A couple of weeks ago I went to Phoenix for the Imaging USA expo and came back with some goodies. My biggest prize was getting a sweet deal on the new Lensbaby Composer.
The Composer uses a ball-and-socket configuration to control the “sweet spot,” or point of best focus, in the image. I say best focus simply because I find it very difficult to focus lenses manually using the camera’s viewfinder. This is not a problem with the Lensbaby, just with my eyes. Autofocus is absolutely my best friend! Also, with the more artistic optics available, you will find that there is really nothing truly in focus no matter what. That’s the nature of using this lens, after all.
Comparison of the double glass and plastic optics
Speaking of optics, they have developed what they call the Optical Swap System that lets you change the lens elements with ease. There are four available, with the Double Glass being the sharpest, a Single Glass optic, a Plastic optic that has a wonderful dreamy softness to it (see left), and a Pinhole/Zone Plate optic which provides images much as you would expect a pinhole camera to provide. The Double Glass optic is provided with the Composer. The additional optics are optional but extremely affordable.
Previously mentioned focus problems aside, the Composer is very easy to use. You twist the focus ring to focus as in most lenses, and swivel the front to move the sweet spot to where you want it afterward. It’s easier to focus if you have it centered first, and I also find it difficult to keep from accidentally changing focus when moving the sweet spot. A stiffer focus ring would go a long way toward preventing this, or possibly knobs to allow you to grasp and twist the lens without touching the focus ring.
The aperture is changed by swapping out discs with different sized holes for most stops between ƒ2.8 and ƒ22. Each disc is conveniently labeled with it’s corresponding ƒ stop. To change the aperture, you just remove the current disc with the little magnet tool provided and simply drop the new one in. It’s literally that easy.
The Lensbaby does not have the electronics needed to communicate with your camera, so you must be comfortable with using either an aperture priority mode or full manual operation. It took me a while playing with the lens’ different apertures to see what was actually going on, as there is no manual way (with my camera, at least) to even tell your camera what aperture you are using.
The best way I’ve found to achieve a proper exposure is to meter the scene using your camera’s built-on metering system using a normal lens, though seasoned veterans will probably be able to make a good guess. Then, after making any necessary adjustments to ISO, switching out your lenses and dropping in the aperture disc you want to use, you will be ready to go! I have found that the ƒ4 or ƒ5.6 discs gives me pretty much the correct exposure (judging by eye and my histogram) depending on the overall contrast of the scene. When changing aperture discs, I just change my exposure compensation (or the ISO setting) to match the difference in exposure.
Also available for the Lensbaby is a wide angle/telephoto kit. This provides two small optical attachments that screw onto the front of the lens and change the Lensbaby’s normal 50mm focal length to either 30mm or 80mm, respectively. You can see the results below:
 normal |
 telephoto |
 wide angle |
You can see in the wide angle example that there is significant distortion of the image when you move the sweet spot away from center (top left corner, if it’s not obvious to you). In fact, if I had tilted it any further there would be a black corner in the image where the attachment actually enters the frame. This happens with both the wide angle and the telephoto accessories, effectively limiting the amount of play you have with your sweet spot location. Not really a huge deal to me, but slightly annoying all the same. The wide angle distortion could be unwanted, too, but in most cases – considering the nature of the Lensbaby effect in the first place – I don’t think this is really a problem.
There is also a macro kit available which I did not purchase at the time which, as you would expect, provides a focus distance of 2″ to 13″ away. There is a +4 filter and a +10 filter, which may be stacked if desired. There is also a creative aperture kit with discs that have hearts and stars instead of circular holes. There are also blanks which you can use to cut your own shapes into. These specialized aperture discs change the shape of the specular highlights in your image. A little too cutesy for my taste, but it could come in handy sometime, I guess. Maybe.
Overall, I am really stoked about the possibilities of this lens! I plan on trying it out in the studio and other places, as well. It is such a fun little tool that I can see where it might become a crutch for some, becoming their only means of a little visual creativity. As with any good piece of equipment, the Lensbaby Composer will be yet another device in my bag of tricks to be used when appropriate for the mood.
Here are a few more of the test shots I took the other day. It’s amazing how something as mundane as dishes in the sink or an empty coffee table can have so much visual interest when you obscure those objects by blurring or other means.
Tags: Imaging USA, lensbaby, Reviews
