Don't buy iPhone camera lens protectors - Here is Why

Don't buy iPhone camera lens protectors. The only thing they are good for is reducing the quality of your videos/photos.

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[ToloyKeripinMunsang]

My lens cracked and broke when it fall and land on a small rock from waist height. I'd say get the protector. Better have it when u need it. It'll save you the expensive replacement

[CLUTCHDADDY]

If anyone noticed, he pushed the lense protectors down with his thumbs and did not wipe them clean afterwards so yea, of course it will be blurry.. the protectors do downgrade but ever so slightly and no alcohol does not affect the oliophobic coating that comes from the factory that is on the glass to prevent finger prints.. it takes a LOT of wear and tear and time to wear it down.. also the protectors are not plastic, they are tempered glass.. unless you got a super cheap set off of eBay.

[xJI]

Whilst I agree you don’t want permanent lens protectors for obvious reasons, what they should be making is a simple lens cap, supplied with the case that simply pushes into the cutout covering the lenses when not used.

[haihanguyenagribank]

The camera glass on the iPhone isn't actually made entirely of sapphire. They are only coated with a thin layer of sapphire. I have seen a lot of IP that have been damaged at the camera lens very badly. Although I also do not use a lens protector. But users should be careful when using it because the camera lens on IP is also easy to scratch.

[AmariaZu]

Have you considered wiping off the lens protectors before taking photos because you've actually just rubbed your fingers all over plastic, then tried to take photos and mentioning the expected glare.

Yes, you will have glare and blow outs. Especially if you rub your naturally oily naked finger all over sapphire glass.

[Thelifreak]

A few points: No, alcohol will not remove the "anti-scratch-layer (what ever that is)" from the glass. Apple and every other manufacturer uses oleophobic coatings to reduce fingerprints, but only on the screen. And to top it off, that again doesn't rub off with alcohol. You can use the pads without worries, no, you should absolutely use them because otherwise you'll have a much harder time cleaning the fingerprints. The reason why the camera protectors don't work is, that they don't stick to the glass. A normal iPad screen isn't laminated to the glass - if you go to the store, you'd notice that they have a much more washed out look than ipad pro or air. The same thing is happening here. You get an extra layer of air between the glass. If the protectors would fully adhere, there wouldn't be a problem. The way they are designed however will definitely impede on picture quality. Haven't seen an iphone lens cover that fully adheres yet. So until those appear on market, use a case that has a raised camera bump.

Oh, and also: The sapphire apple uses for their lenses doesn't deserve it's name, it's really impure and scratches as easily as the screen.

[totowolffstable]

Here after my 3x camera glass shattered on my 13 pro max.The apple authorized repair shop said the repair would be €750 and I'm not paying that for a piece of glass, the rest of the devices is literally perfect because I always use a screen protector + good case so there's 0 reason it should be that expensive. Next time I'll just get a camera protector, I already tested one and it was not noticeable when taking pictures and videos

[joenwc]

My phone was dropped on an airplane, it hit the seat rail and the result was a broken lens. This was about a 24" drop, a slight bounce on the carpet and then impact with the metal rail. This was a very minor fall and it shattered the glass lens, so please don't believe that you don't need protection.

[sneim]

These lenses arent made of sapphire.
“it scratches at level 6 with deeper grooves at level 7” 😉

[jamesn]

I think it’s been proven the lenses aren’t pure sapphire. Like the front ceramic sheild, it scratches at a level 6 with deeper grooves at a level 7… Real sapphire should make it to level 9.

[imanimanix]

You make a great point. I was going to go with the square lens protector instead of the single lens protectors anyway. In case a phone case doesn't have the lens protector (like for me there's a cute phone case on Velvet Caviar I want but the camera lens is out) you can just buy the square lens individually.

[tommydiquasi]

I have a lens protector. It doesn’t reduce the image or video quality whatsoever. Don’t tell people they don’t need something that protects their phone; because when they get damaged by a drop after you specifically used your online influence to tell them not to buy something, you’re opening yourself up for trouble.

[MzVee]

I currently use these on my 14 pro max and also had them on my 12 pro. I never experienced any glares on my pictures because I have a habit of wiping my cameras before hand. Also, to remove them, I just used the tip of my finger nail to pop them off. It wasn't difficult at all. I'd rather use these instead of a naked camera because I have seen iPhones with absolutely destroyed/shattered camera lenses and they had protective phone cases on. I'm not taking that risk. 🤷🏾‍♀

[Mohammad_Ali__]

I’d say getting a 9H camera protector and installing it where the rear camera is would be worth doing instead of just facing a direct risk of damaging the camera lenses. A slim case will do good enough to handle and absorb the impact as if the thickness is the same height, there will also be a better chance of having the camera in great shape and condition. The lens protectors I am talking about are not on the lens, but attached all around where the camera is.

[kapeluvr]

i think it'll just be better if you buy a case that covers up the sides of the camera bump or one that's a little higher than the camera itself. so when you place your phone on a surface, your phone won't wobble and your camera will still be protected without risking the photo quality with the lens protectors.

[DrBovdin]

They are made of sapphire, yes. It doesn’t mean they are impossible to harm, only very unlikely with normal wear and tear. However, lens protectors are highly unlikely made of sapphire and are much more prone to get damaged ad consequently impact the image quality. If they are then hard to remove, they are only semi permanent junk.
Also, adding another layer of a material of non-negligible refractive index that is unlikely to end up perfectly aligned _will_ negatively impact images (this written by someone who spent a doctorate designing optical systems).

[elekktrikk_home_video]

I’d say yes - one of my sapphire lenses has tiny scratches and now I have 3 dark speckles in every picture

[texasman]

I got one that protects the entire camera bump and is tempered glass n not plastic and is perfectly clear. No glare or anything and the pictures and videos are, to me, the same quality with and without the glass protector. To anyone wanting to protect their cameras, I would suggest going that route over the little circles over the lenses.

[aliozanerbektas]

It's not about it getting scratched or anything. It's put on there so that the lens itself wouldn't break should you drop it on a hard surface.

[EricRamz]

You could've easily shown a before and after photo after installing the lens protector