Lens Baby

The Evil One wrote in post #8299198
Here is one using the macro kit on my Lensbaby muse. I love how I could actually focus on the reflection on the eye! There is a learning curve on this but I am willing to work on it!

Are you sure it wasn't the fact that you were manually focusing (rather than using autofocus)?

SteveNC wrote in post #8299747
Are you sure it wasn't the fact that you were manually focusing (rather than using autofocus)?

Of course but for me a complete noob and not use to manual focus, it impresses me to no end.

What a great shot blackviolet...

A couple of shots using my Lensbaby Muse...

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Another shot I took during the Worldwide Photowalk downtown Oklahoma using the Lenbaby Muse.

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I've been totally wrapped up with the Lensbabies for the past two weeks. What an absolute hoot they are! I've played around with custom apertures and different optics and I think that's one of the cooler aspects of them. I really enjoy the style of images these things can produce. Here's a few examples of my recent shots:

I have both the Muse and the Composer. At first I thought the Muse with single glass optic was my favorite but after messing with it for a couple of weeks I found I was not able to achieve focus on an awful lot of shots especially in low light. Sometimes to get focus in the image you have to take a pic with what looks like out of focus in the viewfinder.

The Composer takes a lot of the random results out of it for me. I also decided that with the Double glass optic you can get better blur than the single glass. Finding focus is much much easier with the Composer. And It has the locking feature which helps simplify life too. I still love the Muse but the Composer is going to be my preferred LB for the foreseeable future.

The macro kit works very well. Comes with two screw on closeup lenses, 4x and 10x, and you can double them up if you wish. I could not get my Kenko 2x extension tube to work with the Muse on my 5DMKII but everything else works wonderfully.

Bottom line: I know there are folks on these forums who are coming from a different place and may not care for the kind of images the Lensbaby makes. No problem. But for a lot of people especially experimental upstart types like me these are a great addition to their kit.

ScootersDaddy wrote in post #8347646
Bottom line: I know there are folks on these forums who are coming from a different place and may not care for the kind of images the Lensbaby makes. No problem. But for a lot of people especially experimental upstart types like me these are a great addition to their kit.

Amen brother. I am now looking into the composer and when it comes in, I will post some pics. I have so much fun with the Lensbaby an I love the reaction I get when I have it on my camera!

ScootersDaddy wrote in post #8347646
Bottom line: I know there are folks on these forums who are coming from a different place and may not care for the kind of images the Lensbaby makes. No problem. But for a lot of people especially experimental upstart types like me these are a great addition to their kit.

It is a fun lens and I really think some dismiss it too easily. Here is one I took last spring. I took shots with a regular lens too. But the lensbaby shot was the best of the bunch.

i never really researched this lens. a deal popped up on Amazon for $69 for the 2.0 so I jumped on it, and researched after.

Seems like no one really likes the 2.0? The composer seems the way to go but is a lot more money.

susabell wrote in post #8392199
It is a fun lens and I really think some dismiss it too easily. Here is one I took last spring. I took shots with a regular lens too. But the lensbaby shot was the best of the bunch.

This has a wonderfully eerie feel to it. Like in a horror movie where the character is being drawn into a house, even though it's obvious that there's something nefarious lurking inside.

With all due respect for those who posted images taken with less babies, I have yet to see an image that I thought was appealing. And that includes all the advertising images. In my perception, it looks like I'm looking at a photograph and there's some kind of mucus on my cornea blocking part of the image. I keep blinking in order to clear it up, but it won't go away.

I view it as a passing fad that falls into the same category as selective color and pictures of reflections in puddles. It's the kind of tool that might serve a useful purpose to direct the eye of a beginning photographer, but deserves to be consigned to oblivion once he or she develops any skill. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind here because clearly there are lots of people who are all excited about lens babies. I'm just not one of them.

joedlh wrote in post #8396805
With all due respect for those who posted images taken with less babies, I have yet to see an image that I thought was appealing. And that includes all the advertising images. In my perception, it looks like I'm looking at a photograph and there's some kind of mucus on my cornea blocking part of the image. I keep blinking in order to clear it up, but it won't go away.

I view it as a passing fad that falls into the same category as selective color and pictures of reflections in puddles. It's the kind of tool that might serve a useful purpose to direct the eye of a beginning photographer, but deserves to be consigned to oblivion once he or she develops any skill. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind here because clearly there are lots of people who are all excited about lens babies. I'm just not one of them.

I'm trying to figure out why you felt it necessary to pop into the sample thread and give everyone your opinion that their lens and pictures are not good and just a passing fad. I don't think anyone in here was asking for others' opinions on the lens.

Every type of lens or PP skill has it's time in the lime light. I missed the move of selective coloring, but I know many women like it on their wedding day. No different then people who like lens baby photos, HDR, desaturated and/or muted colors. People do what catches someone's eye and what can or will put money in their pocket. Yes, I can agree that to a point it becomes overdone; however, I'm sure many clients like these types of pics on occasion.