A set of interchangeable lensbaby apertures for which cameras. What is Lensbaby Lens

Sometimes, some of the simplest solutions lead to completely unusual discoveries. An experiment with a lens and a vacuum cleaner hose led Craig Strong to create a completely new type of lens.

In the early 2000s, American photographer Craig Strong, through his experiments with a lens and a flexible hose, discovered for himself and for the whole world a completely new approach to creating creative effects. The lens made it possible to shift the optical axis and adjust the position of the focus and blur zones on the frame plane. The blur turned out to be unusual and unique, which led to the emergence of a whole community of fans of this type of photography.

Strong did not limit himself to his experiments, but began researching this area of ​​optics and launched the first commercial batches of lenses. Due to the fact that the optics were based on only one lens, the picture was too peculiar and, let's face it, completely poor quality. Therefore, the following lens models appeared.

The lens barrel has been redesigned. It consisted of a fixed part that is attached to the camera mount and a moving part into which various optical modules can be installed. Both parts are connected to each other by a hinge.

Thanks to a wide range of different optical systems, photographers, having only one body, could change lenses in it and get both a fisheye and a macro lens.

Things were not going well with the diaphragm. Its value was changed by replacing the internal insert with a hole of different diameters. To change the aperture value, it was necessary to remove the optical module, find the required insert with a hole of the appropriate size in the kit, and then assemble the entire circuit.

In addition to round diaphragms, a large number of shaped ones were offered. This further expanded the creative potential of Lensbaby lenses. Wide-angle macro attachments were then created. Over time, a huge number of accessories for Lensbaby lenses have emerged.

The technology of tilting the optical axis made it possible to create an image effect similar to what is obtained when shooting with a Tilt-Shift lens, namely, an imitation of a miniature. To create this effect you need to shoot from a height with the lens tilted. This will create an unusual blur effect, and a very real city, cars and people will look like toys.

When taking portrait or macro shots, tilting the lens allows you to move the focal point across the frame. This way you can create the necessary accents and unusual effects.

Lensbaby lenses can be found in Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, 4/3, Sony A, Samsung NX, Micro 4/3, Sony E mounts.

Lensbaby Tilt Transformer

An interesting Lensbaby product is the Tilt Transformer. This is a mount attachment that allows you to connect lenses from other manufacturers to the camera and, at the same time, control the tilt of their optical axis. Now there is a version only for Nikon F optics; the attachment can be connected to Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX cameras. A similar mechanism is not available for other systems.

Lensbaby Tilt Transformer and Nikkor 50mm

Now Lensbaby continues to produce artistic lenses, but on a completely different level. The new optic doesn't have a tilt mechanism, but it boasts other creative effects

The first cameras had simple lenses as lenses (Wollaston meniscus lens / William Hyde Wollaston or a system of two closely spaced / glued lenses - Chevalier achromat / Charles Chevalier, “New History of Light Painting”), which required strong aperture to reduce the influence of spherical aberrations. Using optics a modern photographer can try what his colleagues worked with almost ten generations ago. In this sense Lensbaby could be called Lensgrandma. But there is Lensbaby and a fundamental difference from a simple single-lens lens or two-lens gluing - achromat. If designers of optics for cameras almost always sought to create a thing that was mechanically rigid and precise, in terms of the relative position of the optical axes, then the developers Lensbaby Design flexibility was chosen as the starting principle. Flexible and resilient lens tube Lensbaby provides focusing, shifts and tilts, which, superimposed on the spherical aberration of simple optics, give a very unusual picture.

With a camera Canon EOS 350D kits have been tested And , as well as a set of replacement diaphragms for them. And - new generation of lenses Lensbaby, in which the optical unit is a two-lens design with coating (“coated optical glass doublet”, according to the company description) and a focal length of 50 mm. The peculiarity of the kits provided for testing was that they were equipped with electronic units for simulating a Canon EOS lens - “” (see the article “Dandelion” and other ways to facilitate the process of manual focusing), which allow the camera’s autofocus automation to confirm focus if it is achieved in manual focusing mode on a non-autofocus lens.Lensbaby 2.0

Lensbaby 2.0 kit. It includes: the lens itself, a set of interchangeable apertures from f/2.8 to f/8 (f/2 - Lensbaby 2.0 aperture without an additional aperture), a device for changing apertures with a compartment for storing them, a Lens Pen cleaning sponge for optics, soft case. It should be noted the high quality of workmanship, good blackening and metal construction elements. The aperture rings do not have very smooth edges, which can be explained by the nature of the material (magnetic flexible plastic) from which they are made.

Lensbaby 2.0 with Dandelion

Replaceable diaphragms made of flexible magnetic material are attached to three magnets in the lens (one of the magnets is marked with an arrow).

The shooting process simple:
1) set the required aperture in the lens
2) look at the subject through the viewfinder, moving the optical unit back and forth or tilting it to the sides, find a position that provides the desired effect
3) if focusing on an object is required and this object falls on the camera’s focusing point, then by carefully moving the optical unit back and forth and without changing its tilt, we find a position where, when half-pressing the shutter release, the focus indicator will confirm that the object is in focus
4) press the shutter

Claimed focusing range from 30 cm (12 inches) to infinity.Lensbaby 3G

Lensbaby 3G is a more complex design that allows you to fix the tilt of the optical block and move it along the optical axis (for focusing). The kit includes: a lens, interchangeable apertures f/2.8 - f/22 (f/2 is the lens aperture without an additional aperture), a device for extracting apertures with a magnet at the working end and a compartment for apertures, a soft case.

The tilt and focusing fixation mechanisms consist of three types of units: coupling units of the optical unit with screw drives (control buttons 1 - fixation and 2 - unlocking), nodes of independent movement along the screw drive of the optical unit along the screws 3 , focus rings 4 , which converts rotation into movement of the optical block along the optical axis.

Clutch mechanism. When you press the button 1 the pin extends 5 and fits into the screw groove 3. When the screw rotates 3 the optical block moves along it. Bringing together the unlock buttons ( 2 in the picture above) removes the clutch pin 5 .

Focusing is done by rotating the ring 4 with three levers 6 . In this case, the optical block moves back and forth. The top left picture is the lens focused on the close-up, the bottom right is focused on the background, the rest are intermediate states.

The instructions describe the sequence of lens adjustments when shooting:
1) set the required aperture
2) unlock the clutch (buttons 2 ), if it was enabled
3) set the focus ring to the middle position in order to have a “closer-further” focusing reserve
4) looking through the viewfinder, tilting the optical block and moving it back and forth, we find a position that matches the design
5) press the clutch button ( 1 )
6) using the tilt adjustment screws ( 3 ) more accurately adjust the image - tilt effect
7) using the focus ring ( 4 ) adjust the focus, if necessary using camera autofocus confirmation
8) press the shutter.

Claimed focusing range from 30 cm (12 inches) to infinity. Set of interchangeable apertures

AND are equipped with replaceable circular diaphragms. The creative possibilities of these flexible lenses can be expanded by using apertures with a distinctive aperture shape that will show up against highlights and bright out-of-focus objects. The set of interchangeable apertures includes a “star” and a “heart”, which, when installed on the lens, provide Lensbaby the relative aperture is approximately f/4, and five disks from which you can independently cut the aperture of the required shape.

Catching the “star” effect when looking through the relatively dark and “shallow” viewfinder of a modern digital SLR is not easy. When shooting on a cloudy day, the stars on the leaves were almost invisible in the viewfinder (that is, if you don’t know they are there, you won’t see them). Nevertheless, in the picture the effect of using a star aperture is clearly visible.

Another example of using the star aperture, demonstrating the Lensbaby 3G's ability to turn debris into stars:

Image

A single lens (or a gluing of two lenses) as a lens, with proper focusing, even with a relatively large relative aperture, provides a good image in the center of the frame. Flexible design and simple optics Lensbaby interference for obtaining sharp pictures, however, and with the help Lensbaby You can take pictures with good detail, although the lenses are not designed for this purpose. Proof of this is a photograph of an airplane taken using

Full frame, Lensbaby G3, f/4 aperture.

Fragment 1:1 photo.

Focus effect

Assess optical quality It is possible from the pictures of the worlds. The shooting was done from a distance of 1 meter. IN The aperture was set to f/4 circular. The position of the optical block, using three movement screws, was selected so that when the focusing ring was turned to the middle of the possible range of settings, the world would approximately come into focus. Next, a series of photographs were taken of the world with a change in focus from a distant plan to a close one (corresponding to the order of photographs - from top to bottom). Unfortunately, fine tune Lensbaby It is impossible for the optical axis of the lens to be perpendicular to the plane of the matrix, so the images are slightly asymmetrical relative to the geometric center of the frame.

It is noticeable that when focusing close to the position in which the lens is focused on the subject, the focusing area has the shape of a ring. Therefore, in photographs taken using Lensbaby, h Often there are areas with sharp transmission of details spatially separated by zones with a blurred image.

When the optical unit is tilted, the image in the sharpness zone loses clarity. Setting apertures with a smaller opening increases the area of ​​focus, but on SLR digital cameras with an APS-sized matrix and a resolution of 8 megapixels or more, apertures larger than f/8-f/11 already lead to a drop in resolution. Therefore use as a “tilt” lens to increase the area of ​​focus while maintaining high resolution is almost impossible.

Aperture

To achieve “artistic” effects Lensbaby should be used with diaphragms with relatively large holes. Too much aperture can result in pictures that go from being truly unusual and interesting to simply being out of focus in certain areas. Which, however, can also be useful if you want to blur an out-of-focus area. Below are two pairs of photographs taken from the same place with approximately the same tube tilt

Those who just want to try should pay attention to . If there is no clear plan, and the picture is found with the help of your fingers when looking through the viewfinder, the younger model is better suited. involves targeted shooting, perhaps in a studio and with a tripod, and if used only for creative exploration or entertainment, then its mechanisms will be of little use. As for the “dandelion”, which is relevant for owners of Canon digital SLR cameras, it actually helps to catch the focus. But, unfortunately, only with a small aperture. Moreover, in practice it turned out that with the kit it works no worse than with , which has the ability to fix the position of the optical unit and focus by simply turning the ring on the lens. After a little training with “dandelion” works in skillful hands even more effectively during dynamic shooting than a more complex design .

Lenses in the Lensbaby system are devices for fixing optical attachments. Let’s take this for granted, let’s better try to figure out what’s so amazing about them and how they differ?

From the moment the very first Lensbaby appeared, the entire concept of the system was laid down - these are creative lenses with a characteristic design and the ability to flexibly (literally and figuratively) work with the position of the focusing plane. In other words, the whole trick of Lensbaby is that the photographer himself determines which part of the frame will be sharp and which parts of the frame will be blurred. How is this achieved?

The first and quite obvious tool for controlling blur is focusing. Without exception, all Lensbaby lenses focus in the same way - by changing the distance from the matrix to the optical unit itself. For some models this operation is carried out using a focusing ring, for others - due to deformation of the flexible body.

The second method is less obvious. By tilting the lens itself (its optical axis), we can also control the tilt of the focusing plane. That is, an object located two steps away from us at the bottom of the frame and several tens of meters from us at the top of the frame can come into focus. Nowadays, photographs of cities with the effect of a toy world are very popular, as if a model had been photographed. This is one of the ways to use lenses with an optical axis tilt (they are also called tilt lenses).

If you install a soft-focus optical module, which provides an interesting blurring of the edges of the image, you can control the position of the sharp spot in the frame by tilting the optical axis.

However, there is only one Lensbaby lens that does not have a tilt mechanism. This is Lensbaby Scout. It is designed specifically for the Fisheye Optic. We connect two devices and get a classic fisheye lens! The only available settings are focusing and aperture control. But nothing prevents you from installing another module instead of the fisheye. For example, using Single Glass Optic and Scout you can assemble a classic monocle, so beloved by pictorialist photographers.

Lensbaby Scout is available with Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, 4/3, Sony A mounts.

The simplest lens with an optical axis tilt is currently the Lensbaby Muse. This is a direct descendant of the same hose from a vacuum cleaner. The flexible corrugated body has a bayonet mount on one side for installation on the camera, and on the other side there is a mount for optical modules. Nothing extra! Both focusing and tilting of the axis are carried out by deforming the flexible part with your hands, without any fixation. This is where pure creativity is, sensations at your fingertips! Due to its simple design, this lens is also the cheapest in the system. It is available for Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, 4/3, Sony A DSLRs.

But what if you still want to fix the lens in one position? For this purpose, Lensbaby Control Freak was created in 2010. It is based on the same flexible corrugated body. Catching focus and controlling sharpness, as in the case of Muse, can be done by simply bending and squeezing the body. But the lens has a magic button that, with one click, fixes the position of the optical unit using three “antennae”. Moreover, after fixation, the tilt of the axis can be carefully changed using the same antennae - they are screw spacers. And it is convenient to adjust the focus using the focusing ring. This model does not limit creativity and opens up possibilities for fine tuning. Of the available mounts, only Nikon F and Canon EF.

The Lensbaby Control Freak is perhaps the most comfortable macro lens in the system. Thanks to its magical antennae, you can precisely position the sharp spot in the frame.

All other modern Lensbaby lenses no longer use a flexible body for tilting, but a ball with a clamp. The simplest ball lens is the Lensbaby Composer. Once tilted, the ball mechanism can be secured using a clamp. Focusing is done using the ring. The Lensbaby Composer uses both metal and plastic in its construction. In particular, the ball itself is made of plastic.

Selection of available mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, 4/3, Sony A.

For lovers of higher quality and more expensive things, the Lensbaby Composer Pro model was created. There are only two main differences: a metal ball and a smoother movement of the focusing ring.

This lens has the widest selection of mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, 4/3, Sony A, Samsung NX, Micro 4/3, Sony E.

Lensbaby Tilt Transformer

And finally, the last device that I would like to mention in the story about lenses is the Lensbaby Composer with Tilt Transformer lens. At first glance, this is still the same Composer, but as if sawn in half. The part that houses the focusing mechanism and the mounting of optical units is attached using a Nikon F mount. You can buy a Tilt Transformer separately and use it to get the Tilt effect with Nikon optics. Or you can buy it in the Tilt Transformer with Composer package. In this case, compatibility with Opic Swap System attachments appears: Lensbaby Double Glass Optic (included), Single Glass Optic, Soft Focus Optic.

There is only one small note here: such a magical adapter has so far been created only for Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX cameras. After all, they have a small working distance, which allows you not only to attach to them the optics from a DSLR with a large working distance, but also to implement a tilt mechanism due to the difference in working lengths.

Lensbaby Muse lenses for Nikon. Many thanks to Elena Babenko.

Lensbaby Muse is a completely creative lens. True, it is very different from the classical concept of a “lens”, because it does not have, as such, either a focus ring or an aperture control ring. Lensbaby Muse is available for cameras from various manufacturers; this review presents a version for Nikon cameras with a Nikon F mount. The lens is suitable for full-format cameras; the focal length of the lens is not specified, but by eye it is approximately 50 mm.

To focus, use the rubber bellows to move or move the front of the lens toward the camera. It is recommended to use two hands to focus, but I managed it with one without any problems. By tilting the rubber bellows, only a certain part of the frame can be caught in focus; in fact, with the help of this, the special effect for which the lens was developed is achieved.

Star-shaped bokeh when using an aperture dial with an appropriate cutout

You can get used to the unusual technique of working with the lens very quickly.

The tilt should not be made very large, because you can end up with a black piece in the frame. The area that falls into the sharpness zone becomes truly sharp, in the usual sense of the word, only in the center of the frame. You need to be careful when highlighting the area of ​​focus at the edges of the frame. If we compare it with the classical understanding of lenses, then we get something like a fifty-kopeck lens with a maximum aperture of F/2.0, which, when shooting without tilting or shifting elements, greatly blurs the edges of the image.

To control the diaphragm, replaceable magnetic disks are used. The delivery set includes discs for F/2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 16 and F/22, as well as discs with a shaped hole in the shape of a heart and an asterisk. In the middle of the lens, the aperture disk is securely fixed using three magnets. To change the disk, you should use the device included in the package - the installed aperture is magnetized to the puller and can be removed from the lens without any problems.

Please note that automatic metering will only be available with some Nikon cameras; with all others, the lens can only be used in manual control mode. You can find an exact list of cameras that support working with lenses in aperture priority mode, as well as recommendations for working with manual lenses.

Bokeh in the shape of hearts. A slight shift of the fur “pulls the picture” a little.

The lens can use filters with a diameter of 37 mm. Lensbaby Muse weighs just over 100 grams, and it has a metal mount. In general, I have no complaints about the assembly - everything is done quite simply and feels reliable to the touch.

Craig Strong (from Lensbaby)

What do photographers do on long winter evenings?

Lensbaby began for me with the legend of an American photographer who connected pieces of a disassembled lens with a vacuum hose and said as a result: “Oops! But you can make money on this!”

So, there lived in Portland, Oregon, a successful wedding and reportage photographer Craig Strong (Craig Strong). He liked Holgov’s picture and tried to figure out how to achieve similar results from a digital SLR camera. (In his interview, he talks about the appeal of photographs taken with the Diana, the predecessor of the Holga). He came to monocle construction and single-lens lenses. And the vacuum hose between the bayonet mount and the lens combines the functions of a tilt shifter and a focusing unit.

The novelty was liked not only by the author, but also by fellow photographers (among whom was the well-known Kevin Kubota), who pushed Craig to think about mass production. Lensbaby patented and registered a company for the project. The company was co-founded by enthusiastic amateur photographer Sam Pardue (Sam Pardue), who took over the commercial and operational part of the project (Apparently, Sam is a born entrepreneur: his business interests include not only Lenzbaby, he also owns the company producing insert window units Indow Windows).

From legend and speculation to facts:

In October 2003, Craig Strong and Sam Pardue formed Lensbabies, LLC. The first called himself the President of the company, the second - its General Director. Since then, the positions have not changed.

On February 23, 2004, at the international exhibition of Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) in Las Vegas, the company presented the first version of the “creative lens” Lensbaby. The first announced “crumb lens” was a single-element uncoated lens 50/2.8 with a movable plastic body (the prototype of which was the corrugation from a vacuum cleaner hose) and plastic diaphragm inserts (f / 4, f / 5.6 and f / 8), secured with a rubber ring.

A year later, in February 2005, Lensbaby 2.0 saw the light: a two-lens lens with multi-layer coating of elements and a maximum aperture of f/2.0 was hidden in a body similar to the first Lensbaby. The aperture inserts (f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 and f/8) became metal, held in the lens by magnets. The lens was produced for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Konica Minolta/Sony, Leica R, Olympus 4:3/OM, Contax/Yashica.

Diaphragm set

In September 2006, the third version of Lensbaby was introduced: Lensbaby 3G, distinguished by the presence of a bend locking mechanism and a precision focusing ring. The set of apertures was supplemented with inserts for f/11, f/16 and f/22. The optics and focal lengths remain from Lensbaby 2.0.

In February 2007, Lensbaby introduced the Creative aperture kit: a set of 9 shaped apertures that allow you to create interesting effects in the out-of-focus area.

The company developed and 2008 was marked by a “rebranding” of the company name and product line: in August Lensbabies, LLC was renamed Lensbaby, LLC, and in September the already familiar line changed names:

Lensbaby Muse became the successor to the first Lensbaby and Lensbaby 2.0

Lensbaby 3G renamed Lensbaby Control Freak

The renaming was not limited to: the functionality was expanded by the possibility of using replaceable optics: the rigidly built-in optical elements of the lenses in older models were replaced by replaceable modules. A two-element f/2.0 Double Glass Optic lens became standard (included in the kit). In addition, Single Glass Optic and Plastic Optic were announced. All this luxury was called “optic swap system”.

But the main news of 2008 was the announcement of the “Composer” (Lensbaby Composer): a “crumb” that replaced the corrugated body with a ball joint. Focusing in the new product has completely become the responsibility of the usual focusing helicoid.

In October 2009, the line of replaceable optical modules was expanded with “fisheye” and “softfocus” models.

For 6 years, Lensbaby clearly followed an evolutionary path of development: each subsequent model either expanded the functionality of the previous one without changing the ideology of the product, or corrected errors and added ease of use. The result is a logical line of lenses, interchangeable optical modules and accessories. In 2010, “logic” was violated by announcing “Scout” (S сout) - the first “stationary” Lensbaby. The aluminum novelty came complete with a fisheye module.

In March 2011, the wide-angle Sweet 35 was added to the line of interchangeable optical units and offered owners of micro4/3 and Sony NEX cameras a tilt transformer for Nikon lenses. In April, they announced Lensbaby Composer Pro - the top model of the line, structurally similar to the usual “Composer”, but made on the basis of a metal ball.

In February 2012, the available focal lengths were expanded with the Edge 80 unit (with a focal length of 80 mm, as the name implies).

Lenses

The company operates and develops. The office and production facilities are always located in Portland, USA. The company is private, has not been incorporated, has not attracted and does not attract third-party funding, and the number of employees does not exceed 50 people.

Lyrical digression. Lensbaby has an officially registered slogan - “See In a New Way” (Look in a new way). And “The American Dream in Action” kept coming to my mind: I involuntarily compared the story of Craig Strong, who added the ability to tilt a monocle and turned the idea into a successful business, and Georgiy Mstislavovich Kolosov, who “made friends” of a monocle with a 35mm format, one of the ideologists of modern pictorealism, a parishioner and a church watchman. They probably dreamed of different things...

Banjo (diaphragm replacement tool)

Throughout the long acquaintance and thorough testing of the Lensbaby line (thanks to Avras for this!), I tried to answer the main question (not philosophy at all): what is Lensbaby - another vague toy or a full-fledged original serious tool for a photographer?

The answer is evasive: Lensbaby is a very serious toy. To the credit of the system, if you try to place it on the segment from “toy to serious tool”, it will be much closer to “tool”.

I liked “Crumbs”, it gave me a lot of positive impressions and added a lot of originality and surprise to the pictures. I was lucky enough to be able to try out almost the entire system at once. Recommendations and impressions are reflected in the corresponding reviews, and the bottom line (I emphasize “for me”) is the following optimal set:

Composer complete with Double Glass

Soft Focus Optic

And – optionally – a set of shaped apertures Creative Aperture Kit

If such a set came to my yard, would I recommend it? Definitely. Am I ready to pay 10,000 rubles for it? Unfortunately no.

And finally, I think that the price will be a barrier for many amateur photographers on the way to Lensbaby - the amateur has to carefully plan a limited budget. But as a gift for a person passionate about photography, Lensbaby has practically no alternatives: a thing that will be useful and interesting, but which most people, for various reasons, will not purchase themselves.