Lensbaby Lenses

[Elsinore]

I know monkeybort has one–anyone else have or use one before? I love the effect of it, but I’m not sure which one (original, v 2.0, or 3G) might be best. monkeybort and anyone who’s used it, which did you use and what did you think? I’m looking for wishlist ideas!

[monkeybort]

i’ve got the 2.0, i’ve never used another one. i really really like it – it DOES take some getting used to though. i usually take 3-4 shots of every composition just to try to make sure that something in there is sharp. i really like it for farther away stuff – for example:

and

it is harder to maintain focus when you’re that far away from something, though.

[Elsinore]

Ahhh sweet stuff, there ‘bort. From what I’ve seen, I like the image quality of the 2.0 over the original, but I know the lens has a learning curve. The 3G looks a little easier since you can lock the lens into position. But then it’s also costs more… Thanks for the input!

[monkeybort]

oooo i didn’t know they made a locking one! that would be nice if you were using a tripod i’ll bet. i would think otherwise you’d have to remain infuriatingly still to maintain the focal point.

[Elsinore]

Yep, it’s their newest version. I don’t even think it ships till mid-December. Its closest focusing is 18 inches where the Original and 2.0 are about 12 inches, though I don’t know that that makes much difference to me.

[QuickSilver]

I spent a lot of years, well a few anyway, trying my darndest to take pictures that were in focus and some of you folks buy special lenses to make stuff our of focus. I could have taught y’all how to take blurry pitchers a lot cheeper! 🙄

[Elsinore]

lol yeah, a lot of people say that about the Lensbaby, but it really is a fun little lens, and is kinda like Holga-izing your DSLR 😉 Plus, they have shaped apertures that are nifty–they make the out of focus areas in your photo take on the shape of the aperture.

[powerplantgirl]

Okay. I’m going to sound like a tard asking this, but I don’t know how to get a Holga effect on my camera. I love it, but I dunno how to get it.
/n00b

[Elsinore]

Well, you have two choices:

1. You can purchase an actual Holga lens fitted to your camera body (see http://holgamods.com ), though since the lens is made for medium format and you’re using a much smaller image circle, you may not see much of the Holga vignetting or blur. I had a friend who got one, and he found his lens was practically sharp lol

2. You can get a Lensbaby (see http://lensbabies.com ). The Original Lensbaby was the first, and it’s the cheapest. It’s got a softer focus when wide open, so it’s more impressionistic like a Holga lens. The original version’s system for changing aperture is not as convenient as the 2.0 or 3G versions, but it’s only like $100. The 2.0 version has a sharper optic and a floating aperture system where you just drop in the aperture disks and they’re held in place near the lens by tiny magnets. The 3G has the same optic as the 2.0, but it also has the ability to lock the Lensbaby in place once you adjust the focus and bend. Great for studio/tripod shots if you need reproducibility, but certainly not necessary. They also have a telephoto, wide angle, and macro add-on lenses.

[linguine]

You can also use your computer to make regular shots look like holga shots. I know gimp has a script that will let you make holga looking shots and Im assuming photoshop probably has that as well.

[powerplantgirl]

Darnit Elsinore..I’ve been trying to talk myself out of buying a lensbaby thingie, but now I’m gonna have to. So the 3G is the newest and maybe the easiet to deal with? But it costs the most..hmmm.
I’ll go with easy, but that means I’m going to have to hit the Ramen Noodles again.

Linguine – I don’t have an editor except for Picasa (s). Someday I might think about it. I’m too dumb for editing my shots I think.
🙁

[Elsinore]

linguine has a point–I have the Holga plugin for GIMP and it’s pretty nifty. And of course, The GIMP is free 😉

PPG: If you don’t want to eat Ramen for too long, you can easily deal with the 2.0. The 3G’s locking feature is nice, but not essential. I don’t use it with every shot–I do a lot of shots just bending/pulling and snapping the picture. The optics are the same in both the 2.0 and the 3G. You could also order up the 2.0 to see if you like the lens in general, and if you want the 3G later, you can easily sell off the 2.0 and finance part of the upgrade.

[powerplantgirl]

Thanks for the ideas!
I downloaded GIMP I just have yet to install it. BF said something about pay attention to him and stop playing with your camera. I’m not exactly sure though cause I was busy trying to take cat pictures.

I’ll look into lensbabies this weekend..I’d love to get a wide-angle going up in here!

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