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To Lensbaby or not to Lensbaby?

1/27/2012

12 Comments

 
Picture
Swords Fight - Muscat Festival (Nikon D700 with the Lensbaby Composer + Sweet35 Optic)
Two years ago I came to know about Lensbaby and their optical system which gives the photographer the ability to have selective focus on the subject , which blurs the photo except for the "SWEET" spot you select. I was not really interested at that time since the "APERTURE" is changed manually by inserting a different aperture every time.

Lensbaby introduced last year the Composer Pro with the sweet35 optic which allows you to change the Aperture from the lens itself without the need to change the aperture disk. I was interested in it and thought of giving it a shot. I bought it from adorama.com at $400.

Picture
My personal Experience:

I have received the lens last week, and today I tested it in the field as it's the first day I go shooting in Muscat Festival, as it's a place where I love to shoot portraits and people. And here are my PROS & CONES of the lens from my personal perspective.

PROS:
  • Well built and easy to tilt around in a smooth motion
  • Light and compact which makes it easy to go around with
  • Easy way to change the aperture from the top ring of the Sweet 35 
  • The selective focus along with the wide aperture give a new experience in isolating the object. which makes it easy to shift the viewer's eye to your subject.
Cons:

  • Overpriced for its optic quality, which for me I think the quality at F2.5 is not usable as you can never get a very sharp image, that's why I use it at F4 and F5.6 most of the time.
  • All manual function, the camera couldn't give me any readings and I had to use the Manual mood and the light meter doesn't even help you, thankfully in the digital era you get to experiment.
  • Dim Viewfinder : While you go to F8 the viewfinder becomes dimmer and it will be difficult to use, that's why I had to move the the Liveview mode.
  • Evil focus and sweet spot: It's really hard to focus and set the sweet spot and it takes real effort to do so, shooting people is not practical with it unless the model/person is willing to cooperate and stay still for 5 minutes till you get it right. (I wear glasses and I almost got headache after half an hour of shooting)
My Final Verdict:

I would say the lensbaby is a great lens to play around and have fun with or to produce a theme in your mind. It works well, at F4 and F5.6 the sharpness is not an issue as long as you get the focus right. I would prefer it on static objects rather than shooting people since it will be very hard to focus while people are moving. And I think by time you get used to it. Finally, it's a lens that you either like it or not, there's nothing in-between.







12 Comments
Ali
1/27/2012 04:25:58

عمل رائع ..والعدسة أروع

Reply
Ahmed Al-Shukaili link
1/28/2012 20:23:20

أشكرك أخي علي :)

Reply
Yahya Alazri
1/28/2012 16:11:46

Hi Ahmed,

I liked your CV and the blog, it is awesome.
Though, I don't understand in professional photography but I always like your work. I have a renewed desire of being a professional photographer but I have never utilized it as a talent...


All the best,

Yahya Alazri

Reply
Ahmed Al-Shukaili
1/28/2012 20:24:17

Thank you Yahya, I am happy that you liked the website and it's good to read these encouraging comments from you.

Reply
Salim
1/30/2012 23:40:01

Very useful article about lensbaby, Thanks buddy :)

Reply
Ahmed Al-Shukaili link
2/9/2012 01:40:01

Thank you Salim, I hope you find it useful.

Reply
Mohammed AL-Raqmi
2/3/2012 17:18:49

تحية لك معلم صراحة
موضوع جميل وتجربة طيبة
أحييك فعلا معلم
مثال جدا طيب للمصور العماني "المثالي"

أتمنى تواصل بهذا النهج الرائع

تحية كبيرة لك أستاذي

Reply
أحمد الشكيلي link
2/9/2012 01:38:16

تحية طيبة لك أخوي محمد , وأشكرك على كلماتك الجميلة ... هي محاولة مني لنقل بعض ما تعلمته في عالم الضوء إلى الآخرين, وانا أيضاً اتمنى أن أتواصل ...

وإن شاء الله سأكتب كل جديد في صفحتي بشكل دائم :)

Reply
Giggle Noodle
2/9/2012 19:46:45

Very interesting Mr. Ahmed. I liked the effect the lens gives to the photo, the blurriness around the centre object.

Thanks for the thorough description and personal perspective. Your work is much appreciated. Looking forward for your next post!

GN

Reply
Ahmed Al-Shukaili link
2/23/2012 19:22:52

Hey Giggle Noodle,

Thank you for the lovely comment. Yes indeed, the effect of the lens is what makes it special and excites you to get one. I really liked the effect and I think sometimes it's good to use it for a change.

And I give my honest feedback as an enthusiast photographer, far away from marketing or anything else :)

Reply
hermes replica link
9/25/2013 15:48:18

D700 is the king of all the cameras.

Reply
Annette Flottwell link
12/8/2013 10:44:44

Thank you Mr Ahmed ,
for this very useful article. I am very familiar with manual focussing as I use an 85mm PC Nikkor and many old lenses so that doesn't put me off. But your description of the difficulties adjusting the sweet spot and the darkening of the viewfinder certainly puts me off, as I am a very spontaneous person when it comes to candids and portraits.
may I say that your gallery is inspiring and beautiful

with best regards from France

Reply



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    Ahmed Al-Shukaili

    I am a serious amateur photographer based in Oman. Mainly shooting landscape and portraits. A member of the FIAP (International Federation for Photography Art) recently been certified as an Artist FIAP member.

    Participated in several local and international exhibitions and competitions.

    My career is in information management , mainly in the Oil & Gas industry.

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