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Photographers. We are the most critical and observant people on the planet. We demand the highest quality results from our equipment and rightfully so, we are passionate about our work. When a photograph doesn’t come out how we envisioned it, it is like a fisherman who has lost a big catch. He will catch other fish, but the trophy winner has escaped. Photographers are testing the limits of their equipment. At times it seems daunting with so many opinions, charts, and articles out there. Fishing is a little different, but I’m sure there are similar debates about which are the best rods, tackle, and bait.
However even a top of the line fishing rod won’t do you any good if you are trying to catch fish at the town pool. The same goes for photography, an expensive camera and lens mean nothing if you don’t use them in an intelligent way.
Like many others, I was always skeptical of the Lensbaby. It seemed like a nice toy, but a serious photographer like myself didn’t need it. As a view camera user, I understood the principle behind the Lensbaby, but to me it was just a piece of plastic with bellows that you couldn’t lock into place. Well I learned a valuable lesson after spending a couple weeks with a Lensbaby Composer and the full set of optics/accessories. To summarize, the Lensbaby has grown up!
THE LENSBABY FAMILY
THE MUSE
I was oblivious, but Lensbaby makes three different style lenses that come in a variety of lens mounts. The Lensbaby I referred to before is now called the “Muse”. It is the least expensive of the Lensbaby line-up, and still lacks the ability to lock focus or adjustment. Yet for some people this is perfect. It’s affordable and fast, you can shoot on the go with ease. In retrospect I wish I had used a Muse for some of my shots as resetting the Composer to zero position (no bend) took some getting used to.
THE CONTROL FREAK
The “Control Freak” is like a Muse with a serious body kit on it. You can adjust focus and bend the lens and then lock it with the click of a button. Fine focus adjustments can then be made using the barrel on the lens. Tilt/bend can be tweaked with three equally spaced posts on the lens. If I used a tripod all of the time and/or did a lot of critical Macro work I would have used the Control Freak in a heartbeat.
THE COMPOSER
The “Composer” was the most appealing to me because it seemed like a happy medium between the Muse and Control Freak. It allows you to focus the lens with a big rubber focus ring and a ball-head allows adjustment of tilt/bend. A ring that sits right in front of where the lens mounts to the camera controls friction of the ball-head. Most of the time I tightened the friction so that I was still able to move the lens, but it would stay put when I took my hand off of it.
OPTIC SWAP SYSTEM
There are varying options of Lensbabies for different kinds of photographers, but all three lenses are compatible with what is called the “Optic Swap System” Lensbaby has expanded it’s line to include the following: Double Glass Optic, Single Glass Optic, Plastic Optic, Pinhole/Zone Plate, Soft Focus Optic, and Fisheye Optic. The original Lensbaby is most similar to the Plastic Optic.
Each Optic is compatible with magnetic aperture rings that swap out with the use of an included Optic Swap tool that also acts as a storage area for the rings so you don’t lose them!
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ACCESSORIES
Lensbaby makes accessories for the lenses, which allow for even more creativity. There are two (4x and 10x) close-up/macro filters, a wide (.6x) & super-wide (.42x) angle attachments, and a telephoto (1.6x) attachment that screw on to the threads of all Lensbaby Optics (besides the Fisheye Optic). The thread size is 37mm so any other 37mm filters you have will also be compatible with the Lensbaby system!
The last accessory is the Creative Aperture Kit that allows you to punch out shapes in a blank magnetic aperture ring. The kit also comes with two pre-made shapes, a heart & a star. This effects how out of focus areas are rendered and can be quite fun. Here is an example from Lensbaby's own Kirsten Hunter!
PHOTO BY KIRSTEN HUNTER
MY SAMPLES
I had a lot of fun using the Lensbaby Composer and all of the different Optics and Accessories. It was liberating to be roaming around the beach and various buildings with my camera, not worrying about silly things like which autofocus point/mode to use or comaplining to myself in my head how heavy my Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G is. (Because I didn't have it with me!) Here are my samples and impressions from each. (click to enlarge!)
DOUBLE GLASS OPTIC
The Double Glass Optic is the sharpest in the Lensbaby Optic Swap System. I’m not going to be replacing my 50mm f/1.4 with this lens, but it allowed me to be creative with depth of field while still keeping the focused part of my image sharp. The Double Glass Optic comes standard with all three Lensbaby lenses. Overall I found this to be my favorite optic. Shot without a magnetic aperture ring, it is equivalent to about f/2. Aperture rings range from f/2.8 to f/22.
SINGLE GLASS OPTIC
Similar to the original Lensbaby of years past. It still has a place in the lineup. This Optic is softer than the Double Glass, but still maintains a level of sharpness on the focused area, especially when using a smaller aperture like f/5.6 or more. The areas beyond the point of focus become soft and dreamy. I would only purchase this optic as part of the Optic kit that includes the plastic and soft-focus optic as well. Some people may enjoy the look, but I found it to be only slightly different than the Double Glass Optic, but not enough to justify buying it instead of trying out the Fisheye or Plastic Optic.
PLASTIC OPTIC
It is softer than the Single Glass Optic, but again, using smaller apertures renders focused areas to be relatively sharp, but with softer edges and higher levels of chromatic abberation. For those familiar, think Holga. Out of all of the Lensbaby lenses, I wish I had used this one a little bit more frequently. I think it has a lot of potential. Just like the Double/Single Glass Optics, it has a standard 50mm focal length.
PINHOLE/ZONEPLATE
Mimics the traditional look of a pinhole camera. It has two different sized openings, which can be changed by pushing a switch inside of the optic. The larger “Zone Plate” opening is equal to f/19. Remember there is no glass in this optic, so even at “f/19” everything will have a blurred/ethereal effect. The smaller “Pinhole” setting weighs in at f/177 so bring your tripod! Even in bright sunlight, using the viewfinder is difficult on either setting because of the limited amount of light coming through the lens. The focal length of this Optic is 55mm which is slightly longer than the others.
SOFT-FOCUS OPTIC
The Soft-Focus Optic comes with it’s own set of magnetic aperture rings that allow you to adjust the amount of softness. Nothing will be “sharp” but just like any of these Optics, it’s a look that works with certain subjects such as portraits. I could see film makers really enjoying this optic.
FISHEYE OPTIC
*A special adapter is required to use the Fisheye Optic with the Control Freak or Muse.*
I shot with a FX Nikon D700 so I was able to create fully circular images. On a crop sensor body, you will be able to get the quirky fisheye effect, but not fully circular images. The Fisheye Optic was a lot sharper than I expected. This is a great option for people wanting to experiment with a fisheye lens, but who don’t want to experiment with their bank account for a true Canon or Nikon fisheye. The focal length is 12mm and without an aperture disk, it is measured to be f/4. The special (included) FE aperture disks range from 5.6-22. I was amazed by minimum focusing distance of 1/2 of an inch!
MACRO FILTERS
Great little accessory here for you Macro-holics out there. I have never been much of a Macro shooter, but I was surprised just how sharp the results were. The two (+4 and +10) filters can be stacked so you can get insanely close to subjects. Again this is a great alternative to a dedicated macro lens, which like fisheyes, tend to be pricey.
WIDE, SUPERWIDE, and TELEPHOTO
VIDEO
I am not a cinematographer by any stretch of the imagination, but it was brought to my attention by a co-worker that Lensbaby offers huge potential for those who work with video on the DSLR cameras. Filmmakers looking to create a special dreamy effect or strange perspective are in for a pleasant surprise. Here is a short clip shot by Unique Photo's Edward Whittington that demonstrates DSLR video with a Lensbaby.
CONCLUSION
I am not suggesting throwing away your Canon Tilt-Shift or Nikon Perspective-Control lenses. If you have those lenses, you are a professional and you know why you need them. The Lensbaby system doesn’t replace any lens you own, even the standard kit lens that comes with a entry-level DSLR. Rather Lensbaby offers a gateway into various types of photography without committing to a professional specialty lens.TO THE CRITICS
To me photography has always been and always will be about having fun. If you want to shoot outside of the box a little bit, buy a Lensbaby and use it. You will be surprised what you come up with. Don’t listen to the jaded critics who say “Oh it’s such a tacky/overdone look” You should only be concerned with what makes you excited about photography. Those critics are the ones mashing their keyboards about nonsense on photography forums. They aren’t making time to just go out and shoot for fun. (Isn’t that the reason all of us got into photography?) Whatever you decide to use, have fun with it and push it to its limits.
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”
-Ansel Adams
-Ansel Adams
Photo by Craig Strong
If you like what you've seen so far in this review and want to win your own Lensbaby Composer, check out our Lensbaby contest on Flickr. The contest is free to enter!
All you need is a Flickr account and some good old fashioned creativity. We want to see your best photos from this summer! If you don't have a Flickr account, it's free to sign up and a great place to upload your photos and meet other photographers.
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THEME: SUMMER FUN
THEME: SUMMER FUN
Show us your best image that exemplifies the essence of "Summer Fun" taken with a Lensbaby or other perspective control optic.
Summer is a special time for everyone. School is out for the kids and everyone wants to be outside! It can be the calming sound of the ocean, a big wad of cotton candy, a ferris wheel at a county fair, a barbecue in the park, or the lights of the boardwalk blending into the lingering deep blue sky that appears in the summer right after the sun sets. Anything that screams SUMMER! We want to see it!
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