It's all very well using the latest photo apps to achieve the best results from your smartphone camera, but if you haven't taken a decent shot in the first place there's only so much a bit of photo editing software can do to save the day.
Now, you may have a decent DSLR, Photoshop CC expertise and even a photo studio, but if something presents itself to you when you are out and about, there's not time to run to the car and back, set up your tripod, and shoot. That's where your iPhone comes in, and with one or two of these handy pocket accessories it could become even more useful...
While you're here, make sure you check out guides to the best smartphone tripods (opens in new tab) and the best smartphone lenses (opens in new tab).
01. Joby Gorilla Mobile (opens in new tab)
- Price: £27
Joby's Gorilla tripods allow you to fix cameras in all sorts of positions that would otherwise be impossible. This one is designed specifically for the iPhone 4 and 4S and allows you to stand the iPhone, sit it down, set it at an angle, or, best of all, wrap the legs around a tree branch or railing.
02. iPhone RangeFinder and Lens kit (opens in new tab)
- Price: $99
Not only does this RangeFinder case make your iPhone look like a retro camera, it adds a real shutter button and viewfinder. There are aperture numbers too. But perhaps the best bit is the magnetic lens system, just snap on the telephoto, macro, or fisheye lens and you're ready to go.
03. FlipCage (opens in new tab)
- Price: £20
The FlipCage comes in two parts. There's a clip on tripod mount adaptor which can be used to fix your iPhone to any standard tripod. And there's the cage itself. The cage folds out to hold your iPhone in different positions in either landscape or portrait mode.
04. Glif (opens in new tab)
- Price: £18
The Glif has two functions: to prop your iPhone up so you can put it on a desk, table, or wall to take pictures, and to attach it to a standard tripod. It's made of rubberised plastic and is small enough to slip easily into a bag, or even your pocket.
05. Holga iPhone Lens Filter Kit (opens in new tab)
- Price: £13
Holga's lens filter kits slips onto your iPhone like a case, but provides you with eight Holga filters. To change between them you just rotate the dial until the one you want is over the lens. The filters are all of the fun variety - two, three, and four images in one shot, a red filter with a heart cut-out, and a 60mm macro lens makes for some unusual shots.
06. PhotoJojo Telephoto Lens (opens in new tab)
- Price: $35
Who cares if this telephoto lens makes your iPhone look like it's sprouted a nose of Pinnochio proportions? It gives the iPhones camera an 8x optical zoom, and has a manual focus ring. The lens comes with an iPhone case to keep it fixed on, and there's a table-top tripod and cleaning cloth included too.
07. OlloClip Lens system (opens in new tab)
- Price: £41
Three lenses - a wide-angle, a fisheye, and a macro - in one tiny clip-on package. The Ollo Lens system is a remarkable feat of engineering and looks cool too!
This selection first appeared in Tap! Magazine (opens in new tab).
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Have we missed any great phone camera accessories? Tell us in the comments as usual!
