Camera Obscura and World of Illusions Reviews (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Very entertaining

Petersburg, Virginia

June 26, 2011

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Worth a visit if for no other reason to go to the top for views of Edinburgh Castle. It's one of the oldest attractions in Edinburgh, and has 5 floors of fun exhibits, especially for kids. 3D historical accounts, illusions, magic gallery, and 3D ...Read more

From journal The Scotland Ghostour

Hands On Fun For All

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

May 7, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Camera Obscura is a terrific museum and experience located at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, close to the Edinburgh Castle. It incorporates the fascinating Camera Obscura, a great world of illusions exhibit and some stunning rooftop views ...Read more

From journal Two Days in Edinburgh

One of the best attractions in Edinburgh

by jipp05

CA1 1LA, England, United Kingdom

March 23, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo The camera obsucura and world of illusions is located at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburghs old town just before the entrance to the castle. To be honest we only visited it because it was one of the free attractions with the Edinburgh card we ...Read more The camera obsucura and world of illusions is located at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburghs old town just before the entrance to the castle.
To be honest we only visited it because it was one of the free attractions with the Edinburgh card we had purchased and I was deteminded to get my moneys worth. However I am glad that we went as I thouraghly enjoyed myself and found it to be much more interesting than I had thought it would be.

When entering the helpful girl on reception informed us that the camera obscura show would be starting in ten minutes and she recommended that we start with that and then make our way around the rest of the exhibits.
The obscura show is located in the top floor of the building and there are some benches that you can sit on whilst you are waiting for the previous show to finish.
When it was out time to go into the show we were taken into a dark room where again there were circular benches so we could sit to enjoy the show. In the middle of the room was a white table where the images from the camera obscura were shown.

Although it looked very low-fi I'm still in the dark as to how the obscura worked but it was surprisingly fascinating. The lady who was taking our group told us some history of the obscura and the victorian age in general and I really liked this and although she had taken the previous group she talking with enthusiasm and tried to get eveybody involved.

After watching the obscura show we went out onto the rooftop for one of the most amazing views in Edinburgh.
After this we made our way down to the lower level and started to work our way through the world of illusion exhibits.
This was by far my favourite part of visiting the camera obscura and the exhibts were both fun and interesting. They had a great collection of optical illusions and the static balls were especially good. You could put your hands on them and your hair would stand on end. Juvenile maybe but loads of fun.

It was like stepping back into victorian fun house with lot's of mirrors that changed your body shape and even some brilliant kaelidascops. I was really impressed and think it would be a great experience for kids but that's not to say that adults can't also enjoy it.
The holograph exhibit was particulary impressive and would have been worth the price of admission alone.
There was also some less fun but nethertheless interesting victorian exhibits that the kids may not enjoy as much but I certainly did.

The camera obscura and world of illusion is a great attraction in Edinburgh and is well worth visiting for people of all ages.
Prices are £9.95 for adults and £7.95 for students and aldults but remember it is free with the Edinburgh card. Close

From journal Weekend trip to the Scottish capital pt2

The Camera Obscura

by Drever

Ayr, Scotland, United Kingdom

November 16, 2007

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Best of IgoUgo The Camera Obscura on the Royal Mile near Edinburgh Castle sits high above Edinburgh in an Outlook Tower originally forming part of Short's Observatory - a 17th century building. Paying at the ticket counter I slogged up six flights of stairs, ...Read more The Camera Obscura on the Royal Mile near Edinburgh Castle sits high above Edinburgh in an Outlook Tower originally forming part of Short's Observatory - a 17th century building.

Paying at the ticket counter I slogged up six flights of stairs, browsing historic photographs of Edinburgh in the stairwell as I ascended. At the top an observation deck gave 360° panoramas of Edinburgh - the view took my breath away. Even better free telescopes including a high-power Navy telescope, offered close-up views of the city and beyond.

At the scheduled time my accumulated group filed into the Camera Obscura and the show began. The 150-year-old periscope-like lens threw an image of nearby streets and buildings onto a curved, white-painted table in the projection room. Luckily it was a bright, sunny day so we had a fabulously sharp 360-degree view. We could see what was happening on the Castle esplanade, in Princes Street, and the wider surrounding area. The guide helped to identify landmarks and discussed highlights of Edinburgh's history.

In explaining how the camera worked she was very entertaining. She showed how images can be magnified or people almost magically picked up off the street with just a bit of cardboard. Using the same trick traffic was made to cross cardboard bridges.

After the show we made our way down to the next floor were we found hundreds of early photos of the surrounding areas and on the floors below optical illusions, distorting mirrors, lasers and 'take a picture of your own shadow'.

There is a Magic Gallery where you can catch your shadow, shake hands with your ghost and discover a new you in the morphing machine. You can step inside a giant pinhole camera, which gives an upside down image. There are giant kaleidoscopes, the world's biggest plasma dome, and giant lenses, which let you see your friends in a whole new light! There are several exhibits in the "World of Illusions" with an optical theme that keep children occupied. An image projected onto the floor gives the impression of water ripples if you stepped on it.

The Light Fantastic is a stunning hologram display and the U.K.'s only permanent gallery dedicated to the science and art of holography. I watched entranced as eerily realistic 3D pictures changed, appeared and disappeared before my eyes! Some were huge, one of the biggest was of a tarantula - children were daring each other to touch one of its legs.

Edinburgh Vision is fascinating for those that love history. It shows Edinburgh in 3D from the 1850s to the present day. Live city viewcams also allows you to scan around the city and zoom in and out on anything that takes your fancy!

All in all a very enjoyable afternoon, highly recommended to anyone visiting Edinburgh. Many people come back to this attraction time and time again.

Admission: Adult £7.50; Senior Citizen / Student £6.00; Child (5-15yrs) £5.00; Under 5yrs Free and it is open daily.
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From journal Exploring Edinburgh’s Royal Mile

Camera Obscura & Outlook Tower

by akakd

, Arizona

February 17, 2001

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Ironically, & unfortunately for us, the Camera Obscura was obscured by heavy fog & rain the day we were there. However, it was still well worth the visit to enjoy the extensive display of incredible holography, 3 dimensional pictures created w/ the ...Read more

From journal Elusive Edinburgh

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