#FF00AA

As soon as I read about it, I wanted it: an iPhone case that included a cleverly-designed macro lens? Sold! (Online, through the Apple Store.)

First things first, the case itself: well-designed, it hugs the phone very neatly, and the soft plastic that protects all four corners feels like it would really absorb shocks (I’m not paid to do this so, no, I didn’t actually try to drop my iPhone on the ground). It’s just the right thickness, holds in place very well, and feels just fine to the touch; as a bonus, I don’t have a white iPhone anymore.

Aside from the case itself, there’s also a “screen protector” that’s just a thin plastic film that protects from scratches (which are hardly a problem on the iPhone) but not from breaking. And it’s pretty much impossible to set up, because the case’s edges hug the screen so tight that there’s no way you can slide the phone into them without scraping off the film. Fortunately, it sticks there magically, without glue, so there’s no residue from when I gave up and removed it.

Regardless of the macro lens, the Clarifi is in the very top tier of iPhone cases: it looks and feels great, with the perfect blend of design, functionality and protection — that is, for a case that doesn’t cover the screen. If you’re really afraid of breaking your iPhone, chances are you’ll want one of those ugly transparent shells; I’m not sure why more cases don’t include a hard screen cover, but maybe there’s a good reason.

 

On to photography, then. To be honest, I kind of expected better. To be honest, that was a bit stupid of me. The iPhone’s camera is pretty mediocre in the first place, and just adding a small plastic lens on top of it isn’t going to make miracles.

The thing is that the macro lens… well, it isn’t macro, actually. Flipping it on or off doesn’t change the picture dramatically in the viewfinder, so I was a little disappointed for the first few hours: it isn’t designed to let you use close-up portraits of ants in your address book, but just so that you can take pictures of objects from ten inches away — and so that you can read barcodes on your iPhone.

The mechanism is simple as can be, which is just as well, because that means it might not break with age: the close-up lens slides over the camera with almost no resistance, yet feels quite sturdily attached to the case. The drawback being that it will easily slide by itself in your pocket, but you’ll quickly pick up the habit of just checking the lens’s position with your index finger every time you take a picture; it’s not a big deal.

 

I can’t say much about barcode reading, because the application I downloaded seems to be crap and I can’t be bothered to try another (it’s not like I’ve ever wished I could scan a barcode with my phone), but here’s a simple before and after that shows what a difference the lens makes (and gives you an idea of how close to your subject the camera has to be):

 

That was for the practical uses; for the creative types, here’s a couple of pictures I’ve taken (the last is filtered through the CameraBag application, which I would take this opportunity to recommend again if the stupid thing didn’t consistently get the orientation of my photos wrong):

Not exactly high art, but if you’ve got an iPhone you know how impossible it would be to get those pictures without the Clarifi case. And if you like to document your life at all, chances are you’re regularly left wishing you could take those kinds of pictures.

 

In conclusion: if you feel like having an iPhone case at all, and you’ve been known to use the camera once in a while, then there isn’t much reason to buy any other case than the Clarifi (unless you’re so paranoid you want one of those ugly full-on cases, but it’s a bit criminal). If you’re peculiar about keeping your iPhone as naked as Apple made it, though, I’m not sure the macro lens makes enough of a difference to be worth the small esthetic compromise.

As for me, I’m keeping it. It does complement CameraBag nicely.