Mary P

I have one. Haven't used it much as I find it really difficult to focus. Any advice?

photophly Loc: Old Bridge NJ

I have had the chance to use one......but I would say it is like anything else........practice practice and more practice!

photog_mom7

I'm a newbie (2nd semester photography major). What is a Lensbaby used for?

evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

I have the complete lensbaby lineup and I do enjoy using them. The best thing about the lensbaby is that you can get a wide variety of fairly good glass and special effects inserts such as the pinhole and the plastic optics, amoung others, for less than you would pay for one good DSLR lense. The insert that I use the most is the Sweet 35 optic which is designed to produce an image with graduated bokeh "front to back" starting at the edge of the frame and getting sharper to a crystal clear "Sweet Spot" in the middle of the frame, a very nice effect and something a regular lense will not do. I use the composer body because it allows you to tilt the lense so the sweet spot can be placed anywhere you want it on the frame.

The system is manual focus and, except for the sweet 35 optic which has an aperture ring used to adjust the size of the sweet spot, the lenses require inserts to adjust aperture so the lens system is not one to use on the fly.

I use all high end Nikon lenses but I invested in the Lensbaby system to expand my specisal effects capabilities on the camera without having to do a lot of post production that are never quite as good. It does take some practice to use correctly but once you get good at it the effects are excellent. I love how the plastic optics will emmulate the special effect that old time lenses used to produce and how the pin hole can produce a soft dreamy focus. Uswe the variety of inserts for even more varied effects.

The system has wide angle and ultra wide angle lense adapters as well as macro adapters for their inserts. The quality is excellent and the results are impressive. This is not cheap glass but it is a simple enough system that it does not cost an arm and a leg to get, I paid right around $1000 for the whole system except for the scout body which I do not currently have.

I used the sweet 35 optic on this shot. Like I said, practice makes perfect and I could have got this shot a bit sharper in the sweet spot but you get the idea.

Mary P

That's the problem. Getting the sweet spot in good focus. The muse is especially difficult, I believe.

ShakyShutter Loc: Arizona

Sorry but I have to ask... where are you going to school as a photography major?

evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

There is no getting around it, using the lensbaby system takes a lot of practice and I do not do as much as I would like because of my other work. Most of the time I use my lensbaby as an after thought at a shoot, I really should spend some serious time with it, I have seen some excellent and quite unique work done with them by people who work with them extensively.

photog_mom7

@ Shaky Shutter:

I'm taking on-line classes at AAU (Academy of Art University/San Francisco).

@ everyone else for their replies:
Thank you so much for your replies and advice.

photog_mom7

Evandr:

That gives me a much better idea of what the Lensbaby is all about.
And the reason I was wondering is because I'm shopping for a better lens than the kit lens I now have on my Canon Rebel (18-55mm).
So this will help me narrow down my choices.

Thanks again.

Mary P

So you need something like a 55-200mm. Get good glass and the lowest f-stop you can afford.

Mary P

Wish I was going for a major, but I've been taking online classes from the Perfect Photo School of Photography (PPSOP).

evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

Bryan Peterson, the founder of PPSOP, is my favorite person to learn from. I would be taking his online classes right now if I were not half way through the NYIP online course (New York Institute of Photography)

The picture is the result of my efforts to put into practice what I learned from one of his YouTube videos, oil and water.

Fotoholic Loc: Austin, TX

Did you take the Lensbaby class from Kathleen? I am finishing up that class right now.