Lensbaby Lenses Comments/Advice: I am considering purchasing either the 45mm sol or the 56mm velvet. They will be used for impressionist, landscape and flower photography. If you use...

Sentinel4

I am considering purchasing either the 45mm sol or the 56mm velvet.

They will be used for impressionist, landscape and flower photography.

If you use or have used either of these lenses please comment. I am particularly interested in comments from Fuji users.

Thanks in advance.

Sentinel4

User ID

Sentinel4 wrote:

I am considering purchasing either the 45mm sol or the 56mm velvet.

They will be used for impressionist, landscape and flower photography.

If you use or have used either of these lenses please comment. I am particularly interested in comments from Fuji users.

Thanks in advance.

Sentinel4

Can you post any examples of what you mean by "impressionist landscape" ?

I kinda know what it means for me (see attached) but what about you ?

(Download)

Sentinel4

The image with the sun and the image with many shades of brown are images that mean impressionistic to me.

User ID

Sentinel4 wrote:

The image with the sun and the image with many shades of brown are images that mean impressionistic to me.

Hard for me to see any particular lens as being key to what you want. To me, the likely key seems to be image processing.

Im curious about where this will go. You posed the question as being about a lens so acoarst there will be plenty of replies concerning lenses ... but, not always the two lenses of your query.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Sentinel4 wrote:

I am considering purchasing either the 45mm sol or the 56mm velvet.

They will be used for impressionist, landscape and flower photography.

If you use or have used either of these lenses please comment. I am particularly interested in comments from Fuji users.

Thanks in advance.

Sentinel4

They really give you two different looks. The Velvet gives you a soft focus “glow” that gets ever sharper as you close the aperture. The Sol is a tilt lets you play with the focal plane. My concern with the Sol is that the fixed 3.5 f stop might be limiting. I might consider the Sweet 50 with the Composer Pro that gives you more control with a variable aperture.

debk

Sentinel4 wrote:

I am considering purchasing either the 45mm sol or the 56mm velvet.

They will be used for impressionist, landscape and flower photography.

If you use or have used either of these lenses please comment. I am particularly interested in comments from Fuji users.

Thanks in advance.

Sentinel4

I have both lenses and not certain which to recommend. Both are great for flowers, but if you like to do close ups, keep in mind that the minimum focus distance of the Sol 45 is 14", but the Velvet allows 1:2 macro (minimum focus distance is 5"). The Velvet has a variable aperture with the glow effect being most pronounced at 1.6 and lessens as you close down the aperture. The Sol has a set aperture of 3.5. So you might find the Velvet more versatile for landscapes as you can vary the aperture and get different effects as you do so. You might consider the Sol as being more suited for a more impressionistic style as you can control where the focus is centered and use the bokeh blades to add texture. These are only my opinions. I would suggest entering #velvet56 or #sol45 in Instagram or Google to see images created with those lenses. That may help you to decide.

User ID

SuperflyTNT wrote:

They really give you two different looks. The Velvet gives you a soft focus “glow” that gets ever sharper as you close the aperture. The Sol is a tilt lets you play with the focal plane. My concern with the Sol is that the fixed 3.5 f stop might be limiting. I might consider the Sweet 50 with the Composer Pro that gives you more control with a variable aperture.

Kipon T/S adapter (with Laowa shift lens)

(Download)

$150, plus $$ for an old SLR lens

(Download)

Canisdirus

debk wrote:

I have both lenses and not certain which to recomm... (show quote)

Finally...someone who reads the question and answers...thanks.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Sentinel4, I have experience with what you are asking. I use a Fujifilm X-T20 with the Lens Baby Velvet 56 and I truly enjoy it. It produces images in-camera that I would have to otherwise do in post and hope that they turned out as well.

The Lens Baby Velvet can produce as sharp or as soft of an image as I want by simply setting the aperture. It's an optically fast lens and it is designed to be sharp in the center and progressively softer moving toward the corners. It is also a very well-made lens with no cheap feel about it. Manual focus is buttery smooth and the aperture ring is crisp to stop at each increment of turn.

It also makes a good all-around lens so I can go from special effects to a more conventional shot without changing lenses. I'm quite happy with this lens and I would have no reservations about buying one again. The Lens Baby 56 is for APS-C cameras and the 86 is for Full Frame cameras.

photoman43

Information at Kathleen Clemons Photography may help you decide. Check out her website and her blog. I do not think she uses a Fugi, but she uses a variety of lensbaby products.

http://kathleenclemons.blogspot.com/

Sentinel4

User ID wrote:

Hard for me to see any particular lens as being key to what you want. To me, the likely key seems to be image processing.

Im curious about where this will go. You posed the question as being about a lens so acoarst there will be plenty of replies concerning lenses ... but, not always the two lenses of your query.

Thanks.
Sentinel

Sentinel4

sippyjug104 wrote:

Sentinel4, I have experience with what you are ask... (show quote)

Thanks for your detailed reply. I think the 56mm fits my needs because of its versatility.
Sentinel4

Sentinel4

Thanks.
Sentinel4

photoman43

Sentinel4 wrote:

Thanks for your detailed reply. I think the 56mm fits my needs because of its versatility.
Sentinel4

When I use a Lensbaby product, I usually start with my 85mm Velvet lens as it offers a greater working distance from the subject.

Sentinel4

Thanks. I will check her site. I have viewed her work and it’s excellent. I hope she specifies the lens used.
Sentinel4