Are you looking for something to add a vintage or retro vibe to your images? Do you really like light flares, double exposures and that creative Avante-guard look to spice up your images? Try adding a creative twist with Lensbaby’s OMNI Creative Filters and the Color Expansion Pack.

The original OMNI Creative Filters came out in 2019 and they were of course loads of fun, then a few months back they released their Color Expansion Pack.

What are OMNI Filters?

The OMNI Creative Filter kit comes in two sizes — small and large (mostly to do with lens diameters). There is an adapter ring that screws into your lens like a filter and then there is the creative ring that screws into that. The base adapter filter comes in a range of sizes from 62mm–82mm in the kit I have.

They have little arms that attach via magnets on the adapter ring to the crystal wands provided. The base kit comes with three arms, three different wands that create reflection and flare. A bit like fractal prisms, but by connecting to the ring, free your hands up.

Omni Creative Filter Kit

What does the expansion pack get you?

The Color Expansion Pack offers even more creative effects. Two colored crystals, plus colored gels and colored Lumi films, both smooth and textured. These create vintage film looks, light leaks, exposed film effects and different mixed or split toned effects, all in-camera. You can mix and match having just one wand or several.

Color expansion pack

Different looks

The crystals were great, but I found it needed light to really react and cause flares and light lights, so I used sunlight. This created rainbows and light leaks, but also a double exposure feel in some cases, by flipping the crystals over.

Add a Lumi film at the same time as a crystal and get a weird, almost expired film look. It is quite beautiful. I did find it was difficult to achieve tack sharp images, but I guess that is not the point here. They have almost an underwater look to them.

Remove the crystals and Lumi film and you can play with the gels. I particularly like creating a spit tone look, red and green and then blue and yellow.

They still have a vintage vibe to them, but the focus remains quite good. You can separate them so they are only coloring the edges of your image, or double them up and put them in the middle. I think the image is quite soft and mellow. Occasionally creating a slight halo on subjects that have blurred.

Blue and yellow gels

I must admit, I was having a lot of fun just playing in the backyard, creating all sorts of interesting effects. This could be a lot of fun in the studio with a model, some strobes and gels.

Lensbaby OMNI Color Expansion Pack

Bring color and mood into your imagery when using the Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System with the OMNI Color Expansion Pack. This expansion pack features an array of multicolored films and gels, color crystals, a rainbow diffraction film, and a carrying case.