With its 6X magnification, the monocular telescope from Apexel is a nice product for nature lovers, wildlife watchers, concert-goers, sports fans, and much more.
Looking to watch your favorite music artist up close but don’t have the money to buy front-row seats? Itching to inspect your favorite bird nest, but it is built too far high up the tree to get a good look?
The Apexel 6X HD is a perfect miniature telescope that can work wonders with your mobile phone lens and give you sharp, clear images from afar.
This is a small, 6X magnification telescope that works well both stand-alone and as part of a clip-on to your smartphone.
It is able to effectively multiply the magnification of your phone lens six times and give you excellent clarity from quite a distance.
Put on the universal clip (included with the pack), screw on the small and light telescope, and hit record to get a nice recording of whatever you want to observe closely.
Before we go deeper, here’s a quick summary of the pros and cons of the product.
Pros
- Works on both near and far-range magnification (~12 inches to as far as you can)
- 6X magnification (can be increased by also using your phone’s magnification)
- BaK4 roof prism for high-quality images
- Multicoating lens for higher image clarity
- Reasonably priced
- It comes with a handy carry case
- Lens covers are included, which also become part of the hand strap for easy holding.
- Small and easy to carry on a person
- Universal clip for fitting on most smartphones included
Cons
- No autofocus available – needs to be focused manually
- Hard to keep the lens steady; you need to have a tripod in order to take a good shot
- If the phone is large or has a thick cover, it may not fit properly
About APEXEL
APEXEL is a brand that has been around for nearly twenty years. It started with a mission to create innovative mobile lenses. With more than a hundred patents, Apexel is a cutting-edge company in its field.
Technical Specifications
- Lens: 6X Magnification lens
- Dimension: 0.12x 0.4 inches
- Weight: 4.55 oz
- BaK4 roof prism
- FMC Broadband coating
Features & Benefits
6X Magnification and Superb Focus
The key point about this lens is that it offers both near and far focus with almost equal efficiency.
It does this by using a 20MM objective lens, with a 1-foot minimum focus and an optimum far focus of between 5 to 12 feet.
The lens gives good clarity because of the broadband coating on its surface, which reduces reflectivity from external light.
This gives a sharper image with better colors across the entire visible spectrum.
The other feature is, of course, the Bak4 Porro Prism, which is a type of superior lens glass and offers excellent image resolution.
The cool thing with the lens is that even though its magnification capacity is limited to 6X, it combines the existing capacity of your phone lens and multiplies it.
This gives it an extra edge over regular binoculars in the same price range.
Lightweight & Portable
Traditional binoculars are pretty big and heavy. Now before you say that they are large because they offer excellent magnification, remember that our little Apexel isn’t a mug on the field either.
Despite its limitations, it can use the existing magnifying power of your phone to make a pretty convincing deep-field view.
But the fun part of having this little monocular with you is that it weighs just under 5 oz and is pretty small.
When you are not attaching it to your phone, it is so small that you can carry and operate it with just one hand.
Universal clip on
The universal clip-on that comes with the lens is about 1.1 inches wide, which is big enough for most phones but does not take up a lot of space.
It’s a nifty little thing because it fits on most phones, as long as you take off the cover or have a really thin one. It has a screw system to tighten it into place once you get the setting right.
The clip-on has a thin bit of rubber padding on the contact between the phone and itself, so there’s a bit of abrasion, and you don’t have to be worried about it slipping off.
The monocular is also quite thin (0.4 inches in diameter), so it does not feel unusually large when attached to your smartphone.
Works With Almost All Camera Phones
Increasing phone magnification has left a lot of binoculars useless, but the strength of this device is that it uses that ability and magnifies it even further.
Moreover, the best camera lenses tend to blur the image as they go to the higher end of their magnifying capacity because, ultimately, they are digital lenses.
This, on the other hand, does not blur at all within its operating range because it is not a digital camera.
Accessories included
There are two excellent accessories in the pack. The first is a lovely blue carry case that comes with a small carabiner and everything neatly packed in place.
If you are an adventure lover and want to use this device for wildlife watching or something similar, then the pack is perfect to just hand around your neck and carry the lens with you wherever you go.
The second accessory is the lens cover. Apexel has very cleverly designed the two lens covers for both sides to come together and clip on the strap of the monocular.
These then become an easy gripping surface while you are holding the monocular in your hand and trying to focus it.
How To Use The New Apexel 6X HD Close Focus Monocular Telescope?
It’s a simple device to use, both with mobile and without.
To use it without your mobile phone, simply unplug the caps on both sides and fix them on the carrying strap of the monocular. Then hold, point and manually adjust the lens to get the right magnification.
With the mobile phone, first, fit the universal clip onto the lens that you want to use. Then, simply screw on the monocular to the little groove on the universal clip, and it is ready to go.
Turn on the camera and magnify it to the range you want. Then adjust the lens to get focus.
That’s it! Take pictures, shoot videos and even share them with loved ones using your smartphone.
Wrapping Up
The Apexel monocular is a multipurpose device that’s good for anyone who loves to see nature or wants to watch a concert in action. While it has limited magnification capacity, it can combine with your smartphone to give excellent results.
The only drawback of this reasonably priced device is that it has a manual focus which requires careful tuning to get the right image.
Do give it a try, and let us know how it went!
