Hacker News Reader

Can any mobile cameras focus close enough to be useful for macro? Maybe you can buy a third party add-on lens?

Depends on what level of macro you want, but with modern phones you can get pretty close, usually with the wide angle lens.

On iPhones: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-macro-photos-and...

On Pixel: https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/pixel-macro-...

I'd recommend playing around with it, it's a lot of fun!

Had a quick play with my iPhone 15. It doesn't give the sort of magnification you would need for insect close-ups. I will stick with my Nikon DSLR + 100mm macro lens!

Yeah it's far from being as good as a DLSR or mirrorless with a dedicated macro lens. Still, most people reading HN have one in their pocket and it can be a good test to see if you like the idea of macro. It does work with larger insects, on a pixel 10 pro my mantis fill most of the frame.

You can, depending on your definition of "useful". You can buy a cheap laser pointer, take out its lens, and put it over your camera lens. Tape it onto the lens for a temporary janky version or make a 3d-printed mount for something much better that you can easily take on/off.

I've personally found this little hack useful, but then again I don't have a DSLR and macro lens!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com