Macro Cell Lens Band takes the simple approach to mobile closeups

Smartphone cameras are quickly becoming a reasonable alternative to your typical point-and-shoot, but some longstanding hurdles remain. Macro photography has proven troublesome — downright impossible, even — for a broad number of devices on the market today. Sure, there are third party solutions that can be attached to your iPhone or Android handset of choice, but they’re both easy to forget and can add significant bulk. Sometimes the simplest solution winds up being the best.

Enter the Macro Cell Lens Band, sold by Photojojo. It’s a tiny macro lens attached to a blue rubber band. The end. No frills here. It should fit on just about any phone and can be wrapped around the included plastic card and placed in a wallet when not in use. Photojojo also recommends wearing it around your wrist, but that just doesn’t jive with our style sense. The sample photos provided on their website show the results you might expect. You’ll get closer than what otherwise would have been possible, but don’t expect photos mimicking those of a DSLR. It’s a $15 lens attached to a rubber band, after all.