Camera Lens Effects - at affordable prices

Yesterday - June 21, Sunday, my family and I were celebrating Fathers' Day by going to the Shangri-La mall to have lunch after we wre done attending mass. Of course, there were other ulterior motives for going to the Shang... but they were Barbie's - not mine. Still, I was not one to just leave things as they were - and took the opportunity to look around as well.

Well, while Barbie and Bernice went their respective way (shopping for a gift), Bryce and I decided to window shop in a few of our favorite stores... and one store in particular, Hobes and Landes, offered a great number of novelty items that were also tools for scientific experimenting, however, their costs were - to say the least, worth reconsidering before purchasing - specially when one has the budget that relatively alienates them from getting so many of these gadgets. Some, after all, were trivial - others were simply too extravagantly priced to be considered as practical.

However, there are a few noteworthy items, that at first glance, looked like toys - but toys that can offer a great deal of entertainment and with it, some satisfaction.

I speak of one particular item in the store that helps any amateur photographer be able to experiment with effects that normally demand getting a pricey lens... for example the fish eye effect. Such a lens can give a sphre-like viewpoint to what the camera takes... a nice effect for landscapes - a funny effect when done with people. How much would such a lens cost? Not to mention the cost of the camera that can mount such a lens?

Then, of course, there's this product called 'Illusion lens', a tiny special effects lens, just large enough to connect to a digicam's lens, and small enough to accommodate most cellular phone camera lenses. It's a very simple device, really... it has a lens cover, and when said cover is removed, we expose a sticky gel, that can stick the lens against that of the camera's lens... so when the camera takes it's shots... the resulting images captured reflect the effect... and nice bubble effects, or fish eye pictures, if I say so myself... of course I could be biased.

There are some possible limitations... number one being the lens size... as you can see with the pictures taken, the outer corners have the greenish background, which happens ot be the illusion lens itself. Now maybe I can remove that by properly lacing the lens - or as a last resort, edit them out using either Photoshop or any other editing software, so it's not that big a problem.

Another effect Bryce and I were playing around with was the Starburst effect. Basically, this means having a clearly focused center and having the pictures background starting to become hazy... and rather than trying to describe it, I've also added some additional shots to show everyone the effects that such a lens allows us to play around with.

Our pictures show an interesting concept - like we were using some kind of power to force the effects. Again, I wonder... how much wold such a lens go for?

Well, let me tell you how much these lenses cost... Php200 - that's it. Bargain right? You bet, and the best part of it is there are more effects available.

So what do you think? Care to go to Hobbes and Landes to try these little babies out? I'm sure a lot of photography enthusiasts will find a gazillion flaws - but then again, for the price... I'd now have to say that these special effects are very reachable, and I shall be posting more of these effects, as we use them.