I kid you not... there are more ill-informed opinions floating around in these virtual chat rooms from so-called experts on equipment that has been announced but not yet produced - that many onlookers can become misinformed and lose sight of the practice and joy of photography. I can’t recall which well-known writer said “Written by someone who wasn’t there... about something that didn’t happen!” but it comes to mind frequently.

But I digress... “Photo fun” can be had with anything from reinterpreting a regular theme or experiencing a new trend to digging out that quirky accessory from the bottom of your gadget bag... the essence being that you do something out of the ordinary for a change. Note the words for a change because it won’t be fun if you do it all the time.

For years I kept a couple of multi-prism lens attachments in my bag... for those unexpected photo opportunities... but they were hardly ever used. So i took them out of the bag and only used them specifically on certain days when I wanted to explore their potential... and it was always for fun. These accessories aren’t often seen on photographer’s lenses and yet many have been made - the catalogues of the two most popular filter manufacturers Cokin and Hoya list them, and there are probably examples from Jessop in the UK as well as others such as Kenko in the USA and Japan. Even Hasselblad listed a 6-sided prism lens in their catalogues for a few years.

Note that I say prism “lens” and not “filter” which is the common misnomer photo magazines. Coloured filters “filter-out” certain wavelengths of light... whereas non-coloured, shaped, glass lenses change the magnification or drawing of the primary lens. Close-up lenses are clear glass accessories of different diopter strengths and allow closer than normal photography without using a macro lens, bellows or extension tubes. A multiple-prism lens alters the image according to the number of facets on the prism - and the focal length of the lens it is fitted to.

Generally, a multi-prism lens is intended for use on a standard 50mm lens. Used on a 20mm or 24mm wide-angle it will produce vignetting at the edges and corners of the frame and too sharp delineation of the prism effect. With a telephoto lenses, above 105mm, the multi-prism effect is only partial, though often very interesting... the longer lens only seeing through the centre of the accessory.