Cell phones have changed the camera market. There are fewer inexpensive point-and-shoot models available for sale, and those that are priced under $200 typically use sensors that don't offer significant advantages over the very best smartphones in image and video quality. Accordingly, add-on lenses for smartphones have emerged. Many, like the Photojojo Iris system ($69.99), promise excellent image quality, but fall short. Although the included macro lens is capable of taking crisp shots, the fish-eye and wide-angle lenses simply aren't very good. The best phone lens kit we've tested remains the iPro Lens Trio Kit, but it'll cost you more than three times as much.

Design
Most smartphone lenses use a dedicated case to mate with your phone. Photojojo's Iris system doesn't. A lens holder, mounted on an elastic cord, is used to secure the included add-on lenses to your phone. It matches with a transparent plastic mount, which is designed to be held in place by your phone's case.

Instructions are included to show you how to measure the thickness of your phone case so you can set the lens holder to one of three settings to match. It works with most standard iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6/6s Plus cases—battery cases are too thick—but you will need to make sure that there is a single, large opening that reveals both the camera lens and LED flash. I wasn't able to use the Iris mount with the case that ships with the Imvio add-on lenses, as it has separate openings for the lens and flash.

If you don't use a phone case, custom-molded mounts for the iPhone 6 or 6s, and the 6 Plus or 6s Plus are included. While you can wrap the cord around other phones, the Iris system is only intended for use with iPhones.

The cord system is unique, but ill-conceived. I found it to be tricky to attach properly. It's also not that steady, with the elastic cord allowing some give, which led to lenses being slightly off-center even with the aid of the small plastic mounting post. And in order for lenses like this to work their best, they need to be perfectly centered over your iPhone's camera lens.

The lens holder itself is perhaps too snug. The individual optics lock in with assurance, and aren't easily removed. I struggled to swap lenses in the field, though. It should be easy enough to do without having to remove the holder from the phone itself, but I found that wasn't the case. Not enough of the lens juts out from the holder to get a solid grip. Using one of the rubber lens caps to get a better grip on the lens can help, but it's still too much of a struggle to change lenses.

Image Quality
The lenses themselves are a mixed bag when it comes to image quality. First, the good: The macro lens is a solid optic. It allows the iPhone to focus very close and capture a good amount of detail. I used it to shoot close-ups of street art (above) and the texture of the wall and paint really shine through. When working close with subjects that aren't flat you can also manage a shallow depth of field, a trick that a phone usually can't do.

The wide and fish-eye lenses aren't as good as the macro. I shot an image from the same position with the naked iPhone 6 Plus lens (above), along with each of the add-on lenses. As you can see below, the wide lens noticeably broadens the field of view of the iPhone's camera. A close look at the photo shows that the center remains fairly crisp—there is a drop in quality, but it's not dramatic. But the outer edges of the frame are dim and blurry.

The fish-eye lens is worse. Even the center of the image is soft and murky. And the amount of blur around the edges of the frame is excessive. It looks as if you're adding a blurred circular vignette to the image that the naked phone lens captures. 

Conclusions
The Photojojo Iris system isn't a product that I can recommend buying. The macro lens is worth your money, but the wide and fish-eye lenses just aren't that good, and the cord-based attachment system is inelegant. It doesn't do a great job keeping add-on lenses perfectly centered over your iPhone's lens, and the cup that holds the add-ons is tight to the point where it's a pain to swap optics in the field. If you're really serious about smartphone photography and want to explore add-on lenses, consider instead the iPro system. It's a lot more expensive, and requires you to use a case that's specific to your phone, but I found the fish-eye, telephoto, and macro lenses included in the starter Trio Kit to be strong performers. You may also want to go the other way and go for a more artistic look with the Lensbaby Creative Mobile Kit or the LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens.