iMicro XL15

Fabric that looks plain to the eye turns out to be a tangle of fibres up close; a leaf surface, a printed halftone or a circuit board reveal structure that normally goes unseen. Setting up a conventional microscope for a moment of curiosity is a lot of effort. The iMicro XL15, a Kickstarter project, aims to close that gap by turning a smartphone into a microscope.

Wide view, fine detail

According to the maker, the lens offers a field of view of about 10mm, so the overall shape and layout of a subject stay visible while you move toward the part that interests you, rather than getting lost at extreme magnification. Resolution is stated at 8μm (1μm being a thousandth of a millimetre), which the maker positions as enough to follow details that are hard to make out with the naked eye.

Room to work

The maker highlights a 21mm working distance, the space between lens and subject. That clearance is meant to make uneven, three-dimensional objects easier to approach, help with recessed areas, and leave room to position light, so the microscope can be brought to the subject rather than the other way around.

Light and stability

Because surface texture changes dramatically with lighting direction, the kit includes what the maker calls a newly designed, detachable light module that can be added as needed. An improved focusing stand is intended to hold the lens-to-subject relationship steady, so small hand movements don't throw off focus while observing or capturing images.

What's in the set

• iMicro XL15 lens (about 1.2g, about 8.5mm thick, per the maker)
• Light module
• Focusing stand
• μRuler M
• i-Seeing app
• Slim PP case that can also serve as a lighting box

The idea, as the maker frames it, is less a single accessory lens than a pocket-sized observation kit: something to keep in a bag or drawer and reach for alongside your phone whenever something small catches your attention.