The kaleidoscopic effects created depend on the focal length of the lens it is mounted on and the physical size of the lens elements. There were relatively few of these made. I don’t recall exactly when I got this but it was sometime in the 80’s. I was living in NYC and one day began to have thoughts of photographing the city through a Kaleidoscope. A week or so after the idea came to me, I passed by a crafts fair in Lincoln Center and “Peach” was there showing his hand made Camerscopes which did exactly what I had dreamt /visualized doing.
We talked for awhile and I told him of my well known music photos. I didn’t have the money to buy one and asked for his address to contact him later, but he offered to give me one if I would send him some of the photos I took with it to help him publicize the lenses. Of course, I agreed, but it took me years – maybe 2 or 3 before I figured out how to get really good pictures with it. They key was to use a zoom lens (with variable focal lengths) which had an optical diameter that by chance would match the Camerascope’s optics. Sadly, I never got to send him any photos because he stopped making the camerascope lens within a year after I met him.
