lensbaby special effects lens system for DSLRs

lensbaby lenses and optics are designed to help photographs simply achieve photographic special effects all images courtesy lensbaby

lensbaby is a camera system designed to let photographers easily achieve photographic effects that conventionally require complex filters or post-production techniques. its range of units include both lens bodies– which combine bellows and ball-and-socket mechanisms to achieve photographic special effects– and optics specialized to diverse focal lengths, focus ranges, and f-stops. all are compatible for use with most SLR and DSLR cameras.

lensbaby’s innovative ‘optic swap system’ lets optics be interchanged into lens bodies, letting a range of diverse functionalities all be used in conjunction with the bodies’ focusing and tilt effects. currently lensbaby offers four lenses (each sold with an optic pre-installed) and eight specific optics.

‘composer pro’ lens

view from above; adjusting the lensbaby lens

the four lenses available as of july 2012 are the ‘composer’, a ball-and-socket device for selective blur; the ‘composer pro’ that adds tilt capability; the ‘muse’, whose focus is operated be squeezing for a soft, ethereal effect; ‘control freak’, a compressable lens designed for tripod or other fixed shooting and capable of locking into place, with a barrel lens for sharp focusing and three metal arms provided to finetune the tilt; and ‘scout’, the only fixed, unbending lens, that captures fisheye imagery.

list of lensbaby lenses

from left to right: ‘plastic’, ‘single glass’, ‘soft focus’

lensbaby optics include:

– ‘edge 80’, an 80mm lens that, when tilted, offers selective focus: a small strip of sharpness bordered by blur;    when held straight it functions normally as a f/2.8 flat field of focus optic;

– ‘sweet 35’, a 35mm  featuring a 12-blade aperture for control of the size of the centrally focused region

– ‘double glass optic’, a 50mm providing centralized focus with diffusive ambient blur created by the multi-coated optical glass;

– ‘single glass optic’, which lensbaby calls ‘similar to the primitive optic [one] would find in an antique camera’, creating a soft, ethereal focus;

– ‘plastic’ optic, which as with all plastic lenses creates extremely soft focus with frequent chromatic aberration;

– ‘fisheye’ optic, a 12mm, 160° view super wide-angle lens;

– ‘soft focus’ optic, a 50mm piece featuring soft focus throughout the image;

– ‘pinhole / zone plate’ optic, a 50mm which toggles between to the two modes, both of which are techniques the provide a glowing,   soft-focus image; ‘pinhole’ provides f/177 focus, and zone plate f/19 for faster exposure times.

photograph taken using ‘double glass’ optic with 0.6x wide angle image © lisa smith studios

more examples of photographs taken with lensbaby mounts and optics can be found on the company’s searchable gallery and in thelensbaby flickr pool.

photographs taken using the ‘edge 80’ optic left image © david akoubian right image © kathleen clemons

photograph taken with ‘double glass’ optic image © angela morris

photo taken with ‘plastic lens’ optic image © heather jacks

photo taken with ‘edge 80’ optic image © tony sweet

photo taken with ‘double glass’ optic image © heather jacks

photo taken with ‘sweet 35’ optic image © lila armock

photo taken with ‘double glass’ optic image © AJ schroetlin               

left: image taken with ‘edge 80’ optic, © liz devine right: image taken with ‘sweet 35’ optic, © laura kicey

photo taken with ‘zone plate’ optic image © tina louise

photo taken with ‘macro’ filter and lensbaby ‘composer’ lens image © patti sundstrom

example of the same scene taken with two different lensbaby optics: ‘plastic’ at left; ‘pinhole’ at right images © jerome hart

demo to the lensbaby system

via wired