Lensbaby

I am getting so frustrated. Just been out for the day with my lensbaby and am so unhappy with my pics how do people get their sweet spots so sharp??? I have an composer with double glass optics. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I used my lensbaby on a portrait once and nailed the sweet spot after alot of attempts!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2012 04:12PM by joshuad.

Hi Joshua . (short answer) practice. I use a muse type, I have no experience with the composer , but , in principal it is the same. Take careful note of the graduation of the OOF areas in the frame . It is easy to accidently focus off the sweet spot and you can only tell by carefully looking at the other areas in the frame. The most telling sign is something in the background appearing sharper than your subject. So check carefully the areas either side of your point of focus , they should fall off equally either side & above & below. If not you are focusing the wrong part of the lens. Another thing you can try is focusing way past of or way infront of your subject . At some point you should see a ring of focus almost like a aberration, you know the center of which is the sweet spot. Remember with the DG optic it is way better to slightly front focus than back focus. Hope this makes sense. I remember after a couple of weeks of shooting with my LB2 I was ready to throw it. This is not an easy lens to use and it does take practice, but I can assure you once you get the hang of it you will love it & become the life of the party. :) tony



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2012 07:54PM by TG-J.

Joshua
The previous post is so right with the advice of practise but I will add something that I was taught at college. Practise on the same subject in a controlled environment and look at the results straight away. I havent used the composer but to learn my 3G I set up a still life and put the camera on a tripod and tethered my lappie to it, that way I could see instant results from subtle changes. I dont know if it is possible with a composer but I am sure this approach will be of sum help.

[bigtalljohn.co.uk]

Do I care enough, or do I care too much to handle failure.

first of all, do not despair! When I first got my Lensbaby, I nearly cried: everything was just fuzzy and messy. Now, I don't take it off the camera.

I don't have the Composer--I have the Muse--but I think the principles are the same. First of all, yes, practice. But here are the two tips that made all the difference:
First, make sure you have the diopter setting for your viewfinder set accurately. You're focusing by eye--if you can't get a sharp image in the viewfinder, you won't get on in the end result. I thought mine was fine, but when I looked carefully, it wasn't really sharp. Set up your camera on a tripod and have it aimed at something crisp. Use Live View to make sure the focus is spot on, then adjust the diopter setting until you see it just as clearly in the viewfinder.

Second, when it comes to taking a photo: have the lens in neutral position (this is one difference between the Muse & the Composer--the Muse just goes back to neutral; you have to re-adjust the Composer.) Focus on your subject. (A smaller aperture disc will make a larger sweet spot, so if there's enough light, try starting out with one of them.) When you've got that, move the camera if you want the subject to be somewhere other than dead center. Then tilt the lens slowly towards the subject until it's in focus again. Snap your photo. (I have to give credit to the Lensbaby book by Corey Hilz for this tip. It's an excellent book. $30 here for the paper book, $20 in Nook e-book format.)

Don't give up! You'll get the hang of it, and then there's no turning back.

Thank you everyone. Things are definately on the up. Have been watching a you tube video and turns out that I may have my technique all wrong. All your replies are fantastic. Thanks again

Hi Joshua, got a composer yesterday. I must confess at this stage I to am struggling with certain optics. Back to square 1 ,:)tony

Hi Joshua,

I have the composer and like you all my shots were blurred. I was beginning to think my purchase was a right royal waste of my money.

Then I had my "eureka moment". For some reason I was looking at the LCD display on my camera and wondering why my F setting wasn't showing up when suddenly the penny dropped - the aperture kit (the f rings) included with the composer aren't an optional extra they are 100% necessary to get the sharp images.

Guess what - pin sharp sweet spot images now!

Yup - it was a total DOH moment.

Not sure if this is your case but letting you know this was my case and I joined the forum just to type this up :)

I have a studio set -up with a tripod and lighting. I am using the composer
with the sweet 35. I take about 30 to 50 images of the same subject, making
slight adjustments in shutter speed, focusing, angle of the lens. Turns out
that there are only one or two that come out that I like and can process. But
the good news is that I know it is possible. It is obvious when I like the
lighting, but not so obvious about the tilt of the composer lens. So using
this strategy when I get more that I like, I will begin to understand the
relationship between the tilt and the images I like.

Wow - thanks for sharing all your great advice!
Practice, be careful not to back-focus, practice, use a smaller aperture, practice, watch our video tutorials or read the Lensbaby book and practice some more!

For me its live view. I could not focus without it.

____________________________
Victoria Bell

My Flickr Photostream

It takes a lot of practice. I'm still working on fine tuning my focus at times.

Quote
Victoria Bell
For me its live view. I could not focus without it.

If I may ask a question, how do you see the live view in daylight?

Do you use a viewing hood, one like Hoodman makes for video work?

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God said, "Let there be light," and it was so....