Awesome Lenses

With the right lens curvature, it’s possible to project an image that’s not visible until light shines through it. Science educator Steve Mould explains the optical and mathematical properties of these uniquely engineered lenses. A similar effect can be created with mirrors and reflected light. Rayform specializes in the technique.

DIY Perks takes a break from building awesome computer and video game systems to focus on a photography project. At the core of his custom large-format camera is a lens from a vintage opaque projector. When used to capture images, it gulps in a huge amount of light, resulting in a dreamy depth-of-field bokeh effect.

Camera technology has come a very long way since World War I, though a lens is generally still just a lens. Photographerr Mathieu Stern decided to see what kind of video he could capture with a lens he snatched from a 100-year-old Eastman Kodak camera. The footage is quite good, with a dreamy and warm quality to it.

This professional-grade lens lets you shoot bloomy and soft vintage-style images using modern interchangeable lens cameras. It offers six different aperture settings from f/36 to f/233 and an 18-36mm variable focal length for fine-tuning your shots. It will be offered with EF,RF,F,Z,A,E,PK,M43, and X mounts.

Smartphone cameras are pretty amazing, except for capturing long-distance shots. The cast-aluminum Nocs Provisions Photo Rig Adapter is a handy pocket pal that clamps on to align a phone lens to a Zoom Tube Monocular Telescope or standard binoculars for true analog zoom photos and videos.

This tiny accessory turns your phone’s camera into a powerful microscope. It offers magnification from 100x to 800x with a 1-micron resolution. It’s designed for use with flat transparent objects and sample slides and comes with a stand and reflective box with a polarizer that helps ensure subjects are in focus and well lit.

Canon’s strange-looking lens turns EOS R mirrorless cameras into virtual reality shooting machines. It has a pair of 5.2mm f/2.8 fisheye lenses and can shoot stereoscopic 3D 180° VR imagery with a single image sensor. Combined with the EOS R5, it can capture incredibly crisp VR thanks to the camera’s 8K capabilities.

This set of modular blocks snaps onto your smartphone or tablet camera and turns it into a microscope. The kit includes a backlight, 60X, 150X, and 300X magnifiers, and a slide holder that can also hold liquid specimens. In addition, pre-packaged slides display information about the specimens using augmented reality tech.

If you’re like us, you like to use your Apple Watch in Nightstand mode so you can check the time while in bed. The NightWatch charging dock improves upon this idea by magnifying the watch’s display through a spherical lens. A gentle tap wakes the watch, and integrated sound channels amplify its alarm.

Mobile phone cameras keep improving, but they fall short when it comes to capturing bigger-than-life-sized images of the smallest objects. Enter the Macro M-Series Lens which twist-and-locks into an M-series case to snap tiny details less than an inch away from the subject. Part of Moment’s line of filmmaker-quality phone lenses.

Given that the Sun kicks out 35 octillion lumens of light, you’d think it might be hard to fake its brightness indoors. This video from DIY Perks shows us how it’s possible to create an incredibly convincing approximation of its parallel light rays using a high-powered LED, a parabolic dish, and a liquid diffuser.

Photography expert Mathieu Stern loves to work with unusual camera lenses. After being stuck at home sickened by COVID-19, he decided to build a lens using stuff he had lying around the house. He enlisted the help of his wife to design this LEGO camera lens, while he focused on the optics. We love the brick-shaped bokeh.

We shoot a lot of video inside of cars looking out the windshield. But the in-car footage often makes it look much slower than it felt zooming around the track. After watching this clip from Akiyoshi Kitaoka, we realize just how much of a difference having a wide angle lens makes when it comes to the perception of speed.

Want to shoot ultra-wide angle images with your iPhone? This high-quality glass fisheye lens has an 8mm focal length, increasing the width of the standard camera up a massive 238° field of view. Attaches securely to Lemuro’s case (sold separately).

Sirui’s value-priced 50mm prime lens captures truly cinematic imagery, with a 2.4:1 ultra-widescreen ratio. It has an outstanding f1.8 aperture, can shoot from 0.85m to infinity, and produces impressive lens flares and bokeh. Built from aircraft grade aluminum with German-made Schott optics. Works with most APS-C cameras.

With builds like this and this, maker Giaco Whatever isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. So when he wanted to shoot a promo video for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, he not only busted out one of those crazy Laowa probe lenses, but he fabricated a camera mount for an industrial robot to give it motion control.

Sony’s latest G Master lens for FE-mount cameras is perfect for pro sports and nature photographers. The $13,000 SEL600F40GM is a 600mm F4 telephoto that captures razor-sharp imagery of even fast-moving people and objects at incredible distances, thanks to its quick focusing and optical stabilization.

These 1.5oz. shot glasses look like tiny Canon EF zoom lenses. Their threaded lid and keychain makes them perfect for carrying pills, jelly beans, and other small items. They’re made from food grade PVC with a stainless steel interior, and come in a set of three.

Perfect for viewing just about anything from a distance, this long-range monocular can zoom from 40x to 60x. It comes with a handy flexible tripod, as well as a mount to attach it to your smartphone for long zoom photos.

Add macro, wide angle, and fisheye capabilities to almost any smartphone camera with this bargain-priced 3-in-1 lens kit in The Awesomer Shop. The lenses attach and detach easily using strong magnetic rings which adhere around your phone’s camera lens.

Tthe Hitcase Pro 2.0 is waterproof and drop-proof, and also allows for mounting of super-wide, wide, and macro lenses. The case itself is compatible with GoPro mounts for capturing action footage. Coming for iPhone 6 and 7, but we’re hoping for a 7 Plus version. (Thanks Matt!)

Seeing how costly and out of reach traditional lenses that increase the horizontal field of view of a camera can be, Moondog Labs has designed an affordable anamorphic lens adapter that works specifically for the iPhone 5/5s.

The Photorito Lens Wrap is a protective cover that resembles the tasty and beloved Mexican dish; lenses stay in place burrito-style with a built-in band in the padded Tyvek and neoprene sleeve.