Thanks... I first saw the one for 44.00 and thought there must be a clarity issue with the cheaper ones. I'll give that one a try. for 14.99 how can I not
Lens balls
- Thread starter nikonpup
- Start date
Thanks... I first saw the one for 44.00 and thought there must be a clarity issue with the cheaper ones. I'll give that one a try. for 14.99 how can I not
These are from my first few plays....the glass house ...I was going to enter it in the "Angles" weekly challenge but have been unwell and didn't even look my camera for 2 weeks - all better now! -.....At the glass house I balanced the lens on a fence post and jt fell - luckily into mud, lenses still intact! - but there was a speck of mud I missed. Luckily as I keep it in a thick sock, it was soon clean....
And to reiterate the warnings....Burnt hole in my trousers as I sat, 6ft from a window, in weak February sun.......
When I saw this shot, I immediately thought of a paperweight that my grandmother used to have!
So with that curiosity under my belt, I started looking on YouTube for how those beauties are made!
A little off-topic, but I am sure some of us won't mind. Just as amazing is the artist's backstory!
https://youtu.be/CYUqvLAeyg4
Look up frozen Bubbles photography
I'm curious which ball people purchased off of Amazon. Yesterday was my first time using it. My first images at the park were fine.
Then I went to my church. I will admit I hadn't noticed any imperfections in the ball when I looked it over after getting it. But there they are (this is a huge crop from the original). Here is the 80mm ball I used--made by Amlong. https://www.amazon.com/Amlong-Cryst...d=1539781497&sr=1-1&keywords=amlong+80mm+ball
After reading reviews on Amazon, I ordered the one below yesterday. Supposedly it doesn't have the imperfections of the Amlong and comes with a cleaning cloth and bag. Even a reviewer compared both and said this Merry Nine ball is better. Curious what anyone else uses.
https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-S...Crystal+ball+with+Stand+and+Pouch,+K9+Crystal
Yesterday was my first time using it. My first images at the park were fine.Then I went to my church. I will admit I hadn't noticed any imperfections in the ball when I looked it over after getting it. But there they are (this is a huge crop from the original). Here is the 80mm ball I used--made by Amlong. https://www.amazon.com/Amlong-Cryst...d=1539781497&sr=1-1&keywords=amlong+80mm+ball
After reading reviews on Amazon, I ordered the one below yesterday. Supposedly it doesn't have the imperfections of the Amlong and comes with a cleaning cloth and bag. Even a reviewer compared both and said this Merry Nine ball is better. Curious what anyone else uses.
https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-S...Crystal+ball+with+Stand+and+Pouch,+K9+Crystal
I'll let you know how it looks in comparison to the first one I ordered. From the reviews I read, I'm guessing it should be clearer. Plus the fact that it comes with a storage bag and cleaning cloth is a plus!
Wait no longer!
This Merry Nine ball comes with a small pouch which made it nice to carry while I was out today. The other day I lugged around the box with the Amlong ball. The Amlong has a styrofoam insert inside the box that blew out, and of course I looked rather foolish chasing it. Run Forrest run!!! :beguiled:
It really isn't fair to compare the images I took today with the ones I took with the Amlong. I used different lenses both days. The other day I used my 24-70mm f/2.8 and wound up cropping quite a bit. Plus I focused manually. AND I didn't stop down much then either.
Today I used my 105mm f/2.8 macro since it allows a decent close focusing distance. Keep in mind this was with an FX body. If anyone is using a DX body and wants to hold the ball, use one of your lenses that has a close focusing distance. That is vital if anyone is going to hand hold the ball while shooting. This time I stopped down further and allowed the AF to focus on the surface of the ball compared to manually focusing the other day.
So there are a couple of differences between the Amlong ball vs. the Merry Nine ball.
When I used the Amlong ball, even though the sun hit the ball where I was holding it, my fingers were fine. The ball didn't get hot. Today when holding the Merry Nine ball, I didn't give it a thought. However, the ball got hot quickly, and anyone nearby probably thought I was playing hot potato. I juggled it several times. I'd hide it behind my body so the sun couldn't hit it to allow it to cool off. Then I'd hold up my camera and quickly raise the ball between my subject and camera only to have the sun's heat blast the ball. It got hot very fast, and the juggling act continued the entire time. I'd take a quick pic then move the ball out of the sunlight. After my last shot, I wound up dropping the ball on the grass because it was so hot. So that is one big difference. The temperature today was cooler than the other day, too--the high today around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
When holding up both balls (one in each hand), I looked through them towards our kitchen light. Both balls have imperfections filled throughout the inside when looking at the light. BUT the Amlong has at least twice as many as the Merry Nine. When just looking through them (not towards the light), the imperfections aren't noticeable.
I'm going to guess that the imperfections showed up in my church image the other day because the sun was in the shot. Maybe if there is a lot of direct light in the ball the imperfections are more visible?
If I had to choose one of these, I'd go with the Merry Nine. Even though it will get hot, it seems to be the better option. Plus it comes with a pouch and cleaning cloth.
Surprise, surprise! There was another local car show that I didn't know about, but since I had my macro lens as well as the lens ball, I decided to take a few more pics. I need to remember to stand close enough to the cars. Depending on the angle of the sun to the ball, I could see imperfections within the ball. Just keep watch to try and prevent them from appearing in your images.
