleconverter lens, which might be why Telesin is hesitant to recommend using it that way.

The 3.5x teleconverter still needs a slight crop on the Telephoto camera to achieve a default 400mm zoom. It goes up to 1,000mm in the app, which is the same as maxing out to 40x in the Camera app.

Again, the results are usable, and the optic advantage of these lenses are visible in the output. I'm not sure how much can be attributed to the app's AI enhancements, cropping, and stabilization features.

There's also a built in stabilization feature that tries to utilize the space on the sensor not being used for photo capture. The problem is that it can feel drifty in use.

When taking some of these photos, I noticed that centering the subject in the frame took some patience. I would move the camera to center the object only to have stabilization fight me.

The feature can be turned off if needed.

The 2x on the Main camera is good for getting optically more pleasing photos versus Apple's 2x optical-like sensor crop.

Note that there is a minimum focus distance problem, especially with the 3.5x lens. You'll need to be around 16 feet away from the subject when using the 2x or 26 feet away when using the 3.5x on the Telephoto camera.

The camera you have with you

At the end of the day, the best camera is the one you have on you, and you have to wonder how often you'll be adding these lenses to your iPhone before taking the shot. These are also both magnifying lenses for getting closer to a subject, so they're not as multi-purpose as a wide-angle.

I've enjoyed these kinds of camera lenses that bring a new level of optical quality and magnification to the iPhone that isn't otherwise possible. Telesin's fall short of being quite as good an experience.

These lenses work, and the Master Grip itself is fine, but at this price, I can't help but say to go elsewhere. ShiftCam is more expensive, sure, and you won't get a MagSafe grip when paying similar prices for lens and case combos from Sandmarc, but your experience will be much better.

If those other brands don't meet your needs or fit your budget, then you're better off just using the lenses already present on your iPhone than buying Telesin's.

Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone review - Pros

• Better optical quality shots for far-away subjects

Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone review - Cons

• Fiddly controls on the Master Grip that don't add anything useful to the photo taking process
• Lenses that require a special app to crop out the useless space around the edges blocked by the lens
• Expensive kits for what you get

Rating: 2 out of 5

If you buy this photography kit and use it as advertised, you will get decent quality photos. That said, my issues with the incredible sensor crop and lens design persist, and I'm not sure how to address that.

The lenses work, but requiring an app to ensure the sensor is cropped enough to prevent the lens from being in frame is odd. It's not something other premium iPhone lenses encounter, nor do you need other apps to use them.

Other camera lenses are better.

Where to buy the Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone

The Telesin Master Grip Kit for iPhone sells for $229.99 direct from Telesin, but exclusive promo code DCDSOGAX knocks 15% off, bringing the cost down to $195.50.

You can also pick up the Master Grip Kit at Amazon, although the retailer is selling it for full MSRP.