Why your low cost lens protector is perhaps holding again your pictures

Defending our costly new smartphone is a high precedence for many people, and on-line marketplaces are flooded with choices, from instances to show safety. An more and more in style product phase is digicam lens protectors, which clearly make quite a lot of sense in case you’ve simply spent over $1,000 on one of many greatest digicam telephones in the marketplace.

Whereas sticking an affordable layer of plastic and even glass in entrance of your high-precision digicam may assist defend it from scratches, there’s a threat that it’ll decrease the standard of the photographs you are taking. Not essentially as a result of a protector will defocus or blur your photographs — one thing this near the lens is unlikely to do this — however even a really clear, high-quality protecting layer will barely cut back the quantity of sunshine reaching the sensor. Within the worst case, introducing impure optics could exacerbate points like edge aberration and lens flare, or cut back the quantity of element captured. Not what you need from a top-tier digicam cellphone.

To see simply how a lot of an issue this is perhaps, I grabbed some very low cost, no-brand safety packages for underneath $10 from the ocean of choices on Amazon. I additionally bought the costlier Spigen GlasTR EZ Match Optik for my Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely ($18.99 from Amazon) and Google Pixel 9 Professional XL ($14.99 from Amazon) to see if there’s any distinction between the price range and premium choices. The outcomes are fairly shocking.

Earlier than we get to that, although, we’d like a phrase on utility. Making certain the right match — free from air bubbles and dirt — is essential to organising these protectors accurately. Get that flawed, and your footage are certain to look unhealthy it doesn’t matter what. Fortunately, all 4 kits I selected got here with mud cloths and tape to assist take away grime. Nonetheless, one of many cheaper choices didn’t embody a template mould to help with utility, making it trickier to use to the Pixel.

Now for the photographs. I need to admit, I discovered it surprisingly troublesome to inform lots of the photographs I took aside. I’d actually anticipated a budget lens protectors to utterly spoil colours and element, however in all honesty, the outcomes on each telephones had been typically primarily indistinguishable — no less than when considered in full-frame and brought in brilliant daylight.

Wanting on the pictures above, the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s low cost lens protector is probably a fraction extra washed-out and fewer detailed, however that’s in moderately dim gentle. Likewise, there could also be a contact extra heat and saturation with out the lens protector on the Galaxy S25 Extremely, however there’s actually not a lot in it. Each of those telephones appear highly effective sufficient to not be bothered an excessive amount of by an additional little bit of glass in the best way.

After snapping just a few extra samples, I finally hit a extra constant theme of washed-out colours and delicate modifications in publicity. The frequent thread is that these footage had been taken in troublesome lighting, requiring HDR processing to steadiness the publicity. Once more, the outcomes aren’t unhealthy, however this hints that points with low cost lens protectors may present up in additional excessive lighting situations.

Within the subsequent set of pictures, I took the troublesome lighting setup up a notch with each dim window gentle and powerful backlighting. The Pixel 9 Professional XL once more exhibits a lack of advantageous element with the added safety, whereas the Galaxy S25 Extremely appears to be like noticeably washed out as a consequence of decreased dynamic vary from the dearth of sunshine making it by the lens protector. There’s additionally a touch of lens flare on the appropriate aspect.

Once more, the outcomes aren’t so horrible that you simply’d essentially discover with out a side-by-side comparability. However that, in itself, proves that you possibly can be sacrificing picture high quality by choosing a really low cost lens protector with out even understanding it.

OK, so what in regards to the costlier lens protectors? Effectively, they definitely don’t resolve all of the lens flare, desaturation, or softness points. Nonetheless, the outcomes I obtained regarded even nearer to the pure look of each cameras. Even when pixel-peeping or taking pictures in tough lighting situations, the higher-end lens protectors held up higher. Simply check out these zoom pictures beneath, the place the smaller sensors depend on as a lot gentle seize as potential.

Total, my expertise with each low cost and costlier lens protectors hasn’t been the catastrophe I anticipated — no less than from a picture high quality perspective. Nonetheless, I can’t vouch for the way nicely they’ll save your digicam from a serious drop.

Once I began this text, I used to be positive I’d dismiss low cost lens protectors completely. However I’ve been considerably shocked: those I examined don’t essentially make your pictures look garbage. Actually, a lot of my pictures got here out exhausting to inform aside, even with an affordable lens protector. The prevailing theme is simply barely undersaturated colours.

That stated, I nonetheless took sufficient examples the place an affordable lens protector resulted in a extra substantial lack of element and dynamic picture, notably in low-light and HDR scenes. As such, I definitely wouldn’t advocate them to avid photographers, plus different choices could carry out a lot worse than the 2 I selected.

For the easiest outcomes, shoot with out something overlaying your lens. That stated, photographers who completely should defend their lenses from scratches ought to contemplate spending a bit further on a higher-quality protector. Premium kits are simpler to use, typically embody spare units, and carry out higher in tough lighting. Spend only a tiny bit extra on safety from a good model, and your pictures will thanks.