Plant Photos: Are SLR's Really Necessary?

Drosera burmanii

For a lot time, I was under the impression that to get great plant photos, I needed to get an SLR with a macro-lens. Then, I heard that some people (*cough* Paul Barden *cough*) were using attachments for their cellphones. I looked around, saw a recommendation for CamKix, J50HY Universal Camera - lens,Universal 3 in 1 Cell Phone Camera Lens Kit, and figured "What the heck? $20 is a lot cheaper than $2,000." So, I bought the CamKix.

Utricularia sandersonii

I am impressed! The photograph of the U. sandersonii above? Yeah, that was taken with my cellphone! Before I got the $20 CamKix lens, I couldn't get my phone to focus on a flower that small to save my life. It was even a struggle with my point-and-shoot that had a pretty good macro setting. Now, I'm not having any trouble shooting tiny 'dews (like the D. burmanii above), tiny Utrics, or tiny anything. It's awesome, and one of the few phone "upgrades" I'd actually recommend.