Lensbaby

Hi,

I am considering getting a composer to try but i just cannot understand how this might be different from using a normal len focusing it and then move the focus elsewhere.

Does the composer achieve a totally different effect? I understand that one focus center and then moves the sweetspot elsewhere. I thought that might be same as focusing a F1.8 normal len and then move it out to achieve a out-of-focus background or foreground.

Grateful for someone to explain.

Thank you

Michael

With the composer,you get much more vignetting than other lenses,when the lens is not tilted,the focus is in the center of the picture.
How large the focus area (called sweet spot) is,depends on which aperture disc you use.
If you want the focus moves,tilt the lens! (requires tilt head).

TRYING IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS FAILURE.

Homer Simpson

A lensbaby will produce a circle of focus surounded by blur while a regular lens produces a straight line of focus across the entire image. With a regular lens anything in front or behind that line of focus will be out of focus. But with a lensbaby any thing outside of the circle of focus (even if it is in line with your focal point) will be out of focus. Looking at photos taken with a normal lens and with a lensbaby at the same aperture should help you understand this better.

LB Flower

Normal Flower

Here are two shots I took of the same flower. One using the LB Composer back when I first got it (which is why the focusing was so bad) and then the second one is me shooting with my normal zoom lens. As you can see from the comparisons between the two the normal one will keep everything in the shot that is at the same distance as the area that you focused off of in focus. The LB works differently in that if you focus off one area the area outside the sweet spot will blur out regardless of its similarity to the focal point's distance.

Hope that is of some help in answering your question.