iPhone camera accessory review

Many of us wish our cell phone cameras could work as well as, if not better than, our point-and-shoot cameras: cell phones are usually what we have with us at a party, corporate gathering, or any other event. We just love documenting our lives through photos that we commonly share online with friends or family, and none of us want to share awful pictures, especially those taken at night. You can find a lot of accessories that help a bit and give maybe one or two enhancements to your phone, but sometimes maybe one or two just won’t cut it. And that’s when the iShutter comes in handy.

Why ?

iShutter is a specially designed case that makes iPhones look, feel, and function much like point-and-shoot cameras. It mimics the appearance of regular point-and-shoot cameras, and upgrades your iPhone with physical record and zoom buttons, an external battery pack, a soft-touch grip, and a Xenon flash—something that no other case in the world has, according to the iShutter website.

What we love

By having a xenon flash, iShutter practically guarantees a significant improvement in your pictures. And this is important because if there’s one problem that most people encounter when using their iPhones, it would be the camera’s performance in low-light conditions. The iPhone was never famous for its humble LED flash. Thankfully, though, the makers of iShutter—Apple software developers who are probably well aware of the iPhone flash’s weakness—gave their product a more powerful flash that would maximize the usability of the iPhone, especially for a lot of regular folks.

The record and zoom buttons are also pretty nice touches. Those who really want to get the most out of their accessories, however, will probably find the external battery pack a much nicer addition. Smart, actually. If you’re encouraging people to take a lot of pictures and videos with your accessory, you better make sure the battery isn’t going to get drained too quickly as a result. And speaking of batteries, you don’t need to take the accessory off just to recharge: iShutter leaves all ports unblocked and ready for use.

What we don’t love

Frankly it’s hard to write anything here. iShutter wasn’t successful on Kickstarter.com, and right now it still isn’t available in the market. The simplicity of iShutter and the fact that it improves the iPhone’s performance in low-light conditions are very commendable, but apparently these are not sufficient to attract enough backers.

The end game

iShutter isn’t revolutionary, but the simple solution it provides for the iPhone’s weak flash and its other features make perfect sense—especially when all of them are combined in a single accessory. It’s a shame that it is not yet in the market. If you’re interested in the accessory, let the iShuttr team know.