Lensbabies

I have one question. Are the Lensbabies a good alternative for macro shooting?

mknabster wrote in post #2272615
I have one question. Are the Lensbabies a good alternative for macro shooting?

You can use them for MACRO shooting, but it is not easy (unless you have the newest version where you can lock focus).

No. They're not very well corrected, difficult to control, and generally intended as a gimmick. That's why I got one. A regular macro can be cleanly focussed on your desired subject and will give you a very precisely-controlled plane of focus and a flat field. A Lens Baby is designed th include all sorts of aberrations,and unless you get the Mk III will be next to impossible to focus; IIRC you won't even be able to get down to macro range without a close-up lens on the front.

They are really just bits of fun, unpredicatble and quirky, a novelty with limited use. In the right hands they can create stunning images, but then so can Photoshop.

I wouldn't get one instead of a macro lens.

A cheap and cheerful road into macro is to get some tubes, just make sure they are compatible with the electronics - cheaper tubes are no good as you lose control of the aperture.