I got my Lens Baby Composer Pro today ! Since there is a learning curve, I thought Lens Baby users, new and old can bookmark this thread so we could share tips, experiences and suggestions. I can not wait to play with mine!
This is my first and only shot so far. But I can see the possibilities!
@tahoemb Sure! I based it on this review on the digital photography site:
..". it's the best Lensbaby yet, and substantially improved over the original Composer. In particular the focusing is very much improved over the somewhat loose feel of the older design, with a smooth, damped action that's reminiscent of 'proper' manual focus lenses. The ball and socket tilt joint has also been refined - again it's smoother in operation, which makes small, precise adjustments much easier. So if you think you're likely to use it a lot, we think the Pro is definitely worth the $50 premium over the Composer. Of course if you just want to experiment with whether you like the whole Lensbaby idea, the much-cheaper Muse probably makes more sense as an introduction to the system."
I know I will want to use this lens a lot,so instead of the Muse I said the heck with it and went all in.
@mzzhope A great thread to have started and I look forward to reading tips from more experienced users! I also think it will be interesting to learn about the different models. With the Muse, it's definitely a learning curve just to handle the little lens! I think you were wise to go with the best of what they offer!
@mzzhope I will follow this with interest to see how other newbies are getting on. I find I can focus on the centre quite easily but when I try to move the focus to the sides or up and down I struggle a lot. Any tips from more experienced users would be appreciated.
Have fun, I have just acquired the basic model and am at the beginning of the learning curve, looking forward to learning from everyone on this thread!
Congratulations on your new lens. I hope you will love using it and share the results here. @andy3168 Not that I am an expert but, weird as it sounds, when I move the focus spot off to the side I find it often helps to take a peak at the front of the camera to see exactly how far and in what direction I have shifted it and then gauge where in the frame the sweet spot is. Maybe it is just me but often I find that I haven't actually moved it where I think and so I am struggling to find that sweet spot of focus in the wrong area.
@thomastoth
Thanks, Thomas! That's mighty nice of you to say. :-)
I've come to use - and love - my Lensbaby equipment quite a lot. I'm happy to share what I can with others! To newbies, the best advice I can give, is this:
- Experiment. Try, try, try and try again. At first you'll hardly ever get what you planed, but you'll discover a whole new world.
- Be prepared to view the world in entirely new ways. You'll work and look at the world in new and different ways from what you did before.
Fantastic! I bought mine, took a load of photos and was really disappointed. I nearly sent it back. But having played with it, I now love it. Am in a rush so will catch up later. Have fun!
I love mine! Don't use it enough really. Definitely a steep learning curve. I participated in Lensbaby March and used it every day for a month; I recommend that. It certainly helped me appreciate what subjects work well etc. Great idea for a thread!
Brilliant thread to have started - really looking forward to seeing what you do with yours. I've bookmarked this cos we can all learn so much from each other. I've tagged mine lensbabyjb . Would be great if we all had a personal lensbaby tag
@espyetta I bought the composer pro with double glass optics because that is what @joemuli was using in some shots of his I loved. Then I read about it and realised that it gave me the most options i.e. can be used with the macro kit and other kits that interested me and I can use with a wide angle (non of which i have at this stage). I am really happy with this choice and would not change my selection. When I am competent (read vaguely in control) I may buy some other bits and pieces but at the moment it can get me amazingly different photos and is loads of fun! :)
I love the Lensbaby and it really helped recently when I injured my wrist. It's so much lighter than my other lenses! ;) Have fun playing around. When you tilt, do it very slightly until you get used to where the focus and blur will be.
Maybe you should organize a Lensbaby theme month? I missed the last one since I didn't have my lens at that point.
I just tagged my Lensbaby shots with the tag lensbabyk
I don't really have much experience with the LB overexposing. I keep the camera on manual (MF), in AV modus (Aperture Priority), but with the camera's metering system on auto. That helps me knowing when I'm near or at a clear focus. I've experienced that low light makes it more difficult to focus, and that you should avoid shooting into strong light, unless, of course, you want lens flare.
I once had some crazy results due to my camera being set for the wrong white balance conditions. Still don't know how that happened. ;-p You could check that.
If you use a lens with the Optic Swap System, keep in mind that your choice of Optic will affect your exposure somewhat. Double Glass is the best, followed by Single Glass, and then Plastic. As blurring increases, so does your need for light.
I've found that if I use the Double Glass Optic in combination with the Lensbaby 0.6x Wide Angle Lens attachment I get the sharpest focus and best handling of light, as well as the best focus range. The Sweet 35 Optic handles pretty much the same way, actually. Using he Lensbaby 0.42x Super Wide Lens attachment demands better light and while giving you a wider field, increases blur.
Most of the lenses comes with an aperture set at f/4, but best depth of field (DOF) is found at f/5.6 in my experience. Learn how to change aperture disks, but don't ever plan for that in the field. It's too fiddly and will only annoy you. :-p
There are three main groups of lens bodies to choose from:
1) The bellows type
2) The tilt-and-swivel type (NOT a real tilt-shift, mind!)
3) The Scout
The bellows type, such as the 3G, Control Freak, Spark and Muse, are normally cheaper, but will for some be harder to handle. I rarely use my 3G... ;-p
The tilt-and-swivel type, such as Composer and Composer Pro, has an outer focusing ring that slides around on the ball-like middle body of the lens. I've got three important tips here:
- The Composers have an inner locking ring, Turn this in steps clockwise to tighten and decrease the tilt-and-swivel movement. This helps handling placing of the sweet spot.
- Move the outer part of the lens in very small increments. This helps you control focus and sweet spot. Be patient. There's no auto-focus to do the job for you.
- Move the lens's outer part in the opposite direction of where you want to plant your sweet spot. Inside the lens body, the optic sits like a funnel. When you shift the lens, this funnel moves with it in a straight line (Think diagonals, if that helps you.) in the opposite direction.
The Scout was originally intended for optics that doesn't work too well with the tilt-and-swivel action. Such as the Fisheye Optic. This optics also has very strong vignetting in the form of dark corners at the edge of the picture. The Scout lens body can be used with all the other optics and to great effect, not to mention stability. ;-p
Imagine that your focus slides along a line into your picture. Start a little off from where you suspect your sweet spot focus is, and take several shots along the focus line.That gives you a better chance of getting the shot you actually want.
@aprilmilani
April, that's a very beautiful example of what this lens system can produce!
All the talk about Lensbabies recently poked hard at my 'guilt' (read 'chagrin') over buying the Lensbaby 3G (precursor to amongst others the Muse and the Spark) lens and then abandoning it because I found it hard to use. So, I've pulled it back out, and I've mounted a Lensbaby 0.6x Wide Angle Lens attachment on top of it.
I found focusing first, and then moving the lens about, as if I were free-lensing, to work rather well. Remember that the bellows can be stretched a bit, too, and this can help with focusing. But be careful, so you don't damage the lens!
This picture is from my Kinder figurine short-short-short stories series about Esmeralda, The Bookshelf Pirate Princess. I have cropped the picture ever so slightly.
@panthora
I think it's a good idea to take your questions to this thread, so that others may share and comment. :-)
What kind of Lensbaby do you have? They handle a bit differently.
What is it that you feel is confusing?
Can you post links to pictures you want help with or comments on?
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..". it's the best Lensbaby yet, and substantially improved over the original Composer. In particular the focusing is very much improved over the somewhat loose feel of the older design, with a smooth, damped action that's reminiscent of 'proper' manual focus lenses. The ball and socket tilt joint has also been refined - again it's smoother in operation, which makes small, precise adjustments much easier. So if you think you're likely to use it a lot, we think the Pro is definitely worth the $50 premium over the Composer. Of course if you just want to experiment with whether you like the whole Lensbaby idea, the much-cheaper Muse probably makes more sense as an introduction to the system."
I know I will want to use this lens a lot,so instead of the Muse I said the heck with it and went all in.
http://store.clickinmoms.com/lensbaby-love-the-basics-and-beyond/
@andy3168 Not that I am an expert but, weird as it sounds, when I move the focus spot off to the side I find it often helps to take a peak at the front of the camera to see exactly how far and in what direction I have shifted it and then gauge where in the frame the sweet spot is. Maybe it is just me but often I find that I haven't actually moved it where I think and so I am struggling to find that sweet spot of focus in the wrong area.
Thanks, Thomas! That's mighty nice of you to say. :-)
I've come to use - and love - my Lensbaby equipment quite a lot. I'm happy to share what I can with others! To newbies, the best advice I can give, is this:
- Experiment. Try, try, try and try again. At first you'll hardly ever get what you planed, but you'll discover a whole new world.
- Be prepared to view the world in entirely new ways. You'll work and look at the world in new and different ways from what you did before.
I started posting Lensbaby pictures in March: http://365project.org/bankmann/365/2014-03-23
@mzzhope @juliedduncan @darylo @spanner @tahoemb @mhuntphotography @joemuli @taffy @nanderson @nanalisarocks @aprilmilani @nadaa @andy3168 @rachelwithey @lwain @judithdeacon @gardencat
Maybe you should organize a Lensbaby theme month? I missed the last one since I didn't have my lens at that point.
I just tagged my Lensbaby shots with the tag lensbabyk
Here is a shot with my Edge 80. and my sweet girl.
I don't really have much experience with the LB overexposing. I keep the camera on manual (MF), in AV modus (Aperture Priority), but with the camera's metering system on auto. That helps me knowing when I'm near or at a clear focus. I've experienced that low light makes it more difficult to focus, and that you should avoid shooting into strong light, unless, of course, you want lens flare.
I once had some crazy results due to my camera being set for the wrong white balance conditions. Still don't know how that happened. ;-p You could check that.
If you use a lens with the Optic Swap System, keep in mind that your choice of Optic will affect your exposure somewhat. Double Glass is the best, followed by Single Glass, and then Plastic. As blurring increases, so does your need for light.
I've found that if I use the Double Glass Optic in combination with the Lensbaby 0.6x Wide Angle Lens attachment I get the sharpest focus and best handling of light, as well as the best focus range. The Sweet 35 Optic handles pretty much the same way, actually. Using he Lensbaby 0.42x Super Wide Lens attachment demands better light and while giving you a wider field, increases blur.
Most of the lenses comes with an aperture set at f/4, but best depth of field (DOF) is found at f/5.6 in my experience. Learn how to change aperture disks, but don't ever plan for that in the field. It's too fiddly and will only annoy you. :-p
Thank you for the response! ,-) Hope, this thread has already turned out to be a bit brilliant... :-)
There are three main groups of lens bodies to choose from:
1) The bellows type
2) The tilt-and-swivel type (NOT a real tilt-shift, mind!)
3) The Scout
The bellows type, such as the 3G, Control Freak, Spark and Muse, are normally cheaper, but will for some be harder to handle. I rarely use my 3G... ;-p
The tilt-and-swivel type, such as Composer and Composer Pro, has an outer focusing ring that slides around on the ball-like middle body of the lens. I've got three important tips here:
- The Composers have an inner locking ring, Turn this in steps clockwise to tighten and decrease the tilt-and-swivel movement. This helps handling placing of the sweet spot.
- Move the outer part of the lens in very small increments. This helps you control focus and sweet spot. Be patient. There's no auto-focus to do the job for you.
- Move the lens's outer part in the opposite direction of where you want to plant your sweet spot. Inside the lens body, the optic sits like a funnel. When you shift the lens, this funnel moves with it in a straight line (Think diagonals, if that helps you.) in the opposite direction.
The Scout was originally intended for optics that doesn't work too well with the tilt-and-swivel action. Such as the Fisheye Optic. This optics also has very strong vignetting in the form of dark corners at the edge of the picture. The Scout lens body can be used with all the other optics and to great effect, not to mention stability. ;-p
Imagine that your focus slides along a line into your picture. Start a little off from where you suspect your sweet spot focus is, and take several shots along the focus line.That gives you a better chance of getting the shot you actually want.
@aprilmilani
April, that's a very beautiful example of what this lens system can produce!
All the talk about Lensbabies recently poked hard at my 'guilt' (read 'chagrin') over buying the Lensbaby 3G (precursor to amongst others the Muse and the Spark) lens and then abandoning it because I found it hard to use. So, I've pulled it back out, and I've mounted a Lensbaby 0.6x Wide Angle Lens attachment on top of it.
I found focusing first, and then moving the lens about, as if I were free-lensing, to work rather well. Remember that the bellows can be stretched a bit, too, and this can help with focusing. But be careful, so you don't damage the lens!
This picture is from my Kinder figurine short-short-short stories series about Esmeralda, The Bookshelf Pirate Princess. I have cropped the picture ever so slightly.
I think it's a good idea to take your questions to this thread, so that others may share and comment. :-)
What kind of Lensbaby do you have? They handle a bit differently.
What is it that you feel is confusing?
Can you post links to pictures you want help with or comments on?