Phone cameras seem to become more advanced by the minute, but have you ever considered upgrading your phone’s camera? Sometimes the installed camera just doesn’t seem to provide enough, and you may want to know if it’s possible to give yours an upgrade without trading in your phone.
Phone cameras cannot be upgraded or switched between devices. However, there are a number of apps and accessories you can purchase to improve the quality of photos you take with your phone’s given camera.
Other features of portable devices, such as memory cards, are easily removable and can be replaced with better versions. Unfortunately, swapping out the camera on your phone isn’t as easy. Read on to find out the reason why this upgrade isn’t possible, as well as some great alternatives to improve your camera without replacing your phone.
Can You Upgrade a Phone Camera?
Unless you have a pretty advanced degree in electrical engineering or work for Apple, you probably aren’t going to be able to upgrade your phone’s camera. The cameras placed in smartphones are designed to specifically fit the phone model they are placed in and are integrated into both the hardware and software.
As such, trying to swap cameras between phones, even if simply different generations of the same model of phone, isn’t possible. Instead, it is better to consider either upgrading your phone, buying a separate camera, or trying one of our alternatives listed below.
11 Alternatives to Improve Your Phone’s Camera
As mentioned earlier, you can’t upgrade your phone’s camera. However, there are a number of ways you can improve your camera and take better pictures. With these simple tricks, you can make the most of the camera your phone came with and not have to buy a new phone.
Buy a Lens Set For Your Phone’s Camera
One way to immediately improve your phone’s camera is to purchase a set of lenses such as these ones by Photojojo. These lenses can be attached to either a smartphone or a tablet via a magnetic ring that doesn’t damage your phone.
Some lens kits like this one by Apexel have a large variety of attachable lenses. These lenses can give your phone’s camera an immediate boost. For example, by attaching one of the lenses, you can increase the zoom capabilities of your camera by 2x or use a 15x macro lens to take incredibly detailed close-up shots. Wide-angle lenses give you a larger field of view, while a fisheye lens gives a creative, whimsical flair to your photos.
These lenses will attach to both Android or Apple phones and are a great way to instantly improve the camera on your phone for a relatively low cost.
Take Better Selfies with Lighting Accessories for Phones
If you find the lackluster camera on your phone takes unappealing portraits, there’s a perfect hack to help you take flawless selfies in seconds. A LuMee Duo phone case by Case-Mate is a fantastic way to improve the quality of photos taken by your phone even if your camera is a bit outdated.
The LuMee Duo case has warm colored LED lights on both the front and back of the case, helping provide a brighter, more even illumination than the phone’s built-in flash. You don’t have to worry about looking washed out by the overly bright, cool-toned flash that is already installed in your phone. Instead, the LuMee fills shadows and balances the lighting to give a perfect portrait every time.
The only downside to the LuMee case is that it is currently only offered for iPhones. If you want to still be able to illuminate your selfies but you don’t have an iPhone, you can pick up Ourry’s Selfie Light Ring or Oternal’s Selfie Ring Light. They easily clip to any phone or tablet and feature adjustable settings to let you snag the perfect shot.
Use Apps to Boost Your Phone’s Camera Zoom
A common complaint about the camera on older phones is that they simply can’t zoom as well as newer models. While you could purchase a lens attachment like those covered above in order to boost your zoom, you could also simply download an app.
Camera ZOOM FX is a great app for Android users looking to improve their photos. This app is very user friendly and comes with features that make it easy to take excellent zoomed-in photos, such as image stabilization and improved resolution.
For Apple users, consider trying Super Zoom Telephoto Camera. This app utilizes a digital zoom to turn your phone into a telephoto camera and capture high-resolution photos. With the ability to boost your zoom up to 32x, this app can be incredibly helpful for those wanting to take photos from a distance.
Use Apps to Upgrade Your Photos
You may not be able to upgrade your camera, but with the right apps, you can make your photos look like they were taken on a better device. If you have an Apple phone, Camera+ 2 is an all-around workhorse, offering tons of great features to improve your pictures.
Camera+ 2 not only has a slew of great editing features, but it also allows you to manually control how you capture photos using the in-app camera. A handful of “shooting assist” tools will ensure that you are capturing great photos every time and utilizing all of your phone’s camera capabilities.
Once the photo is taken, dive into Camera+ 2’s sophisticated editing platform to tweak and manipulate the details of your photos either manually or by choosing from a number of preset filters.
Adobe Lightroom is another fantastic editing app that puts easy-to-use tools at your fingertips no matter where you are. It is available for both Android and iOS for free, but if you want to use some of the more advanced features you will have to pay for a monthly Adobe subscription.
Lightroom also has a built-in camera that allows you to have more flexibility and control than the camera settings that come with your phone. Even if your phone’s camera is a little outdated, you can still snap some quality pics by using these apps.
A DIY Magnifying Lens Can Increase Your Phone’s Zoom
If you want to equip your phone’s camera with an incredibly powerful zoom, you can make a stand at home for about $10 by following this video tutorial. This stand can permit your phone to magnify up to 375x!
The stand is made with a laser pointer, plexiglass, plywood, several nuts, bolts, and washers, as well as a small LED flashlight to help illuminate the subject being photographed. The main magnification boost comes from using the focus lens from inside the laser pointer.
With just a little bit of crafting, you can turn your phone’s camera into an incredibly detailed digital microscope and capture impressive macro and microphotographs.
A Flexible Tripod Can Help Capture Photos Anywhere
While at first it may not feel like a tripod would be equivalent to upgrading your phone’s camera, having a versatile tripod can help you achieve more precise photo composition and reach angles that would be otherwise impossible. This can help improve photos and help compensate for an inferior camera in your phone.
A flexible tripod, like this one from JOBY, allows you to stabilize your phone on nearly anything. The adjustable legs are able to adapt to uneven surfaces or wrap around objects to permit more versatile photography no matter where you are.
If you don’t want to purchase a tripod, you can make one for yourself at home. Using some simple parts and a few tools, you can use this tutorial to build your own flexible phone tripod for less than a few dollars.
Bluetooth Remotes Allow Convenient Shutter Control
One way to improve your phone’s camera is to get a Bluetooth camera remote like this one by Zttopo. By using these remotes, you can stand up to 30 feet away from your phone and still be able to snap a photo.
Using a Bluetooth camera remote for your smartphone lets you get the most out of your phone’s camera. You can capture the full scene by setting your phone up further away, which is helpful when your phone’s camera doesn’t have a sufficient depth of field to capture all the action.
These remotes are small, resembling the key fob for a car, so they can fit in your pocket and travel easily.
Use a Water Droplet to Take Macro Images
If you are in a pinch and need to take a macro shot and your phone’s camera doesn’t support the required zoom, you can still pull off the shot, and all you need is a single drop of water. By carefully placing a water droplet onto the lens of your smartphone, you can instantly capture macro photographs. Just be careful not to jostle your phone too much, or the water will drip off.
Using this technique, the phone needs to be quite stable because the water will jiggle with any slight vibration. Image quality will be a little bit fuzzier than if you had a macro lens accessory, but it’s still a great technique to use and allows you to instantly expand the capabilities of your phone’s camera.
Of course, when using this trick, it is important to keep in mind that smartphones and water generally don’t mix, so be careful when applying the droplet to only apply a single droplet and to avoid getting the phone excessively wet.
Use Binoculars to Improve the Camera’s Zoom on Your Phone
Most smartphones rely on digital zoom rather than optical zoom, meaning that your smartphone camera’s ability to zoom may be significantly limited, depending on your phone’s model. Digital zoom is controlled by your phone’s software rather than a physical lens. Digital zoom can result in lower image resolution and reduce image quality.
To avoid the limitations of digital zoom, one simple trick is to use a pair of binoculars to perform the zoom for your camera. Simply align one of the eye sights of a pair of binoculars to the lens of your phone’s camera and focus the image.
Using the oculars of the binoculars, you can achieve a clean, optimal zoom without sacrificing image quality, even if your phone doesn’t come equipped with a decent camera zoom.
Use Everyday Objects to Make Camera Filters
Filters can help turn a boring photo into a creative work of art. Filters can help boost contrast, shift color temperatures, and distort light to make appealing photos using your phone’s camera.
- Colored cellophane. This is a great way to let you experiment with the color scheme of your photos. By placing a small piece of cellophane in your desired color, you can instantly make photos feel warmer or brighter. If you don’t have access to colored cellophane, you can also cut out a small piece from a plastic transparent colored folder and hold it over your camera’s lens or use a bit of cling film colored with markers.
- Nylon stockings. For a soft-focus look, take a small piece of nylon stocking and stretch it over your phone’s camera lens. Be sure to select a stocking with a very light denier so you can still see the image through the filter. Using a stocking as a filter can also help diffuse scenes that would otherwise be too bright.
- Polarized sunglasses. If you have a pair of sunglasses with polarized lenses, you can use them as a polarizing filter to cut down on glare. When trying to take a photo in a very bright setting, some phone cameras can’t handle the excessive light and succumb to glare and lens flare. You can avoid this, as well as change the color tone of the photograph, by holding the lens of a polarized sunglass over the phone’s camera lens.
Use the Phone’s Back-facing Camera for Better Resolution
Many phones now come with two cameras: one that faces forward to help capture selfies and one that faces backward for traditional photo capturing. It may feel like these cameras are interchangeable, but that simply isn’t the case.
For example, on the iPhone SE, the back-facing camera has 12-megapixels, while the front-facing camera only has 7-megapixels. Depending on what you are trying to photograph, this can make a big difference in the overall image quality.
In general, the lens used for the rear-facing camera tends to be better quality than the front-facing lens, as well. The back lens is faster, which gives better quality images, especially in low light settings. When in doubt, use the rear-facing camera to capture better images.
The Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhones
Editing your photos can make a huge difference in the quality of your final image. Even if you don’t have the latest and greatest phone model and your phone’s camera is a little outdated, you can still produce remarkable photographs by taking the time to edit your images.
- VSCO – This is great for any iPhone user wanting to give the classic look of film to digital photos and have more advanced manual camera controls by using the in-app camera. The free version of the VSCO app comes with a handful of creative presets and editing tools, but for more advanced features and over a hundred unique filters, you will need a paid membership.
- Afterlight 2 – For those wanting to have a ton of editing tools at the ready for photos, Afterlight 2 is a great app for a relatively inexpensive download price. Take advantage of this app’s more advanced editing features, such as selective color and curves, to add a creative personal touch to photos. There’s even a double-exposure tool that lets you blend images to create unique works of art.
- Mextures is another creative photo editing app for iOS that lets you layer textures and overlays onto photos with the option to blend textures, resulting in truly unique and appealing results. The app also comes with basic editing tools, but the main draw is the ability to work with layers to tweak and perfect your photos. If you aren’t sure where to start, Mextures has a range of preset formulas that can be applied with just a tap of the finger.
- Adobe Lightroom CC – Finally, for those wanting precise and professional editing tools, it is hard to beat Lightroom. It lets you edit photos easily, including presets for quick editing, as well as more advanced controls to allow you to manually adjust a number of aspects in your photos. Lightroom is designed so that it can be used by both beginners and advanced users, making it a truly powerful asset to anyone wanting to edit digital photos.
The Best Photo Editing Apps for Android Phones
Editing your photos can help take your photos to the next level, even if your phone’s camera doesn’t meet all of your expectations. A lot of the time, you can still achieve the final product you desired just by spending a little more time in post-production tweaking the photo on good editing software.
- EyeEm – For Android users, this is one fantastic app. (And there is now a version available for iOS users.) EyeEm not only offers a suite of editing features and filters completely free, but it also helps you become a better photographer by offering algorithms to determine your best photos. It boasts a strong community with lots of input, including articles, advice, and tutorials. EyeEm also is a platform to sell your photos and help your photos get more exposure worldwide.
- Google Snapseed is another great app for phone photographers. Designed by Google, this app offers professional precision editing with a user-friendly interface that makes the process easy and intuitive. Snapseed also gives the option to add text to images and easily share photos digitally.
- Camera Mx is for you if you are on the lookout for an app that lets you truly explore your creative side. This versatile little app can help you take high-quality photos and videos, and it comes with convenient features like a timer for delayed photos, the ability to control exposure levels, and a special display flash to help you better illuminate your selfies.
The Camera Mx app also helps Android users capture the coveted “Live Shot” photos of Apple products, bringing photos to life when you tap them and capturing the essence of a moment with a brief snippet of movement and sound.
Final Thoughts
It might be disappointing that cameras aren’t able to be easily upgraded in a smartphone, but luckily there is a wide variety of alternatives that can help you make the most of your smartphone camera. No matter what your goal, with creative apps and accessories, you can be sure to still take satisfying photos even if your phone’s camera is a bit outdated.