Pocket Zoom HD Photography Guide

Welcome to our Pocket Zoom HD photography guide. We want to show you how to best use your new zoom lens to achieve the best quality photos and videos. This guide is updated regularly so please check back to see any new updates.

How To Attach Pocket Zoom HD To Your Phone

Please remove your lens from the box, find the clip adapter. You will see that there are threads on both the adapter and the lens. Make sure to screw it down so the lens is secure but do not overtighten the lens.

Take Photos Outside For Best Results

Any zoom lens will work better on subjects that are far away.

Zooming indoors may be fun but like trying to use binoculars inside it rarely produces a benefit. It may be fun to zoom in on a candle on a birthday cake for example but generally speaking we recommend using the camera outdoors.

Here are some example photos:

Smartphone only

 Smartphone w/ Pocket Zoom HD

Digital Zoom Is Your Friend, Until It's Not!

All smartphones have a digital zoom built-in. That means that instead of actual glass optics (like your Pocket Zoom HD) the closer you get the more pixelated (dotted) your photos will get. Using a little bit of zoom can help eliminate the blurry edges in any zoom product. But use too much digital zoom will yield very pixelated photos.

Here is a photo of a house that is very far away using no zoom:

Now we can attach the Pocket Zoom HD and you will see that the house is clear but there is a little blurriness around the edges. This is due to the subject being in focus while the nearer objects (trees, house on left) are out of focus. This is just a limitation of any zoom.

Pocket Zoom HD w/no Digital Zoom:

To get a clearer photo you can add a little digital zoom and it will remove some of the blurry edges.

Pocket Zoom HD + Slight Digital Zoom

Now you can clearly see the house and it's drawing our eyes to it. This is an example of a proper zoom in action. Well done!

Now if you add TOO much zoom you will get a picture that is pixelated and grainy.

As you can see adding too much digital zoom will create artificial images that do not look very professional.

Video Is More Forgiving

Photos are a split second captured in time. However videos are many frames over a longer period. This naturally allow you to take zoomed videos easier and with more consistent results. Whether you are at a sporting event or at the opera you can get close in on the action with the Pocket Zoom HD.

Make Sure To Clean Both lens

Let’s face it, smartphones get dirty being used every day. Whenever you want to take a high quality photo make sure both your Pocket Zoom HD and the smartphone is clean before attaching it to the phone. If not you can expect to have blurry or distorted looking shots. Cleaning only takes a few seconds. Just use the included microfiber cloth to carefully remove any dust and fingerprint marks from your smartphone camera lens and you’re good to go. Sometimes a gentle breath on the lens will apply enough moisture to help the cleaning process.

Keep Your Camera Steady

Using a fixed object to steady your smartphone will always help the quality of the picture. If you have one of our tripods, using it is easy. If you don’t, you can use a railing, ledge, seat back or any fixed surface to help stabilize your photos. Remember the farther away and the more zoom you use with your smartphone the more you will have to stabilize.