The one and only water lens. Basically, two glass hemispherical bowls with a diaphragm in the middle and filled up with water. Thomas Sutton came up with this idea in 1859, it was made for a very special camera, (the Sutton panoramic camera) in order to project an image on a curved glass plate.
Real focal length, projection, maximum aperture, etc. are unknown.
I’m not sure either if I can classify it as a real fisheye lens.
Recently Lomography tried to exploit this piece of photography history too, but it seems it’s a plain flat lens.
I’d try to fill it with VODKA or GRAPPA to see what’s coming out.
Images and credits
Many of the images I use here are found on the web, on auction sites, etc. I always try to track down the authors, ask permission and give them proper credits. Sometimes It is not possible, due to more than 22 years of research, so, if you recognize your pictures please contact me, I’ll be more than happy to give proper credits or take it down if you prefer.
- On Marco Cavina Article
- museum victoria collection
- museum victoria collection
- science museum group
- on Camerawiki
- Sphaera n.8
- earlyphotography
- Christies’ auctions
