Brutally Honest Lensball Review
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- Опубликовано: 24 июн 2018
- I think Lensball says it right when they say "Lensball is for everyone". Not because I recommend professional photographers to use Lensball, but because anyone can use for any use.
In this video, I offer a brutally honest review of the Lensball, from both a professional photographers point of view and just any photographer.
LENSBALL ➜ www.lensball.com/
LENSBALL on AMAZON ➜ amzn.to/2lC0Ggt
** CORRECTION** The price of the Lensball is $29.99 or $39.99.
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Pricing correction in the video description
It depends on the vision you have for the accessory. That is what makes an accessory important.
I'd really like to see this being reviewed by a more versatile photographer. Maybe it's bad for portrait photography, but for us landscapers it might be the one key to making your photo stand out among all the other shots, and it might be the deciding factor in getting a shot into a gallery/show. I'm not totally convinced by your video. I need more opinions.
You should Google other reviews. I do landscape photography as well. However, there are only so many ways you can photographs ball no matter what scene you put it in.
Yeah as a tourism and lifestyle photographer this is an amazing tool.
But... all of the photos will look the same!
Oh please....its a gimmick.
Clayton Nikodim-Shilling if a lens ball is the one thing that makes your photo stand out then you need to make better photos. It is definitely a gimmick and a toy but it’s cool to use once in a while when you think of something actually interesting.
"not a professional tool" as the exposure flickers like a sketchy neon light...
Ummm go to 2:33 and thats why
dogs are tasty thanks for clarifying
@@pocahontaso3578 not an excuse to compromise your "professional work"
You keep saying professional to equate portrait photography. This could definitely be used professionally in landscape or still photography.
Of course it could
once!
Exactly
I used a cheaper version of the lensball at a friend's wedding and managed to get a photo which I rate as one of my best photographs to date. So I believe it can be used professionally, you just have to be more creative with it and think outside the box!
Thanks for sharing
The one you reviewed was packaged in that night box with a lot of goodies. I bought two, the smallest one, and the largest, on their sale, and that was not included. Still have to play with it to see if it has any real use. But hey, I can tell fortunes with the larger one now, just have to let the spirits move me.
I just got one and I'm trying to learn to use it. It actually works better with my cell phone indoors without studio lighting. My A6000 has troubles focusing on it. A couple shots I got were cool but imo it's for outdoors like in NYC or sunsets.
Its really nice for low light photography. The refraction of the lights are amazing. Agreed not for your everyday professional gigs. But if you have the eye for it, this lens ball works wonders. Ive taken amazing photos at night using it. Just absolutely stunning.
Great to hear you’re making good use of it!
Glass. Crystal. I find this “accessory” to provide an excellent shot. Very unique perspective. Photography is a label-less art. A capture of the human sight and inquisition. What catches our eye and heart and mind, what makes you want to immortalize such moments. A wondrous and limitless Art. Photography.
Yes, it's a gimmick, but you can use that for specific shots. I would not use it for family portraits. For individual portraits on occasion, but not for family pix. I would use it for butterfly pix, flower pix, lots of closeup nature stuff. People specialize in different things. If you use this, you could create a style all your own and make some really great art. You just have to be creative.
I would like a larger ball, but that one would be easier to transport.
Also, you need to keep it clean. Wear white cotton gloves. Keep a lens cloth handy. Don't complain because you lens gets dirty, clean it. That's what the bag is for.
You have to treat each tool differently. You don't treat a tripod like a lens, or a flash like a camera. Each product comes with its own care and cleaning needs. Thsi happens to be a lens without a housing. Treat it as such.
In the right hands, that could create some great art and give someone their own gallery show.
I'm on the fence about this review. Yes, it's a nitch/fad, but so is a lot of other photography that comes in and out of style. Have you ever heard of double exposures? (And that's coming back into style again). I greatly appreciated the feedback regarding sun concentration issues, I've never used a Lensball in direct sun, thank you for the warning! However, I do want to point out that I have used a crystal ball professionally and so have tons of other photographers. Even if its a fad, if the photo makes the client happy, it's not bad to have that as an available option for your clients. That being said, it does make a better landscape alternative than it does a portrait alternative. Thank you for the review Scott, I did find it helpful! And for that, I am giving the video a like. :-)
Thanks for checking it out!
They had the ball and pouch separate when I opened my box. It's not meant for birthday weddings and graduation events photography... It's meant for pretty picture making- something to enlarge and decorate your wall. I took my first picture with it and I challenge anyone to figure out how I made my picture. You have to use common sense with the sunshine. Know where the sun is before you hold it up for a picture.
Is this 80 mm?
thank you for your review, i was specifically wondering if it could be used for portraiture and got my answer.
Thanks for checking out the video!
Couldn't you have made up your own mind? It's a glass ball FFS ... if you can't imagine uses for it why the hell would you need someone else to show you what to do
I was going to invest in one of these UNTIL I watched your video... One thing I never considered but you pointed out was the issue of the sun causing a laser point on your hand... OUCH!! Thanks!
Yup it hurts haha
I am an amateur and just purchased and after a few shots I had created some great images I admit some post work time in PS was used but worth it.
Nice to hear
You’re, I suppose, the only one guy who actually says the thruth about this. I mean, in the whole youtube. You got a like just for that.
Thanks!
Except saying a professional wouldn’t use it.
@2:30 you ask if we could see you. Yes, but you're upside down! LOL
Is this Very small?
Is it easy to hold the lensball and smoke cigarettes? I desperately need a product like this that I can smoke cigarettes with.
I even use used socks as filter for professional work. Why not?
Hopefully they weren't stinky socks. :-)
I bought a crystal ball but mainly just to play with. Using it to fool around with cameras is just a bonus
Awesome. It's definitely a fun toy to tinker with for photographs.
Maybe it's not meant to be a professional tool? I'm wondering if it can just be a casual, fun sort of thing to use for kids or cool vacation photos or whatever. I am definitely not a professional photographer but for kids, is this a neat thing or a bust?
Sure it totally can. I’d think of it as the sale way you could use tiny mirrors or Prisms. They can be fun to use but not necessarily something you’d have in your daily pro toolkit.
I can think of a few ways to use this professionally to create awesome images and effects with both video, photo, and cine-gifs. You might want to think about getting a glove for fingerprints and as for "holding" it, I would recommend not doing so unless you use it on a camping trip for starting the camp fire. If you don't know what a cine-gif is it is a moving background with a still-shot of something or someone in the foreground. This ball would be great for animated photos on LCD screen picture frames.
And as a professional photographer you should always keep in mind the angle of the sun or lighting you are using with this because it is basically a large fish eye magnifying lens out of its rotary zoom chamber(or manual zoom lens whichever you decide to call it lol).
Also while it may not be a professional tool for the average person and also incredibly gimmicky, in the right hands you can get a better effect than simulating the effect on a photo editing software.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
you dont have to be a professional photographer to use one of those, but if you are a creative guy, u can find a use to do, i´ve toke astrophotography, milky way on the crystal ball are a beautyful shot...all depends of the level of creativity...maybe in this video u should show more examples of the shots that u did, greettings man.
thanks for your feedback
That sounds so interesting! Is there any way I can see your astrophotography using the crystal ball?
Does the lensball allow you to see into the future?
If only
The lensball only does one thing- it's used to create a very specific effect- sort of a combination of a fish eye lens and the "spherize" tool in Adobe Elements (or Lightroom, Creative Suite, etc.) IF that's the effect that you're looking for, then the Lensball is the absolutely ideal accessory to use. There are no other products on the market today that I'm aware of which will enable you to see that particular inverted spherical view faster and more accurately than a Lensball. If you're not looking to capture images with that particular inverted spherical perspective, then this accessory will be of absolutely no use to you whatsoever.
Yup
I warped a few pieces of clear acrylic (plexiglass) and got a lot of more subtle effects, that were great. These are absolutely gimmicks, but fun is fun… do not leave these lying around in your home or anywhere. You can easily start a fire. They should come with a fire warning! Set it on some paper in the sun and find out
re- the fingerprints- the lensball is a photography accessory. You're supposed to clean it after you've used it a few times. That's true of all photography accessories. Similar to a lens- if you touch it and you don't clean it after you touch it, you'll see smudges from fingerprints in your pictures.
Of course but that doesn’t help if you’re in the middle of a session and there are constantly fingerprints.
You don't need to handle it with your bare hands- presumably you keep lens tissue or a cleaning cloth in your camera case. Use those when you handle the lens ball- or even hold it using facial tissues, that's probably all it takes to keep it clean.
In the situation where you're photographing someone holding it, bare hands are practically essential. Unless of course the subject is dressed up to a point that warrants a glove.
"Lensball" is just a company that sells generic Chinese crystal balls for almost 4x the retail price.
An 80mm "Lensball" is $49 and an 80mm crystal ball with a stand is only $13 on Amazon!
What size it that one?
They only sell it in one size :)
Scott Wyden Kivowitz oh thank you
On their website now they sell the 40mm, the 60mm, and the 80mm. Do you know what size you got?
@@russo0384 thats the 80mm, i have the 60mm and 80mm, the 60mm looks damn small in peoples hands
I totally disagree with your assessment of the lens ball. I have purchased one and the amount of "Art" that can be created with this tool is immeasurable. I don't think you understand at all. Yes it is a novelty for weddings etc but one can create. Isn't that what photography is all about "creative art"
Thanks for sharing
Cool but would you use it professionally?
Nope
WE use lens baby's on Feature films and pretty high-end TV production. I will admit is pretty funny to see a lens baby on an Alexa. So kind of Professional. OPen mind
Glad you find a lens baby useful for your work.
It's kind of like a real life filter - it's fun and new for a few shots, then it quickly gets boring and sort of becomes a crutch for not developing good composition techniques. I'm not saying don't get one, I'm just saying...when you show your grandma the photos from your trip to , are you gonna show her 30 photos of a Lensball in different places, or are you gonna show her 30 photos of different places? It's a gimmick. A fun one, and a nice quality one, but still a gimmick.
Well said
Do one thing. Google contact juggling. This ball has a much longer history than you might think. Some see it and say cool a crystal ball 🔮. This ball is much more associated with contact juggling for a viewers pleasure. Some may recall the fushigi commercials. This ball is used by the juggler to role on her/his hands arms etc.... performing this juggle is pleasing to the eye but didn’t require as much skill as juggling 5 balls or balancing massive objects on your chin. And for those that read the all of my post. I’m sure you can find one of these online for around 10 bucks. Ps it isn’t crystal it’s usually made of acrylic so that when you drop it (this will happen) it won’t break. It will make a mark and won’t look as cool when juggling though.
“Lensball is made from K9 crystal: A lens-grade, optically clear crystal mostly used in optics and lenses, giving you the sharpest possible image.”
I just wanted to say, I understand why you're suggesting a professional photographer wouldn't want one. There are already so many accessories you need to do your job. You need to be picky about what you have in your kit. Something may be cool or fun to have, but the necessities will get priority. Also, something that can burn your client is just asking for trouble.
I liked your review and learned what I was hoping to learn. I am still considering one, but if it's just for fun I am looking at the cheaper knockoffs.
Thanks for watching and sharing your takeaway!
Thank you for your review. I think you made good points about sun refracting, but you came off very closed minded in your review. You use the term professional photography as an umbrella term for only what you do. I am guessing strictly outside photography because your sun explanation took up a chunk. You also make points about subjects that I found very unprofessional like "bugs or something". You relate anything outside of your "professional" idea as fun and are completely dismissive to any other idea. I saw some reviews from landscape photographers on your video that expressed their professional opinion without being as closed minded as you came across in this video. I wish you would have rehearsed before recording this video. Especially when a company offers you a chance to review the product. You would have been good that it didn't work for what you were trying to do, but someone else may have better luck. You tucked it into a box of fun and useless.
Thanks for sharing
Just for FUN..... GONNA GET ONE.
THANKS FOR THE REVIEW.
Awesome
Take photos in the shade, but make sure your subject is in the light.
📸
You're probably too young to realize a crystal ball was used to great effect on one of the best selling music albums of all time.
As someone else said, it depends on the vision and talent of the user. For the vast majority it will be a gimmick that will quickly end up collecting dust. A few photographs will use it of and on. And maybe one or two will devote themselves exclusively to using it in ways we never imagined.
Anything is possible
Noticed no response to said album. Maybe you're right about him being too young. 🙂
Maybe I’m a boss baby
@@scottwyden Anything is possible.
Likely is a horse of a different color.
Yup!
I do not understand how is ball expensive if you can get it for less than 15 euros, besides that, there are lenses that are heavier than a lensball.
I think that you did not want to put some effort in this review and did it quickly, cause they asked you.
I own lensball that is 60mm (260grams) in diameter and i take it everywhere, and is great accessorie for photography (professional or fun).
There is a correction on the price in the video description. But that did not change my opinion on it.
Anything can be a professional tool just ask a product photographer (me)
It told me nothing of what the lens does and how it is supposed to work.
It’s not a lens. It’s a ball. Have a look at their website for what it is and how it’s supposed to work.
@@scottwyden Thanks for the quick reply pal...very kind....I can only see it as a gimmick too...You can buy better crystal balls for less...if that's all it is.
@@nathanhowland196 That's all it is. I mean it's a high quality one. But that's all it is.
@@scottwyden I cannot then resist the temptation to say that as a photography tool it is merely just loads of balls then! :)
@@nathanhowland196 That is pretty funny :-)
You keep saying 'would I use this professionally'. Of course not. That's not it's intended purpose. It's just a fun prop. For making fun photos that you otherwise couldn't make. Someone might buy a hat or other prop for £15 for a photo shoot and never use it again. I just bought a lensball for £15 and have loads of ideas for shots I want to do. Can't wait.
Correct. It’s for fun.
Well, each person has their opinions.
That’s for sure
I think they're gimmicks too, but your fear of it creating a "sun laser pointer" is hysterical. LMAO.
It hurts big time
@@scottwyden , My sister just bought one and my brother-in-law confirmed that it happened to him - like a magnifying glass on his hand, he said.
I stand corrected - and apologise for doubting you. LOL.
Indeed. Painful - perfect for anyone who likes being burned. :/
That piece of pantyhose I stretch over my lens is sort of gimmicky but it creates the effect I want.
+John W. Browning that’s great to hear. Definitely good when things like that work out the way you want.
We need way more BURNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+Austin Carpenter that wouldn’t be so nice the client. But maybe if I ever make another video about this I’ll leave it on some wood for a while to show what happens.
I wonder if you put a laser pen through it you’d get a laser gun...? I can see this being one of those products that gets bought for all the wrong reasons - I remember watching a video on some guy turning a drain blaster into a nerf-style rocket launcher, apparently the company that made the drain blaster couldn’t keep up with orders from people trying to copy!
remind me not to send you a product to review lol XD
Sounds good
If anyones interested in this but doesn't want to spend the money on it you can get it on eBay for 6 pounds
+Turrzan thanks for sharing
I’m sure there is an app to do what this ball does. Why pay $35 for a heavy ball you gotta lug around? No thanks
Very possible
Scott Wyden Kivowitz thank you again for being so honest in your review.
Don't forget the international tax fee that shows up on your credit card statement that you are not expecting.
They sell these glass balls on aliexpress for cheap..you are only paying for packaging and their marketing.
Thanks for sharing
BS :Lensball" is made in China with all the other crystal balls.
Their website say they "make" lensballs. The company address is
Stationsplein 45 A4.004 3013AK Rotterdam, Netherlands... go ahead and look it up on Google Earth.
Their IP address is in Canada.
That same address is used by many so called "companies"
The "Lensball Pro" is just an 80mm K9 Chinese Optical Borosilicate Crown Crystal
They can be purchased for $15+ USD from Amazon, eBay, etc. "Lensball" has a shipping charge to California of over $12. The same ball on Amazon has FREE shipping!
I wouldn't be surprised. But a lot of companies are able to sell similar products or same products for more simply by packaging it and marketing it different.
I hate portrait photography and think that all portrait photographers should have to work at Sears. And Sears is closed so they’re all out of luck. The only professional photography involves dogs, a mountain or something black and what and mostly out of focus. You, sir, practice pseudo photography and it’s the shame of our industry. Now I will leave and have a cigarette.
Pointless 'review' from a not-very-creative person tbh. We know without ever using it what it's for - creative minds, see how you can push the boundaries with it, and we're not thick, we know how glass and the sun work ... I guarantee professionals with some creativity would make great use of this for a shoot. If nothing else, it'll make a nice shiny ornament on a stand for the less creative moaners.
Thanks for the feedback #moaner
Why is packaging so important? You complain about the gimmickry but are impressed by the packaging? I really don't get why people are so impressed by packaging. Are we buying the product or the packaging? Fancy packaging adds a lot to cost. It has tremendous environmental costs. What intrinsic value does the packaging add to the product? Maybe someone can explain it to me.
Packaging shows the care companies put into their products.
I love how negative and close-minded you were in this. You "reviewed" the product without using it all to start with. Of course it won't be the best for professional portraits, but getting more into a landscape or skyscape in an interesting style, yes!! Portraits aren't the be all and end all of such a creative art
+Iorath Bennett thanks for the feedback
As a professional though, he will have seen a ton of these gimmicky objects. Yes, you can create some interesting art with this and it does look well made but realistically how many different ball shots can you take?!
I get the problems with it, and your sun point is valid. However - your job was to review this, and you didnt do that in a fair and professional manner. If you think its a fad, and not for professionals like yourself, then show us a professional review? . Not one great photo with it and i have seen literally hundreds of thousands of spectacular shots on the net. not one decent pic in your review ? In my mind that is not a professional review then. I think it may be a gimmick, but your review was far from fair in my humble opinion
Thanks for your feedback
Dude lensball is just a unremarkable, big marble. Its not any more than a tool than a rock is a hammer. Please lets just call it what it is. A glass ball. Doesnt do shit. Pardon my French
I agree with you...professionally no. But let's give 100% for fun and take out to the more high level of any Photography shoot. I am not totally satisfied with how you make a review on this photo accessory but definitely A good one to buy if Photography is one of your hobbies. PEACE
Of course. Any tool or prop or accessory can be fun to toy with.
A definite gimmick and a stupid one at that. Marketed to those who are easily amused I guess.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.