Lensbaby

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image captured with a Lensbaby lens
Lensbaby Muse lens

Lensbaby is a generic term for a specific type of camera lens . It is also a brand name of the company of the same name, Lensbaby Inc. , manufacturer and inventor of these lenses, which received widespread attention among photographers when they were introduced.

Lens of the genus Lensbaby

As a generic term, Lensbaby originally referred to a special lens with a focal length of approx. 50 mm. It basically consists of a resiliently flexible bellows that replaces the lens tube and at the end of which there are one or more lenses . This bellows can be stretched, compressed and bent. With the help of these movements, the image is focused and the location of the focus point is determined. Perforated disks that can be inserted into the optics serve as a cover . Unlike conventional lenses, the aperture not only increases the depth of field , but also enlarges the image area for a sharper image (commonly known as: focus point, "sweet spot").

An image taken with a Lensbaby lens is only sharp in the area of ​​the focus point , the sharpness decreases increasingly all around. The point of focus can be freely selected by bending the lens. Furthermore, by tilting the lens in relation to the recording plane, the objective can be used in a similar way to a tilt-and-shift objective .

The outwardly small Lensbaby lenses enable focusing by positioning - changing the image distance and tilting - with 4 fingertips on a grip edge instead of turning the lens ring of a conventional lens with an adjusting screw. This enables more immediate operation of the camera without having to change the grip position and thus more spontaneous triggering in the style of Lomography .

The possibility of selective sharpening of a central part of the image allows it to be emphasized. The image composition with the original Lensbaby (“Muse”) is influenced by deforming the lens by hand, so that the exact conditions of an image are difficult to reproduce. With the Control Freak, the Composer and the Scout there are also variants that enable the focus point to be fixed and thus allow reproducible results. This also makes the Lensbaby a creative design tool for landscape and studio photographers.

Lenses from Lensbaby Inc.

The lenses from Lensbaby Inc. are now available for almost all common camera connections. Various variants are offered:

  • The "Muse" (50 mm focal length ), which is available in two versions, with an uncoated single plastic lens or with a coated two-lens glass optic.
  • The "Control Freak" (50 mm focal length ) corresponds to the "Muse", but can also be fixed and then fine-tuned. There are also medium format versions of this lens with focal lengths of 80 mm or 100 mm.
  • The "Composer" (50 mm focal length) has a ball joint instead of the bellows .
  • The "Composer Pro" is similar to the Composer, but with a 35 mm focal length and particularly sensitive setting options.
  • The “Composer with Tilt Transformer” especially for Micro Four Thirds cameras and the NEX series from Sony . The adapter enables tilt photography.
  • The “Scout” is a fisheye lens with a 12 mm focal length and fixed optics.

The “Edge 80” insert, introduced in 2012, provides a sharp, flat image and is also used as a tilt lens.

By using so-called “optic swaps” (interchangeable shaped diaphragms), various soft focus effects can be achieved.

Lensbaby Inc. also offers a clip-on lens attachment for the edge rear camera of smartphones.

Web links

Commons : Lensbaby  - collection of images, videos and audio files