New 12-24x zoom lens for iPhone 15, 16, 17 Pro rivals $5,000 Sony setups, show photo and video samples

While “Ultra” Android flagships from Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Huawei now ship with elaborate photography kits and first-party external lenses, Apple has remained typically distant from the whole external lens thing.

However, the iPhone’s popularity as a camera seems to ensure that third-party companies like Reeflex are more than happy to fill the void. With the iPhone providing the high-quality "base", Apple arguably doesn't need to get involved in glass manufacturing themselves.

Android's "Ultra" flagships cameras have competition now: New iPhone tele converter lens can do 24x lossless zoom; compatible with older iPhones

The newly-launched Reeflex G-Series Ultra Telephoto 300-600mm is an optical lens add-on designed for the iPhone 17 Pro (and compatible with the 16 Pro and 15 Pro via a dedicated 17mm thread case).

Reeflex's new "Ultra Telephoto" lens represents a massive leap over the older 2x teleconverters. This new glass is a high-performance 3x optical multiplier engineered specifically to sit over the iPhone's existing 4x periscope camera.

The "300-600mm" reach is achieved through a combination of optics and sensor tech:

• 12x zoom (300mm): By mounting the lens over the iPhone 17 Pro’s native 4x telephoto camera, you reach a 300mm equivalent.
• 24x zoom (600mm): By utilizing the iPhone’s 48MP sensor crop (Apple’s "optical-quality" digital zoom), the reach extends to a staggering 600mm equivalent.
• All in all, you’d have to multiply the native reach of the iPhone’s camera by 3x - to know where you stand "optically"

The Reeflex lens features four lanthanum glass elements in an aerospace-grade aluminum housing and is fully compatible with the company’s ReeMag magnetic filter system for ND and CPL filters. While heavily advertised for iPhone, the lens is also available for Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, S25 Ultra, S24 Ultra, and S23 Ultra.

New iPhone 17 Pro 600mm lens rivals $5,000 Sony camera setup in zoom for as low as $250

Specs aside, several hands-on reviews have now surfaced - some of them sponsored - and the consensus is that the 300-600mm lens has "some weight to it." At 310g (340g with the cap), the lens alone weighs more than the iPhone itself.

When mounted, the total weight of an iPhone 17 Pro rig approaches 600g - strikingly close to a full-frame Sony ZV-E1 with small prime lens. Because of this heft and the extreme magnification, reviewers note that a tripod is essentially mandatory for stable video at 12x or 24x "lossless" zoom. You might not necessarily need a tripod for photos, which is great.

The results, however, are turning heads. In side-by-side comparisons with a Sony a7IV with a 100-400mm GM lens (that’s a $4,000-5,000 setup), the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,350 for the phone + $250 for the lens) seems to do a "shockingly good job", as per comparisons. Let us note that the camera setup seems cherry-picked, as it is one of the lowest-resolution full-frame camera currently on the market combined with a slow zoom lens, rather than using an actual 300 mm prime.

While the full-frame sensor still wins on clarity and dynamic range, the Reeflex-equipped iPhone holds its own in detail and subject isolation, making the $250 Kickstarter price look like a bargain for mobile creators.

All in all, as Android manufacturers continue to develop and hype their modular "Photography kits" to lure professional creators, Reeflex’s latest offering shows that the iPhone ecosystem can match that versatility through the third-party market. Apple may not be making the glass, but the resulting "Franken-phone" is quickly becoming a threat to pocket cameras like the Sony RX-100 VII.

Disclaimer: The hands-on videos you see below have been sponsored by Reeflex.