I have been meaning to try this bit of photography kit for years now, but just never got around to it as it is mostly a special effects lens. I warred with myself for quite some time on if I would use it enough to warrant its purchase, and a spot in my photography gear. That was years ago. At that time, I didn't think I would use it.
Roll to last month, I was cruising eBay and for a joke typed in Lensbaby, and a lot of items came up. Back when they lens came out, it was a crude thing that lacked control. Today, things have really changed.
Before you ask, a Lensbaby is a lens (I guess I should say system now) that allows you to focus on a portion of your subject. You do this by tilting the lens. It is different from a tilt/shift lens that is often used in architectural photography...but the basic principles are the same. The main difference is that instead of having a complex set of internal glass to get a great image, the Lensbaby tends to go for simple cheap glass to give you a Lomography effect of a toy camera.
Well, as you probably figured, today, there is more than a single crude lens. Today, Lensbaby has come up with a complete system. A system of lens optics that you can remove and install into the lens barrels. There are also a ton of accessories...and photographers do love their accessories. I decided to get one, and go big in a way.
Now onto the photos...
Here are 3 small gadget bags attached to each other to form a carryall for all the toys in there. The bags have a Velcro interior with a single divider that gives you 4 compartments not to mention a back zippered pouch, and the 3 mesh pouches on the inside lid. The two ends can be zippered free to allow you access to their contents without having to unzip the whole bag. It is well designed and built. It seemed like a great way to carry it all. The system is modular.
In this section, I have the two lens barrels. Both are modular as well, meaning I can add any of the Lensbaby system lenses...and there are quite a few. The one on the right is a single straight barrel and is called The Scout. The Scout usually comes with the circular fisheye lens as a kit. The fisheye does not improve with the use of the swivel lens. The left lens barrel is The Composer. This one swivels. The Composer comes with a doublet (2 glass lens elements) designed to give a very nice sweet spot (spot focus).
The middle bag contains more optic lens options. Each lens comes in a small protective plastic case that also doubles as the tool to remove the lens from the lens barrel.
The last bag contains a few more accessories. I guess if I buy anymore accessories, I would have to get another gadget back. The gadget backs attach to each other via 2 Velcro straps.
This next shot gives you a better look at the non swiveling Scout, and the swiveling Composer along with two top end lens components, the Sweet 35 optic, and the Edge 80 optic. Both of these higher end optics have built in aperture settings. The lower end optics have removable aperture rings that you remove via a small magnetic key fob. The lower end apertures are held in place via small magnets. Each lens optic gives a different signature to your images...and with the system being completely modular, you only have to buy a lens barrel and several lens optics to get you started.
In the next photo are 3 of the lower end optics. A Singlet (1 glass lens element). A single plastic lens element, and a pin hole/zone plate. The upper right plastic container contains 2 macro tubes. You install these between your lens and camera to magnify your subject. You can install 1 or both depending on what sort of magnification you are aiming for. Combine these with macro filters and you can get some surprising magnifications.
The following photo shows a few more accessories. Upper left is another optics element...but this one give you a soft focus effect for portraiture etc. Above the wide and telephoto lens adapters are 2 of the magnetic aperture key fobs.
Here is a close-up of one magnetic aperture fob. The small container with the cover (They used 35mm film canister dimensions) stored the individual aperture discs. These disks are made of metal. The cap (off in this photo) protects the magnetic tipped aperture removal tool. I would wager doing this in the field could become a bit of a pain.
I also got the macro lens kit to go with those macro tubes mentioned previously. One is a +4 and the other is a +10.
I just got the whole thing in last week and haven't had a crack at trying this kit out. If you are interested in something like this for your DSLR, just be aware they make Lensbaby for different camera systems. For example, both the Scout and Composer are keyed for Canon. They make them for other makes as well. Another thing you need to be aware of, these lenses do not have any electronics in them...meaning your camera won't know you have a lens attached...meaning manual mode and or aperture priority is the only way to go with them. If you are curious, you can Google Lensbaby in their image section, and you will see plenty of sample images that are possible with this kit. They make different tilt lenses other than the Composer...but all of that is easily found online.
So yes, I can't wait for the nice weather to come, the snow to go, and some experimenting to do.
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