The Ollocase
You've seen it before, a company has been around for some time and when a new phone comes out they just reshape the current offering to fit the new device. That's to be expected now and Olloclip could have done that, but they didn't. Olloclip actually updated everything this time around. The previous Ollocase had rubber sides and a textured back with a weird design and the sides frayed ridiculously easy. Not this time around though, the case is much better all around. The case I have is a clear case, and the back is just that, clear. No texture, no design, just a clear back with only the Olloclip logo on it. It is a smooth plastic though so it will slide around pretty easily. The sides still have a rubberized material on them that feel mostly plastic except for the added grip which is really nice. The mute switch has a nice a deep cutout that makes it very easy to access.
The buttons are covered by the same rubberized material as the rest of the sides and they are really responsive so you will have no issues using them. Olloclip decided to leave the bottom of the case wide open like Apple does, which could be sore spot for some people. I like that design however, because you will have no issues with any docks or cables. I wouldn't be too worried about drops, though you're not likely to have much more than above average drop protection. The corners do have some added protection, just enough to help out with corner drops. It goes without saying that the camera cutout is quite wide as it does have to fit the Olloclip lenses, and speaking of, the top of the Ollocase on the front does dip in more flush with the case to allow for the lenses. Olloclip even claims that now the lenses are screen protector friendly up to 0.5mm, but I'm not entirely convinced as it shattered my Zagg Privacy Glass immediately and if it's the same thickness as the iPhone 6 version, it's only 0.25mm.
The Good - Easy to install
- Works with Colorware skins
- Grippy
The Bad - Open bottom may not be for everyone
- Back is slick
- Average drop protection
The Core Lens Set
Olloclip updated and improved everything about their lenses this year. The lenses now clip into place rather than being built into the phone clip. You just place them in lens side first then pull back on the lever and drop the other side in. They even give you blank clips that are a little more difficult to install and remove. The blanks are meant to protect your camera if you don't have a lens installed and do not block your camera's usability. The carrying clip has been improved as it can now be opened up and used as a phone stand. This is unfortunately only a straight up orientation, there is no play with it. I wish I had an older iPhone and still had my Olloclip lenses for them to compare how much the optics have improved even if for nothing more than verification of the hype.
To install the lenses onto your phone, all you have to do is slide the attachment on. Then you can move it left or right depending on whether or not you want to use the rear or front camera. On the iPhone 7 Plus, you can even move the rear lens to use the telephoto lens, although you do need a third party app to switch to using just the telephoto lens. The Olloclip lenses unfortunately do not work with Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus. The other potential drawback for some people is that the Olloclip lenses also render the iPhone's flash unusable. The attachment fully blocks the iPhone's flash module. It seems to me they could have made a cutout in the attachment to allow for the flash, but they chose not to. Olloclip did however, make the lenses float to help ensure the lens stays over the camera. Overall, you're going to get better photos out of your phone if you choose to use external lenses and the Olloclip is a great option.
The Good - Easy to install
- Decent quality
- Quick attachment/removal
The Bad - Wide angle's may be soft
- Macro needs to be really close
- Still not great with screen protector
Photo Samples
iPhone lens
Olloclip Macro lens
iPhone lens
Olloclip Super Wide Angle lens
iPhone lens
Olloclip Fisheye lens
Conclusion
So here's the thing, Olloclip has been around for a while and they make great affordable products. You can buy the case and lenses separately or you can buy them together in a package basically getting the case free. This year they changed that up as well. Now the all-in-one package not only comes with a lens kit and case, it comes with both cases and attachments for both sizes of iPhone. In the box, you get an iPhone 7 case, an iPhone 7 Plus case, the attachment for iPhone 7, the attachment for iPhone 7 Plus, the attachment blanks, and the lenses. You get a lot in the box. The best part is it's only $120. That's really affordable for a case, a stand, and three lenses; and I will always recommend Olloclip to people who want to buy lenses for their phone but don't want to spend the money on a higher quality setup. Did I mention that since the lenses can be removed and changed you can buy the lenses separately now? You can buy these all-in-one boxes at stores like Best Buy or extra lenses and accessories online directly from Olloclip
here.
