Is there a tilt shift lens for the iPhone?

Question

I am looking for a tilt shift lens for the iPhone, are there any options out there in the market? I know there are plenty of apps that achieve the effect with software, but I am looking for an optical solution.

Answer 1

You won't find actual tilt-shift lenses that does what you're looking for.

Plane of focus control (tilt, which gives you the "miniature" effect with reverse tilt) operates according to the Scheimpflug principle. This is achieved by physically tilting the focusing lens in an optical system.

In the case of a smartphone attachment, the actual focusing lens is already permanently fixed in the phone. There are some effects that can be achieved by what is in essence a magnifying glass placed in front of the phone's camera lens, but I'd call those effects more "creative focus and distortion" effects than perspective control à la actual tilt-shift lenses.

Lensbaby makes the LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens for mobile phones. But it's not a tilt-shift — it doesn't allow you to control its focus effect, which is just center focus with more distortion and blur towards the edges.

^{Lensbaby LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens, from lensbaby.com}