If you shoot through prisms and own a 3D printer, you’ll want to make this

Shooting through prisms and glass or crystals of all kinds of shapes has become quite popular over the past couple of years. Lensbaby even put out an entire new system recently based on them. But the humble triangular prism is still the most used amongst many photographers who shoot through them.

How long this particular trend will last or whether it’s here to stay, only time will tell. But for right now, for those who use them, they can be awkward to shoot with. They’re smooth and difficult to manipulate in front of your camera. So, photographer and engineer Bhautik Joshi decided to do something about it. He designed a 3D printable holder for them.

The Prism Grip is designed to clamp around the two ends of a triangular prism, adding three holes through which you can put your fingers to get a little more grip on the crystal. Or, you can grip the whole thing from the outside. Either way, it offers a much better grip over the crystal and an easier method of manipulating its position in front of your lens while reducing the risk of dropping it.

The other obvious advantage of using a grip like this is that it prevents your crystal from getting covered in greasy fingerprints, which are sure to ruin any effect you might have been attempting to achieve. The Prism Grip is designed for the standard 150mm (6″) triangular glass prisms that are quite commonly available now for $15 or less.

It’s not a complex design. It’s a hollow triangle with a split at one of its points, three hollow circles around the outside, and a thread onto which you wind a printable nut to tighten it down once you place your prism through the big triangular opening.

Looking at the design it’s an easy print that won’t require any supports, there are no overhangs or potential issue spots, and probably won’t take too long, either. If you have a 3D printer and a prism, it’s worth giving it a go. And if you don’t have a 3D printer, you probably know somebody who does. Every other person seems to have one these days.

You can download the model from Thingiverse. I’d probably suggest printing it with PETG, if you’re able, rather than PLA. The threads should turn a little smoother and the nut will be a little more durable.

Images used with permission.