Lensball – 90mm Solid Glass Sphere

2020-08-21T12:40:56+02:00

Type: Lensball
Price: 19.99

Solid Glass Sphere for DSLM and DSLR Photography

The 90 mm solid glass sphere for photography with DSLMs and DSLRs (mirrorless cameras and DSLR cameras), also called a Lensball, is a streak-free glass sphere of the highest quality, without air pockets or bubbles. It reflects its surroundings as a mirror-inverted, sharp, and crystal-clear 180-degree view in a sphere, which can be captured directly from the palm of your hand or positioned in a fixed location.

The clear and transparent photo glass sphere is easy to use, yet also meets the demands of professional photographers. With a weight of 945g, it's not light as a feather, but it still fits comfortably in any bag and backpack, making it perfect for taking on a photo tour through the landscape or on travels. Whether it's landscape photography, city trips, or architectural shots – with the 90 mm glass sphere, you can create uniquely surreal images from unique perspectives.

For safe protection and optimal cleaning before shooting, the scope of delivery also includes:

A storage bag

A microfiber cloth

Tips for Glass Sphere Photography:

1. Always clean the sphere of fingerprints before shooting – microfiber cloth included in delivery

2. Carefully fix it on smooth and sloped surfaces

3. When shooting handheld, work with a max. shutter speed of 1/250 - 1/125

4. Ideal focal length between 24 mm and 35 mm

5. Longer exposure times are possible with tripods

6. For the typical shallow depth of field in glass sphere photography, work with an aperture of 2.8

7. Ideal for wide areas with few highlights (e.g., forest clearings, market squares, water with and without ships)

8. When shooting with a tripod, keep enough distance so that the tripod and photographer don't reflect in the glass sphere.

Production & Quality Control of the 90mm Solid Glass Sphere

Photography with a glass sphere primarily benefits from the effect that it captures the surroundings in a mirror image as a 180-degree view in a very small space. Now, with the camera + lens (ideal: 2.8 / focal length 24 mm - 35 mm), the motif in the glass sphere can be focused with a shallow depth of field, while still allowing the background to artistically flow into the image.

For all of this to be possible, the glass must be manufactured with the highest quality and without inclusions. This is ensured by our special quality controls and the transparent manufacturing process, in which the spheres are checked multiple times during production for material defects, inclusions, and cracks.

The glass is first melted into a long rectangle. The high temperatures make the glass soft and easily formable. Subsequently, individual cuboids are cut from this glass rectangle. Due to the previous melting process, these cuboids are still easily formable and are now placed in a hydraulic press and shaped into their round form. Now it's time for cooling to room temperature of approx. 20 degrees Celsius. To avoid imperfections such as surface irregularities and bubbles, the glass spheres are cooled down very slowly and temporarily stored. After cooling, the first inspection of the raw material for cracks & inclusions takes place. All solid glass spheres that are of impeccable quality then go for grinding and polishing until they have received their absolutely flawless and round shape. Then, the next check for air inclusions and other defects takes place. If a defect is found here, the glass sphere is sorted out. Now, the final fine grinding is carried out with a high-speed polishing machine. After a certain time, the spheres are completely transparent and have a perfect surface quality. Now, the final quality control follows – until the perfect end result of each glass sphere. Only in this way can it be ensured that the glass sphere does not negatively affect light refraction later, or that inclusions and scratches appear as disturbing elements in your mirrored motif.

Safety notice! The Lensball can act as a magnifying glass and must be kept away from direct sunlight, as this can cause a fire.