When you visit a tourist spot, taking photos to capture your travel memories is a given. While smartphones can take beautiful pictures these days, enthusiasts often carry a DSLR camera. This time, I got my hands on a rather unique lens that can be attached to a DSLR, so I went out into the streets of Sapporo to try it out!

Making Illuminations Sparkle in Star Shapes! What is the "Phantom Lens"?

If you look closely at the photos, you can see that the lights are in the shape of stars. This was taken with the "SG-image 50mm F1.8 Phantom Lens," a unique lens that allows you to switch between four different aperture plates: star, heart, snowflake, and oval. While a normal lens produces round points of light called "bokeh," this lens lets you take slightly magical photos with "star bokeh" or "heart bokeh."

This lens was developed by the Chinese optical manufacturer "SG-image (Shenguang Yingxiang)." It's available in mounts compatible with major camera brands like Sony, Nikon, and Canon. Plus, it's lightweight and relatively affordable, making it the perfect choice for anyone who wants to casually enjoy some creative photography.

SG-image 50mm F1.8 Phantom Lens

Star, snowflake, heart, and oval aperture plates

I Also Tried Shooting with Heart and Snowflake Shapes!

This lens seems perfect for shooting illuminations. I also tried taking photos with the heart and snowflake plates.

Snowflake

Heart

When you photograph illuminated night cityscapes, you get fantastical photos that look like they're from a storybook. This is an effect that's hard to achieve with a smartphone. Doesn't it make you want to give it a try?