Regardless of whether you like it or loathe it, the Soratama crystal ball lens is unlike any optic we’ve ever seen. Falling somewhere between a filter and a crystal ball, this bizarre invention enables the user to shoot scenes that appear to be floating inside a glass ball.
Shooting with a crystal sphere is nothing all that new; tools like Lensballs are very popular among photographers who want to shoot something a little different to your average landscape or portrait. Lensbaby even makes an entire range of creative lenses including the super affordable, tilt-shift Lensbaby Spark 2.0 and the Lensbaby Velvet 28. However, this lens invented by Zenji Uehara is slightly different in that the crystal ball is fixed to a filter that you attach to the front of your lens via an extension tube.
• Read more: Best Lensbaby and Lomography lenses
While you could argue that this effect could be achieved in the best photo editing software, there’s something nice about using an in-camera tool instead. Just like some music producers prefer to use hardware when creating sounds, it's nice to create something that feels more organic.
Chances are if you’re a professional photographer, you’re probably not going to buy this to keep in your kit bag. But if you’re looking for a fun way to shoot something a little different, then this is an easy way to create images that won’t look like everybody else's.
It seems the lens can only be bought from eBay at the moment and, as it’s shipped from Japan, you can't expect next-day delivery. It will fit most lenses so long as you have the right size step-up or step-down ring, and the extension tube it comes with is a must unless you’re shooting with a macro lens that has a really small focusing distance. Prices vary from $52-120 (approximately £40-90 / AU$70-160) which is still very cheap, even for a creative lens, and even better – shipping is free from certain sellers.
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