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11/29/2008 11:04:09 AM · #1 |
Curious how folks here feel about the Lensbaby lenses. I'm cosidering the Muse lens with the swap kit. Is this a serious piece of photographic equipment, or just a Cracker Jack novelty? If you have one, how often do you use it? When, where and how?
I'm also curious to know about the quality and sharpness of the optic itself, ease of use, and the overall build quality of the things. Any problems? Disappointment?
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11/29/2008 11:21:23 AM · #2 |
I've got mine(2.0) a month ago and easily got addicted, you can check out the results here> Lensbaby gallery
I like this model, you can never make two identical photos, you cannot lock it or anything which is kinda hard for finding the focus but it pushes me to practice more and naturally to take more photos.
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11/29/2008 11:29:17 AM · #3 |
| I have one on my wish list. In my opinion they are an artistic lens. You probably won't use one much for weddings or graduation pictures however for other high-key modeling and other subjects (classic car show, one car in focus with the other cars blurred around it might really make it stand out). I think it could add a lot of depth to images, of course just as easy to ruin an image too. :) |
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11/29/2008 11:35:55 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by togtog:
You probably won't use one much for weddings ... |
I assisted a wedding photographer and he used a Lensbaby to photograph the dress, shoes, rings, etc. I assume you mean for the actual ceremony though. |
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11/29/2008 11:37:29 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by geinafets:
Originally posted by togtog:
You probably won't use one much for weddings ... |
I assisted a wedding photographer and he used a Lensbaby to photograph the dress, shoes, rings, etc. I assume you mean for the actual ceremony though. |
Ah, yes, thank you for pointing that out. That is what I meant. :) |
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11/29/2008 11:47:15 AM · #6 |
I had one(2.0 version) and while it was fun, I found little practical uses for it at the time. However the person I sold it too has made some of the most creative images I have seen from one. Yeah MK I'm talking about you. I'm not sure she uses it much these days. I found it hard to focus and maintain the look I wanted with it. The newest version you can lock it into place and not have that issue.
Matt
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11/29/2008 12:17:09 PM · #7 |
It's more of a creative lens. Many think being creative is silly I suppose. Kind of a strange question you ask, at least to me. What makes a lens serious? Price? I know serious photographers that take pictures using a Quaker Oatmeal box. What do you want to use it for? If you're concerned about sharpness, why even consider a LB at all. There can be peeks of sharpness, but that really isn't the point of the lens. It is not a Canon "L" lens. Ease of use? Mine is completely manual, The lens does not think for you, you are in total control. You are asking questions typical of a mainstream lens...the LB is not. Again, if your into experimenting and are looking for a truly challenging and creative lens, go for it!
Anyway...I love my LB2 an use it often and everywhere. Here is a gallery of mine here, there are others sprinkled in other various folders too.
Also more here. and here. |
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11/29/2008 12:37:11 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by RKT:
It's more of a creative lens. Many think being creative is silly I suppose. Kind of a strange question you ask, at least to me. What makes a lens serious? Price? I know serious photographers that take pictures using a Quaker Oatmeal box. What do you want to use it for? If you're concerned about sharpness, why even consider a LB at all. There can be peeks of sharpness, but that really isn't the point of the lens. It is not a Canon "L" lens. Ease of use? Mine is completely manual, The lens does not think for you, you are in total control. You are asking questions typical of a mainstream lens...the LB is not. Again, if your into experimenting and are looking for a truly challenging and creative lens, go for it!
Anyway...I love my LB2 an use it often and everywhere. Here is a gallery of mine here, there are others sprinkled in other various folders too.
Also more here. and here. |
You rock! I'm so sorry I'm on dial-up, the thumbs in your LB portfolio look delicious, I've seen a coupla photos and I'll check all of them as soon as I find some speedy connection. |
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11/29/2008 12:52:04 PM · #9 |
To me the effect looks like the lens blur filter in PS, like this-
//www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=75
I like it a lot, but wouldn't buy and carry a lens for it. |
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11/30/2008 12:09:17 AM · #10 |
Thanks. The difference in DPC terms, I guess, is that the lens is legal in Basic but the blur filter isn't.
Originally posted by RKT:
Kind of a strange question you ask, at least to me...If you're concerned about sharpness, why even consider a LB at all...You are asking questions typical of a mainstream lens...the LB is not. Again, if your into experimenting and are looking for a truly challenging and creative lens, go for it! |
The subject line was kind of provocative, but really I was just fishing for how the lens met people's ecxpectations. As far as sharpness, I would expect that sweet spot to be pretty darn sharp! And I am into experimenting. On Santa's list it goes...
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11/30/2008 03:14:12 AM · #11 |
I just bought a LB2 from  Jutilda and got it a week or two ago and only had a chance to play around with it one time:
 
Sharpen, crop, resize only on the first one and the second was just resized. I am highly conflicted because, although it's a little fun, the only reason I can see using it is for DPC challenges. If I am only interested in the effects, I can take a decent shot with the 50mm 1.4 and spend about 5 minutes with it in PS to get exactly what I want - AND - still have an unaltered original. And I am lucky to get 1 out of 3 or 4 shots where I nailed the sweet spot that I intended.
I think it will always be a toy, but inexpensive and one I keep handy in case I do want to get a shot for a challenge. RKT has a fantastic LB portfolio, but still looks like there was some additional processing to further enhance the LB effects. So it still leaves me wondering why I wouldn't just use the 50mm and an extra 5 or 10 minutes in PS to get those effects.
Good luck and I am sure you will enjoy it at least for awhile if you do get one.
Message edited by author 2008-11-30 03:14:41. |
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11/30/2008 07:10:03 PM · #12 |
I've looked around some more... Regarding the argument that "you can do it in postprocessing," I'm starting to have doubts. Look at the images here:
//www.lensbaby.com/forum/read.php?10,92908
The pictures of the bus and the snowman (posted on November 26, 2008 11:21 PM) show the background lights blurring and forming into really cool ellipses. And the pattern is radial. Can Photoshop really do that?
Message edited by author 2008-11-30 19:10:11. |
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11/30/2008 07:55:09 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by bvy:
I've looked around some more... Regarding the argument that "you can do it in postprocessing," I'm starting to have doubts. Look at the images here:
//www.lensbaby.com/forum/read.php?10,92908
The pictures of the bus and the snowman (posted on November 26, 2008 11:21 PM) show the background lights blurring and forming into really cool ellipses. And the pattern is radial. Can Photoshop really do that? |
No you cannot. Because the light elipse dots don't really exist in that scene when you look through a regular lense. Lensbaby makes these cool artefacts which are I guess some sort of lens flares.
In this photo of mine for example, the dots above the water come from the window lights in the buildings. They appear when you bend the lense.
Trying to simulate a LB effect in postproduction is kinda boring, like trying to get a shallow depth of field using blur filter. To me most of the fun is during the shooting, the editing is just an upgrade. |
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