Lensbaby 2.0

Focal length: ~50mm, selective focus lens
Mount: Canon
Min focus distance: 0.40m
Aperture: F 2.0 - F 22 via insertable disks
Length (from flange): 52mm
[+ 27mm for the adapter]
Diameter: 60mm
Weight: 117gr.

Some pictures:

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A7 and the lens.

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The lens sits deep inside.

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It'a a 2-element coated lens with magnetic holders in front of it..

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The aperture disks have to be put in front of the lens and are held by the magnets.

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This is a full 7-aperture set with a very handy magnetic tool to change the disks. The lens is delivered with 4 disks (up to F8) and a lenspen tool to pry the disks off.

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A macro lens set.

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The lens is screwed into the 37mm thread in front of the lens.

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A Tele and Wide set with their pouches.

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Both lenses fit into the thread in front of the lensbaby. 0.6 is the factor of the wide lens. If the standard lens is 50mm, the wide lens makes it a 30mm. 1.6 is the factor of the tele lens, so it makes a 50mm lens an 80mm.

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Wide lens mounted.

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There is also a ultrawide lens available.

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It comes with rubber caps on both sides.

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The lens fits into the thread in front of the lensbaby. 0.42 is the factor, so it makes a 50mm lensbaby a 21mm which is quite wide.

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Both mounted. No sample photos yet.

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Lens and Accessory kit.

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What's in the box.

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Accessory box and "creative" aperture disks.

If yo are interested, how the Lensbaby 2.0 disassembles: at the end of the page there are 2 pictures.

Sample pictures: You may click on the sample image (except closest focus) for full resolution. The full resolution image opens in a new window, so you can keep it open for comparison. I tried to focus is on the the big solar panel near the center of the photo.

Let us start with an aperture series.

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F2, nothing sharp at all.

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F2.8
, the promised effect begins to show, a (soft) focussed area in the middle, the rest is blurred.

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F4, focus gets a bit clearer...


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...still better (F5.6). At the same time the focussed area grows...

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...to the results that are promoted is ads. This is the end of the apertures provided.

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Nevertheless smaller apertures make sense (F11)...

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...at F16 there is a sharp picture at the center...

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...and even F22 makes sense. It's a more subtle effect, but not all photographers want it overdone.

One of the desired effects of the lens is that you can squeeze the tube sidewards and so shift the focussed area from the center. Photos taken a bit later the same day.

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Centered at F8 again

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 Focus
shifted to the right, F8.

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Shifted to the left and a bit down, F8.

Now let us see the Tele and the Wide lens.

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Tele lens at F8. It just covers the format, if you manage to center the lens exactly which is difficult. No shift possible.


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Wide lens at F8. Same as the Tele lens, it just covers the format.


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Wide lens again, F2, no aperture disk. Nice effect, you can focus the center and the image covers a bigger circle.

Close facus and macro lenses. No full resolution pictures.

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Closest focus of the lens is about 40cm from outermost edge of the lens, F 8. Focus on the program wheel of the camera.

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+4 macro lens attached, about 20cm from the camera.

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+10 macro lens attached. Impressing. only a few cm from the camera and difficult to focus.

This is a fun photo lens, called
selective focus lens. It's a simple PVC tube which has to be squeezed to focus. The lens is set to be sharp only at the center, the rest is blurred, simulating perfectly a "bokeh" effect. The sharp spot (called sweet spot) can be shifted sideways. It covers full format. The lens is soft to blurry at full aperture. Closed down it's becoming sharper, but retains blurred edges.

And a general warning: squeezing and releasing the lens aspires dust into your camera which can spoil your sensor. Zoom lenses do the same, but in general they are well protected against dust passing inside via an elaborate seal system. The lensbabies are simple constructions without much dust sealing. So squeeze with care and clean your sensor in case of.

The accessories are nice, but very expensive.

The lens is nevertheless sturdy. It is easy to use after some learning. It's fun to experiment with its possibilities. I found mine plus the accessories for very cheap, so it was worth a try. In no way would I have payed the original prices, my second hand Mamiya RB67 150mm soft focus lens with all disks  was cheaper. But if you come across a set for a reasonable price, try it out. It's fun.

As promised, here are 2 photos of the Lensbaby disassembled. I wanted to get the original lens out of it. Disclaimer: You may distroy your Lensbaby, if something goes wrong!

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From left to right: mount, snap ring or circlip, tube, lens insert, threaded ring and cover.

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The parts from the other side.

The mount is only held by a circlip, if you take the circlip out, the mount falls off the tube and it's easy to re-assenble. It's not necessary to take it off if you want to take out the lens. To access the lens, you have to screw off the first ring on the front. On my lens I needed some brute force to move it the first mm. Once loosened, it screws off like any accessory. As I only had plumbers' wrenches, there were some scratches on the parts after the operation. The lens unit itself is not screwed, its holder can just be pushed out. Now you are free to adapt other lenses...

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