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Lensbaby 2.0 Selective focus SLR lens Review by Ron Risman - April 2005 What is a Lensbaby? The Lensbaby, invented by Craig Strong of Lensbaby.com, is a selective focus SLR camera lens. The lens is mounted on flexible tubing, giving photographers the ability to move the in-focus "sweet spot" around the picture by bending the flexible tube. The lens will give you a unique look with blurring, glowing highlights, and subtle, prismatic color distortions - all without software manipulations. There are now two versions of the Lensbaby. This review will focus on the latest Lensbaby 2.0 model. Page 1. Introduction Page 2. Using the Lensbaby Page 3. Creative Image Gallery Page 4. Compatibility Page 5. Conclusion Lensbaby Website Lensbaby How-To Retail Price: $150 1. Introduction 2. Using the Lensbaby 3. Creative Image Gallery 4. Compatibility 5. Conclusion

You purchased your Digital SLR a while ago and have taken thousands of photos since then. Since photography is your hobby or even your profession, and to help set yourself apart from the every day photographer, you find yourself spending countless hours using Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to make sure that each photo is just right. You crop, straighten, adjust tones, tint, and saturation. Sometimes you make minor contrast and sharpness adjustments, other times you work to take an average photo "out-of-camera" and make it something special, and when all is said and done, you end up with thousands of "perfect" photos. It's time for a change! Put away the Gaussian blur, the lens flare, the art effects, and get out and shoot! This time, take along the Lensbaby 2.0 and start seeing the world with a more creative eye - the minute you look through the lens.

I realize that the above paragraph sounds like a manufacturer sales "pitch," but it was the only introduction I could think of that would get across the way you'll feel when you first use the Lensbaby.

What's New in 2.0?

The newly released Lensbaby 2.0 now features an f2.0 aperture in addition to the original Lensbaby's f2.8, f4.0, f5.6, and f8.0. The faster aperture effectively doubles the amount of light that passes through the lens, allowing for superior natural light photography and a further reduction in depth of field. The new Lensbaby 2.0 also features a new coated, high refractive index, low dispersion optical glass doublet which creates a sharper sweet spot. The "sweet spot" is the in-focus part of the lens. And finally, the new Lensbaby 2.0 uses shielded magnets that levitate the aperture discs just above the optics, making it easier and quicker to change aperture discs. If you are not familiar with the original Lensbaby you will soon discover what these aperture discs are all about.

In The Box

• LensBaby 2.0
• Metal screw-on lens cover
• Four aperture rings (f2.8, f4.0, f5.6, f8.0
• Soft pouch for Lensbaby 2.0 (not pictured)
• Cell-Klear™ Lenspen® that the photographer inserts through the center hole in the aperture disk to lift it out.
• Aperture ring holder
• User's Manual

The Lensbaby 2.0 Statistics:

• All-metal construction (except tubing)
• Coated Optical Low Dispersion Glass Doublet
• Focus Type: Manual using fingers to move tubing in, out, and around
• Dimensions: 2.0" high x 2.5" wide (2.5" high with protective rear lens cap)
• Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Focal Length: Approx. 50 mm
• 37mm thread accepts add on wide-angle and telephoto lenses * See review
• Aperture: f2.0 with interchangeable rings for f2.8, f4, f5.6, and f8
• Minimum Focus Distance: Approx. 12 inchesMaximum Focus Distance: Infinity
• Camera should be used in manual mode or with Canon cameras in manual or Av priority modes