Zeiss & ExoLens’ new case protects your phone while using accessory lenses

As smartphone cameras are becoming higher quality with more advanced features and capabilities, one area where the phones themselves have struggled to advance is in the optics. There is only so much room on a thin phone to put a compact lens. This has led to the rise of more powerful and higher quality accessory lenses that can be attached to a phone.

One of these systems, the ExoLens, features a partnership between famed optic manufacturer Zeiss and ExoLens. In the last year the team announced a series of high-end lenses designed for the ExoLens system by Zeiss, the PRO mobile lenses featured the first ever aspherical lens for iPhone. The catch was that there were no phone cases compatible with the new lenses, so in order to use the lenses, users would have to remove the case — risking damage to the phone in the event of an accident.

But that issue has now been addressed with the newly announced ExoLens Case, which as you may have guessed, allows users to protect their phone while still retaining the ability to mount their PRO Zeiss lenses to the phone.

The company is touting the new case as being low profile, but still rugged and durable enough to protect your phone from damage while you are using your PRO Zeiss Optics lenses for photos or video. Despite these lenses and the ExoLens system being marketed toward cinematographers and advanced photographers, the case itself is actually very affordable.

The ExoLens case is now available for the iPhone 7 and retails for $50. According to ExoLens, there will be an iPhone 7 Plus version to come later this year as well, but at this point, there is no time frame set for that. You can learn more about the ExoLens case over on its website, here.