Sandmarc’s New $270 Telephoto Lens Doubles the iPhone 17 Pro’s Zoom

Oct 29, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Side-by-side images showing a smartphone with a detachable camera lens attached: on the left, a close-up of the phone with lens on a white background; on the right, a person holding and using the phone outdoors.

Sandmarc has announced a new Telephoto 48mm lens for Apple’s latest iPhone models, designed to take Apple’s tetraprism camera even further.

“Engineered to push the limits of Apple’s tetraprism camera, the Sandmarc Telephoto 48mm lens brings pro-level magnification to iPhone’s dedicated zoom,” Sandmarc promises.

A person holds a smartphone with an attached camera lens and is placing a circular filter onto the lens. The background shows a blurred, rocky outdoor landscape.

The 48mm lens screws to the iPhone when it is alongside one of Sandmarc’s dedicated cases, mounting in front of the phone’s telephoto camera. It can also be attached with a clip-on mount. It accepts 43mm filters when used with the included filter adapter, so it supports many of Sandmarc’s filters, including variable ND and special effects filters.

In the case of the iPhone 17 Pro, which features a new 4x optical zoom lens, users can achieve twice as much zoom, so 8x optical zoom (200mm equivalent).

Side-by-side comparison of a city building at dusk, shown at 8x (200mm) and 16x (384mm) zoom. The 16x image shows more detail and less of the surrounding buildings. Taken with iPhone 17 Pro’s 8x Zoom and Tele 48mm. — The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max feature a 4x optical zoom telephoto lens, which can be extended to 8x using digital cropping. The Sandmarc 48mm telephoto lens takes it further to 16x.

 While the iPhone 17 Pro’s new 4x zoom offers a bit less reach than the prior generation’s 5x zoom, PetaPixel found it to deliver superior overall image quality thanks to a 56% larger 48-megapixel quad Bayer image sensor. This means that the telephoto camera can now capture 48-megapixel RAW files.

A close-up of a person holding a smartphone equipped with a large camera lens attachment, with the background showing an outdoor, mountainous landscape.

“The 4x lens proves to offer way more resolution than the older 5x camera and even surpasses it if you crop to an equivalent 5x field of view. The resolution advantage is remarkable and now gives the iPhone 17 Pro a strong lineup of cameras without exception,” Chris Niccolls writes in PetaPixel‘s iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Review for Photographers.

The Sandmarc Telephoto 48mm lens is also available for other iPhone models, not just the newest iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. When used on an iPhone 16 Pro series phone or the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it offers 10x optical zoom.

Sandmarc says its new telephoto lens is well-suited to photographing distant scenes, live events, and portraits.

Example Images

A woman with long dark hair and red lipstick sits in a white convertible car, gazing at the camera with her hand touching her face, exuding a confident and stylish vibe.

Bright orange and yellow African tulip tree flowers bloom among glossy green leaves, creating a vibrant, lush garden scene.

A boat sails on the calm ocean as the sun sets, casting vibrant orange and red hues across the sky and reflecting on the water.

A sailboat glides on the water in front of tall, modern skyscrapers and buildings on a cloudy day in an urban cityscape.

Aerial view of the arid, rugged landscape of a desert with dramatic ridges, deep canyons, and layered rock formations stretching to the horizon under a clear sky.

Boats and yachts are docked at a marina with tall pilings, calm water, and buildings and palm trees visible in the background under a clear sky.

A modern building with beige brick walls features wooden framed windows, each shaded by extended horizontal metal and wooden awnings supported by diagonal cables, against a clear blue sky.

Moody mountains under dramatic, cloudy skies with sun rays breaking through, casting soft light and shadows over the misty, layered ridges in the distance.

A black and white waterfront building with large windows stands on stilts above the water, with people dining inside. The background shows a calm shoreline with houses and trees at sunset.

Close-up of a modern high-rise building with many glass windows and balconies, reflecting the blue sky on its curved facade. The image shows only part of the building, emphasizing its sleek architectural lines.

A woman sits in a white convertible sports car with the door open, parked on a rooftop with tall, modern city buildings in the background.

A large, fluffy cloud with dark gray and pink hues floats against a pastel sky at sunset, with hints of orange and yellow near the horizon and smaller clouds scattered below.

A woman with red lipstick and hoop earrings leans close to a reflective surface in low, dramatic lighting, casting a partial shadow and creating a moody reflection of her face below.

Pricing and Availability

The Sandmarc Telephoto 48mm lens for Apple tetraprism cameras is available to preorder now for $269.99, so it is a significant outlay for iPhone photographers. Sandmarc says it will begin shipping by the end of November.

Those with older or non-Pro iPhone models are not left out, though they cannot use the new 48mm Telephoto (Tetraprism Edition). Instead, they must use Sandmarc’s older Telephoto 58mm, which works with all iPhone models, including the iPhone Air.

Image credits: Sandmarc