These Lenses will truly change how you shoot video on your iPhone.

Shot on iPhone 16 Pro with the Sandmarc Telephoto 58mm Lens. Perfect for iPhone filmmaking.

If you’ve ever watched iPhone footage that looks suspiciously cinematic and wondered how they did it—chances are, quality external lenses played a role. In this review, I’m taking a deep dive into three Sandmarc lenses I’ve been using for my mobile filmmaking: the 16mm Wide, 100mm Macro, and my personal favorite, the 58mm Telephoto. I’ll also touch on Sandmarc’s Motion Filter, their Variable ND designed to help maintain cinematic shutter speeds.

This post focuses strictly on cinematography and video capture, not photography. Every single shot you see here—including the A-roll—was filmed with one of these lenses on my iPhone using the Blackmagic Camera app.

Simple filmmaking setups, shooting on the iPhone 16 Pro with Sandmarc Lenses and my YC Onion Pineta Peak Tripod.

A Quick Disclaimer

Sandmarc did send me these lenses and allowed me to keep them, so technically that’s a form of compensation. That said, I’ve aimed to keep this review honest, balanced, and rooted in my real-world experience across travel in Japan and Australia, as well as in commercial and short narrative filmmaking.

The Sandmarc 16mm Wide, 58mm Telephoto and 100mm Macro (Left to Right).

What’s in the Box?

Each lens comes well-packaged and ready for immediate use. Here’s what you get:

The lens itself (Telephoto 58mm, Wide 16mm, or Macro 100mm)
A premium iPhone 16 Pro-compatible case
Clip-on lens mount
Front & rear lens caps
A soft lens pouch

Lens Specs at a Glance

Main thing to note here is that the front filter thread size for the 100mm macro is 48mm and the Motion ND Filter won’t directly attach to this.

Both the Telephoto and Wide lenses use a 43mm front filter thread, which makes it easy to swap filters between them. The Macro lens, however, uses a different 48mm front thread—less convenient, but still manageable.

A major plus: all lenses use the universal 17mm rear thread, meaning they’re compatible with other third-party iPhone accessories like Freewell cages and cases. Unlike Moment’s proprietary mounting system, Sandmarc keeps things adaptable.

It’s excellent that the mounting system on the back of the lens is universal, makes it easy to interchange between different branded accessories assuming they use the 17mm thread system.

The Sandmarc Motion Filter (Variable ND)

This 3–6 stop ND filter (ND8–ND64) helps maintain a natural motion blur for cinematic shots, adhering to the 180-degree shutter rule. It fits both the Telephoto and Wide lenses using the 43mm thread and is super quick to mount. I rarely shoot without it outdoors.

The 58mm and 16mm Sandmarc iPhone Lenses pair great with their Motion VND Filter. As it attaches to both without the need for any step up rings.

Real-World Use & My Preferences

I used these lenses for everything from run-and-gun travel footage to commercial gigs. My usage breakdown:

58mm Telephoto – ~80% of shots
16mm Wide – ~15%
100mm Macro – <5%

The Telephoto lens stands out for a few reasons:

It lets you stick with the iPhone’s main sensor (the best one), avoiding lower-quality zoom sensors.
You get rich parallax, improved depth, and natural background separation—all while retaining great sharpness in the central frame.
It’s fantastic for cinematic bokeh that doesn’t look artificial.

The Wide lens is ideal for expansive establishing shots or tighter interior spaces while still using that superior main sensor. The Macro? It delivers crisp close-ups, but the ultra-shallow focus and limited narrative use make it more niche.

Shot on iPhone 16 Pro with the Sandmarc Telephoto 58mm Lens.

Things I Love

Size & Portability: Light, compact, and easy to pack—even with a full rig.
Optical Quality: Clean and neutral without strong color shifts or gimmicky character.
Minimal Flare or Baubles: Common iPhone lens artifacts are basically gone.
Sharpness: Especially strong in the central area of the frame.
Quick Filter Mounting: Swapping the ND filter between lenses is seamless.

A Few Drawbacks

While these lenses are impressive, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Focus Hunting: Not the lenses' fault, but the Blackmagic Camera app occasionally needs a restart to lock focus.
Twist-on Mounting: The screw-on design is secure, but less convenient than a snap-on mount.
Long-Distance Softness: Some shots feel slightly muddy if not perfectly focused.
Phone Ergonomics: Adding a lens shifts the phone’s balance and makes it a little top-heavy.

Again, these are minor points in the grand scheme of things.

A frame shot on the Sandmarc 58mm lens from an upcoming iPhone short film.

Final Thoughts

What really sells me on these lenses is the image quality. The footage speaks for itself. They let me capture professional-looking video while traveling light, and they’ve earned a permanent spot in my mobile filmmaking kit.

If you’re serious about iPhone Cinematography, videography and want better optical control without ditching your iPhone, the Sandmarc lens lineup is absolutely worth considering, with my preference being the 58mm and the 16mm options.

Check out the links below for the gear I used and the iPhone LUTs and powergrades I used for grading in DaVinci Resolve 19.

Links

You can purchase all of the lenses featured in this review with the links below. Keep in mind that you need to select your correct iPhone model so that you receive the correct corresponding case alongside it.