Accessories brand PGYTech (Dandelion Intelligent Technology) recently launched a crowdfunding project called “RetroVa Vintage Imaging Kit” on the Kickstarter fundraising website, announcing that it will officially bring the “telephoto extended experience” originally created for Android platform flagship phones such as vivo X300 Pro and OPPO Find X9 Pro to iPhone 16 Pro andiPhone 17 Proseries models.
In recent years, Chinese mobile phone brands such as vivo, OPPO or Xiaomi have not only competed in the design of the periscope lens shooting function of the mobile phone itself, but also cooperated with accessories and lens manufacturers (such as Zeiss and Hasselblad) to launch exclusive “photography“handle” and “plug-in“Lens” allows mobile phones to shoot farther, feel more like a camera, and even capture subjects at longer distances.
PGYTech obviously hopes to bring this kind of shooting experience to iPhone models. It also uses a special protective case accessory and a teleconverter to extend the shooting distance of the telephoto lens, and uses a dedicated app to enhance the telephoto shooting effect.
2.35x optical telephoto zoom, iPhone can zoom into telephoto in seconds
The core design of this kit from PGYTech is that the 2.35x telephoto teleconverter can directly and physically extend the shooting focal length of the iPhone telephoto lens after being installed through the exclusive mobile phone case bayonet.
In addition to the lens, the kit also includes a retro-style camera grip. This handle not only has a built-in battery to recharge the phone, but also has a physical shutter button, parameter adjustment dial, and even a micro SD memory card slot, allowing users to store captured images directly on the memory card.
Similar to Android flagship experience, but software is the biggest difference
Players who are familiar with PGYTech should know that they have previously launched similar official cooperation accessories for vivo and OPPO flagship models. This version launched for iPhone almost inherits the same design language in appearance. However, “softwareIntegrateDegree” is the biggest difference between the two.
• Android side:Since it is an official cooperation, the native camera app of vivo or OPPO can directly identify whether an external teleconverter is installed and make algorithm corrections.
• iPhone:Since it is not an accessory product officially certified by Apple (MFi), users who want to use the additional teleconverter must use the camera app provided by PGYTech to obtain the best imaging. It cannot be used directly in the iOS native camera.
The current early bird price of this set of products is approximately US$184 (approximately NT$5,900), and the official price is US$229.95.
analysis point of view
In fact, as long as you search on Taobao, you will find that there are already a dazzling array of external telephoto lenses and teleconverters launched for iPhone.
From general-purpose clip-on lenses costing a few hundred Taiwan dollars, to 17mm screw-thread lenses that can be adapted to special mobile phone cases, there are even many cheap white-label products that are advertised as “concert artifacts.” Most of these products also use “physical plug-ins” to increase the shooting focal length, or install filters and handles through exclusive mobile phone cases.
So what’s different about PGYTech’s products this time? The main difference lies in “systematic integration” and “optical design quality”.
Many cheap teleconverters on Taobao often lead to edge collapse of image quality, severe dispersion (purple fringing), or misalignment with the optical axis of the main lens of the mobile phone. As a brand of drones and photography accessories, PGYTech is relatively guaranteed in terms of optical quality, and its handle integrates a battery and a memory card slot, which is a design that is rare among white-label solutions that simply sell “mobile phone cases + lenses.”
However, for iPhone 17 Pro users, the biggest dissuasion point is probably “not being able to use the native camera.” After all, the Deep Fusion and Smart HDR that Apple is proud of are both provided in the native algorithm. If you have to switch to a third-party app for shooting, you will inevitably sacrifice some of the advantages of computational photography.
This type of product is obviously more suitable for hardcore gamers who have extreme demands for “optical zoom” and are willing to spend time making adjustments later.
“The original article was published in the cooperative media mashdigi, and the United News Network is authorized to reprint it. 》
