Press Release
Shiftcam 240mm Super Zoom Mobile Camera Lens by Kl Chiu Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Camera and Photography Equipment Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Kl Chiu for camera and photography equipment design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Camera and Photography Equipment Design category for Shiftcam 240mm Super Zoom Mobile Camera Lens by Kl Chiu. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Regarding Shiftcam 240mm Super Zoom Mobile Camera Lens
Shiftcam 240mm Super Zoom is a telephoto lens designed for mobile phones. The lens is tuned for phones with 5x periscope camera modules and gives an optical view of about 10x. Four stackable macro converters turn the same reach into long-range macro photography, up to 40x. The barrel and the mount are made of recycled aluminium and use a twist-lock system for fast and secure attachment. The front section is kept narrow so magnetic accessories stay usable while the lens is mounted. The compact form keeps the kit pocketable.
About Kl Chiu
ShiftCam is a mobile photography accessory brand that focuses on giving mobile photographers the ability to take professional-level photos using their smartphones. The brand designs and creates multi-lens cases and clip-on lenses that are compatible with a wide range of mobile phone models. Founded in 2017, ShiftCam has quickly gained popularity amongst photography enthusiasts and professionals alike. The brand has been featured in numerous tech and photography publications such as TechCrunch, Digital Camera World, and The Verge. ShiftCam has also received several awards for its innovative products, including the Red Dot Design Award in 2018.
Award Record
With this recognition, Kl Chiu is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Camera and Photography Equipment Design Award
The A' Photography Equipment Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good photography gear by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to photography equipment designers, camera manufacturers, lens designers and industrial design studios from all countries. Entries typically include cameras, lenses, tripods, flashes, light meters and camera bags. Awarded photography equipment designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/photography-equipment
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/182315
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182315
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182315
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/224018
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.shiftcam.com/products/240mm-full-kit
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Shiftcam 240mm Super Zoom Mobile Camera Lens
- Function
- Mobile Camera Lens
- Category
- Camera and Photography Equipment Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Electronics & Appliances and Entertainment
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Black, Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Kl Chiu
- Country
- Hong Kong (China)
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182315
Credits
- Team
- Benson KL Chiu and Armand van Oord
- Image Credits
- Armand van Oord
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- 240mm Super Zoom Tele lets phones capture what eyes can’t: true optical reach with telephoto compression and DOF, while revealing micro-detail up close without sacrificing image quality. A 240mm Super Tele tuned for today’s 5× periscope phones delivers a ~10× optical view; four stackable macro converters turn that reach into long-range macro (up to 40×). It extends shots the phone alone can’t –wildlife, architecture, portraits, textures, and small components stay clean and sharp.
- Inspiration
- The request was clear: make it pocketable. Small, versatile, powerfu. Built to complement the phone as the only lens kit you’ll need. We focused on periscope-optimized optics tuned for today’s 5× tele modules in a compact, quick-mount design: low hassle, fast to deploy, ready for the moment. It’s a bring-everywhere lens for everyday shooters and creators – travel, daily walks, concerts, crowded venues – so users can frame distant faces, isolate subjects, and reveal fine textures in seconds.
- Research
- Built on years of mobile optics development and deep understanding of periscope camera technology, we iterated the 240mm Super Zoom Tele through intensive in-house prototyping. Optical engineers and UX/interaction designers worked side by side, refining optics, mount geometry, and handling through real-world shooting and image comparisons. The final design resolves the core tension – size vs power vs ease. Delivering a small, powerful lens that’s quick to mount and consistent in use.
- Challenge
- The challenge was to compress super-zoom power into the smallest possible lens without sacrificing usability. It needed to stay pocketable and quick to mount, support a smooth zoom-to-macro workflow, and remain slim enough at the front to keep MagSafe accessories usable during shooting. Small, powerful, and ecosystem-ready – at the same time.
- Realization and Technology
- Recycled-aluminum barrel and mount are engineered around an S-Mount twist-lock for fast, repeatable seating – quick to attach, secure in use. The design language stays intentionally narrow at the first section so the MagSafe zone remains usable while the lens is mounted, letting grips and powerbanks snap on as part of a full shooting ecosystem. A compact, lightweight architecture keeps the kit pocketable and ready to shoot in seconds.
- Operation and Interaction
- The 240mm Super Zoom Tele is built for speed: twist, lock, shoot. The S-Mount twist-lock gives a clear confirmation when seated, so it’s secured and ready in seconds. Instead of swapping lenses, stack macro adapters to turn reach into long-range macro fast. Slim and MagSafe-friendly up front, it stays pocketable between shots. Quick to mount, quick to adapt, so the shot happens before the moment passes. The flow stays simple: lock, stack, capture farther frames and closer textures.
- Project Duration and Location
- Started April 2025, presented in IFA exhibition sep 2025, ended November 2025.
- Keywords
- Mobile Lens, Mobile Camera, Mobile Photography, Telephoto Lens, Macro Photography
