Lensbaby is a manufacturer that specialises in very basic yet clever lens constructions. The fascination of their products lies in their simplicity and the negation of the “exact” reproduction ideal other lens makers pursue. Apertures, for example, are created by a flat metal ring that is placed into the lens with a magnetic pin – it really is a very basic construction. The following gallery was created using a Lensbaby Composer, a tilt lens that creates a selective focus.
Lensbaby Gallery
Very interesting! But why buy the camera, I mean can’t you use a photoshop effect to do the trick – wouldn’t it be less expensive?
Hi Caroline,
it’s actually not a special camera – just the lens (http://lensbaby.com/lenses-composer.php).
Of course you may achieve a similar effect by applying a photoshop filter. But as with many other photographic filters there are good reasons why you may want to prefer the hardware. In this case, the one thing Photoshop cannot do is tilting, i.e. changing the photographic plane to get the “sweet spot”. Also, the image created by the lens is imperfect which adds to the originality of the result.
The bottom line is that a Lensbaby compares to a Photoshop filter like fresh fruit to an artificial flavour. It may taste similar, but the difference is huge for people who care.
Best regards,
Klaus