Lensbaby

Hi everyone,

We have been busy working on some new tools of creative exploration for you. Many of us are in Germany right now at the Photokina trade show, but all of us are happy to announce the new Composer with Tilt Transformer. Please check out the www.lensbaby.com home page to see this extraordinary new photographic instrument!

Enjoy!

Sam

see with the eyes of a child

Well it all looks very exciting...but where's the Canon love? I have about $25k worth of Canon lenses but not a penny invested in Nikon. :( Are you guys planning a Canon compatible product as well?

Also, I'm not at all clear here...the Tilt Composer has a m4/3 mount so I could use it on my Panasonic GF-1? But I could not use this new product on my Canon cameras?

.................
Peter

A m4/3 user's dream come true! Yay!

fUzzYeYebAlls

And I don't have a Pen E to spend.

Hi Peter,

We certainly here you on the desire to have a similar system for Canon. The unique physical properties of the mirrorless cameras let us position Nikon lenses close enough to the sensor to achieve infinity focus. The reason for Nikon compatibility is that Nikon lenses have the shortest flange distance. The good news is that you CAN use this system on your Panasonic GF-1. There are some inexpensive Nikon mount lenses on ebay that will work great!

ndroo - you are so right! It is so fun to use.

TG_J - you and a few other people, but save those Pen Es!

Cheers,

Sam

see with the eyes of a child

[www.adorama.com]

Here's some thoughts after some hands-on time with the Tilt Transformer. This is so much fun!


Many more photos at the above link :)

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Check out my new book! (2nd Edition now Available!)

Jack! Wonderful review. That is one sweet slice of focus:)

Sam

see with the eyes of a child

Hm. The new mirrorless cameras certainly has opened up for some new ideas. I think we all have to reconsider our ways to do things. I have actually been thinking about the mirrorless camera for some time. This may make me think even more...

The sensor of the Sony, in the housing of the Pen, with the functionality of the Panasonic, and the optic of the Lensbaby - that's the perfect combo:)

Good luck at Photokina

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My website: [www.fotoaalborg.dk]
Blog (English): [www.retrofoto.dk]
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Well this is very intriguing. I like the idea of putting a real telephoto zoom lens onto a tilting base. This will revolutionize Lensbaby shooting. Bummer that you can't get an adapter to be able to mount Canon EOS onto a Nikon mount though.

.................
Peter

So I'm assuming this is just the first iteration of this concept...you guys are planning to expand the offering beyond the m4/3 mount sometime up the road right? :) I'm just envisioning sticking my 500mm f4 onto this tilting base for some very unusual bird shots...wahoo! :D

.................
Peter

This is very exciting. i'm both an m4/3rds shooter as well as Canon (5D) and use a 45 f/2.8 tilt shift with it--and sometimes with the m4/3rds. I don't think there is a good solution for Nikon to EOS lenses adapter but there is for Nikon to Canon FD lenses of which I have 5 and shoot with them now on my G1 and GF1. It may be worthwhile to try one and see. I'm thinking about it as it would give me a bit more flexibility in FL and also a bit less weight/size as the Canon tilt shift plus an EOS adapter is considerable. There also is an issue with aperture changes with the Canon EOS. I could also add a Nikon mount. I'm sure there are reasonable possibities in 35 and 50 on Ebay.

Hi Rannestad - I think I just decided that my own next camera purchase will be a Sony NEX:). Your dream camera would be nice!

Peter - we will have a Sony NEX mount out in October. We are listening regarding other camera bodies, believe me, but there are some issues we'd have to solve.

Picnic, I'm excited too! Please let us know the results of your experiments. You can find some great bargins on Nikon mount primes on ebay right now, but maybe prices will go up now:)

see with the eyes of a child

I'm confused. The tilt adapter which I want BADLY will take my Nikon lenses, but I can't use it on my Nikon camera? or am I just missing something?

Laurie


Edit: Ok, I read the thread a third time, and finally understand about the mirrorless body aspect of using this adapter.
I *still* want one for my Nikon, though, lol!! :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2010 07:25AM by crowtoes.

Quote
sam
Hi Rannestad - I think I just decided that my own next camera purchase will be a Sony NEX:). Your dream camera would be nice!

Peter - we will have a Sony NEX mount out in October. We are listening regarding other camera bodies, believe me, but there are some issues we'd have to solve.

Picnic, I'm excited too! Please let us know the results of your experiments. You can find some great bargins on Nikon mount primes on ebay right now, but maybe prices will go up now:)

Sam, if I didn't have m4/3rds I might consider the NEX too. On other forums folks are really liking theirs. My hope is someday Canon will do a mirrorless but I'm not holding my breath. Rannestad, I tend to agree with you about the drean camera.

Right now I have an old LB with Canon mount (which I admit I rarely use), the Composer in 4/3rds mount which I use with a 4/3rds to m4/3rds adapter and have the FE and other accessories for it. My conundrum is deciding whether to buy the tilt in m4/3rds mount or buy the whole shebang (tilt and Composer) again in m4/3rds to have Composer also. Then having to buy the Nikon to FD adapter and likely a Nikon lens also. It seems as though perhaps the most economical path would be to buy the tilt only but I need to consider this. It means carrying more gear it seems.

Diane B



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2010 07:26AM by picnic.

Hi Laurie,

Unfortunately, at this time we can't make a Tilt Transformer for Nikon lenses to Nikon cameras. We can only make a Tilt Transformer for Nikon mount lenses to mirrorless cameras such as the Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras or Sony NEX cameras. This is simply a matter of getting the proper spacing of the lens to the image sensor to allow focus to infinity even when the lens is tilted.

Picnic - sounds like a bit of a dilemma, but a nice one to have:) The one caveat about the Composer with Tilt Transformer is that it is not compatible with the Fisheye Optic. Getting the Tilt Transformer by itself might be the right choice, but the good news is that it is quite compact.

see with the eyes of a child

Hey Sam I've got a whole bunch of Mamiya 645 lenses that would look pretty beefy on the end of a composer and a Nikon. LOL.tony

HaHa, Tony! We will look into that. BTW - your profile is so funny. What a sleepy froggy!

see with the eyes of a child

Quote
sam
The unique physical properties of the mirrorless cameras let us position Nikon lenses close enough to the sensor to achieve infinity focus. The reason for Nikon compatibility is that Nikon lenses have the shortest flange distance.

Hi Sam,
How about the Composer Tilt Transformer in other mounts, like M42, OM or Minolta manual focus? I use NEX5 with mi Minolta lenses and I will love to ad this new composer to my collection.

Right now I use the composer or the control freak with the Sony adapter, but having the chance to use different focal distances is really interesting.

regards

Pako Dominguez

Pako Dominguez
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www.phototeka.net

Hi Pako,

I am going to have to ask Craig to answer that. He is in Germany right now so the time difference and crazy schedule over there might mean a delay in our response.

Sam

see with the eyes of a child

[www.photoclubalpha.com]

After Sony support for third part "adapter" makers for the NEX system, you can probably even get the electronics from them in order to make an adapter for Minolta/Sony A-Mount lenses!

Pako Dominguez
----------------------
www.phototeka.net

Now I am confused, I have a nikon body and lens, use a composer, will the tilt shift thing work with my camera, and composer but not just with a camera and lens, is this correct ?

Sam,

Congrats to you and all of the Lensbaby folks!

If I can put in a vote, I'd love to see a crop factor fisheye optic. :D When you do that, I'd also like to see a Time Bender Optic so I can spend much more time behind the camera, especially mit mein Lensbaby Muse. :D Sehr gut, ja?

Graham

These are great questions and I am glad to see so much excitement about this system. We have products in the works that we can't really discuss. All of your expressed desires are being taken into account (many of those expressed here have been things I have wanted since before the Original Lensbaby was a reality).

To clarify about the products we are introducing now, the Tilt Transformer works on Sony NEX and Micro Four Thirds cameras and allows Nikon lenses to be mounted and tilted up to 12 degrees (a lot more than a traditional tilt shift which, in the case of the Canon 17mm is only 6.5 degrees). If you have a Micro Four Thirds camera and a Nikon lens, all you need now is the Tilt Transformer to make them work together in super fun ways.

We developed the Tilt Transformer to work with Nikon F mount lenses because:

1. the backfocus distance of Nikon lenses is the longest of all the (35mm) SLR systems, allowing the most amount of tilt in our Tilt Transformer
2. Nikon lenses are known for their high quality
3. there are tons of Nikon lenses available in the F-mount, many great quality used ones for very cheap
4. out-of-date mounts like Minolta MD, Canon FD or screw mount are no longer available new, thus making the appeal of using these lenses on our system limited to a smaller audience
5. Canon, the only manufacturer with a current lens system that has as many or more lenses in the world than Nikon, uses an electronic aperture system, eliminating any possibility of controlling the aperture with our system. Users would be limited to shooting wide open if we were to use a Canon mount.

As I said, we have a bunch of stuff in development now and I am very excited to get them out to you. Please continue to ask questions and let us know what you want. Your ideas are always taken into account when we sit down to determine what our next product offerings will be.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.

-Craig

You could not step twice into the same rivers; for other waters are ever flowing on to you.
Heraclitus of Ephesus

Will end up with the tilt transformer. Was thinking about a Nex/Pen anyway. Don't shoot Nikon. Would love one with Pentax mount either m42 or K.
thanks
barondla

Thanks for the clarification. i understood why the mirrorless cameras and why you wouldn't do Canon EF. For those of us using mirrorless cameras, most are using adapters and other legacy lenses now. I'm willing to try a Nikon to FD adapter (they are quite inexpensive) to utiiize the FDs I had and bought to use with mirrorless. You could certainly do this with other lens mounts too I would think. I'm going to try an older Nikon mount too

Thanks for the clarification about being able to tilt more than the TS. I have 8 degrees of tilt on my Canon 45 f/2.8. I tend to use the TS more traditionally on my 5D but use it on the m4/3rds for selective focus. I'm going to order mine now plus the FD adapter and see how that works out.

I might suggest that you clarify on the product page that you can't use the FE optic with the combo. I didn't notice that when I read the info about each.
Diane



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2010 10:25PM by picnic.

This is an absolutely brilliant idea. I just wish I had a Sony NEX or a m4/3 camera.

If it's possible to create a tilt transformer for use on Nikon bodies I would buy one in a hot second. And if the lens and body are Nikon then you could wire it up and use the autofocus function on the newer lenses.

colin j.

Question on the Nikon mount. I'm a Canon person trying to make sense of the various Nikon mounts LOL. Is it possible to use the AI mount lenses on the tilt transformer?

Looks like a great product but I am one of those Canon users. Bummer for me and others I guess.
Scott

Hi Colin... we hear you!

Diane, Nikon does have some confusing names in it's past, but all of it's lenses are F mount and will work on the Tilt Transformer. So, yes, AI lenses will work.

Scott, a little black tape over the 'Nikon' might allow you to get away with it:)

Sam

see with the eyes of a child

Thanks Sam. I'm going to try the Nikon to FD route first as that gives me 28-135 FL range with fast lenses. If I'm not happy I know I can find Nikon lenses to suit.