If you are using Periscope or Meerkat for your business one of the things you may be exploring live streaming when outside or interviewing others.
Even when demonstrating content on your website the following solution may be of interest to you.
There are a number of solutions available that can help you add additional lenses to your smart phone. As an iPhone 6 user I personally like the iPhone 6 Active lens from Olloclip which allows you to add an ultra wide angle lens and a telephoto lens.
But as someone who trains marketers and business professionals how to integrate live streaming in their communications, I find myself having to use multiple devices including an iPad, an android phone and my iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. And with devices changing rapidly it can quickly become expensive if you invest in accessories that can only be used with one model as I have found in the past.
So while the Olloclip has a great range of products, it is not the right solution of me at this time until they bring out a universal solution. And if I were to invest in an Olloclip I would also want to do so with their smartphone case. I recently watched a live stream hosted by a friend of mine who interviewed the founder of Olloclip and it was interesting to see him show how the organisation uses a 3D printer to help them with innovation so I can only hope that they will have a solution that works for me in the future.
For the past couple of months I have been exploring alternative options of lenses. A popular low cost solution is the Yopo three in one universal lens set which has a Fish Eye Lens, a 2 in 1 Macro Lens and a Super Wide Angle and it currently retails for £10.99 on Amazon.co..uk. Yopo also have a 4 in 1 universal lens kit which retails at £12.99 on Amazon.co.uk.
A benefit of the clip on lenses that are universal is that you can leave your case on your phone (I always leave my case on my device and don’t want to additional hassle, risk and delay in having to take the case off the phone before I start to live stream).
But what about less expensive options? I realise you will not get the same quality of photography and videography, but if the lenses are going to be used infrequently you might want to test out a lens kit and that is where the Yarrashop three in one universal lens kit comes in as it retails for only £6.59 at the moment – the regular price on Amazon is £8.99.
The Yarrashop Universal 3 in 1 lens kit consists of a clip which you then connect the Mobile Fish Eye Lens, a Macro Lens and a Wide Angle Lens. You also get a small microfibre bag which can also act as a lens cleaner.
For the price it is certainly worth experimenting with and I think you will find it useful if you are doing live streaming and want to have more than one person in the frame when interviewing or even when sharing your desk top and want to share the width of the screen rather than just the segment your vertical video will capture. of course all this may be resolved if Periscope and Meerkat introduce landscape video versus the current format of potrait video.
The lens kits are so inexpensive I’ll be investing in two so I can have one set up for wide angle shots and one for fish eye shots – plus they can also be a source for spare parts in the event one set breaks.
Have you invested in lenses for your smart phones and which do you recommend?
If you are looking for additional resources, videos and education about using Periscope for your business check out my Periscope for business page here. And remember to follow me on Periscope for my visual content marketing tutorials.
