Lensbaby 2.0 Canon EF Mount SLR Camera Lens (LB2C)

This is not a serious lens. I'll say that right up front. Yes, it can have its clever and "professional" uses, but the $60 price tag (originally $150) should let you know it's not going to win any image quality awards.I bought this older model Lensbaby in April of 2010 to use with my Canon 7D for a visual effect in a music video, and it appears that it's now out of stock. But i suspect it could be found on eBay or craigslist. It was replaced by the newer  Lensbaby Muse .This Lensbaby is a fully manual special effect lens that creates a halo of soft focus you can move around the frame. The idea is similar to a tilt/shift lens in that you're bending the plane of focus (which can create that fake miniature effect). But like i said, this is fully manual. You have to hold with your fingers the end of the flexible tube and position it where you want, both for focus distance (how far the subject is) and also to adjust the "sweet spot" of the soft focus effect within the frame. And there's no way to lock it or set it where you want, and let go -- it just springs back to its default position. Which means remote or timer shots are impossible, along with self-portraits, and any video move where you aren't holding the camera such as on a boom. Long exposures are very difficult. If you need a predictable and repeatable look, this might not be your lens. Lensbaby has a couple newer models that can be adjusted and locked into position.Focus is adjusted by squeezing the tube closer to the camera body (or by extending it out away), not by rotating a focus ring. And it can take a lot of practice and experimentation to figure out the right finger position to hold the lens in the right position for the focus and effect you want. It is not easy to focus on very specific points. Manual focusing seems easier with LiveView on the 7D. It's difficult to nail using the viewfinder. Likewise, the aperture adjustment is very very manual. You have to physically remove the aperture disc from the front of the lens, and replace it with another disc. It's easy, but can be fumbly in the field -- the discs are small. The discs are labeled with their f-stop value and are stored in a small case with the magnetic removal tool. One more piece you have to carry with you.The look this lens produces can be very fun and beautiful, but it might not be for everyone, and it's certainly not the easiest lens to work with. I figured that at $60 it was cheap enough to get it and try it out. I've had it for over a year now, and it's probably my least-used lens -- partly because i forget it's in my camera bag and partly because you have to want to try to use it, and it's not always easy to know how it will act in different scenarios. The soft focus effect can be soft and smooth and other times be grainy, busy, and distracting. Lens flares and bokeh can have color fringing and haloing, and objects outside the sweet spot are rendered distorted as if stretched from the point of focus (circles at the edges of the frame will become ovals pointing to the center).Check out images shot with the lens or pick one up for cheap and try it for yourself. It can be a fun addition to your camera bag if you keep in mind that it's more of a toy than a professional lens.

So I have heard many things about the lensbaby lenses and finally, I pulled the trigger, the price was right and I was looking for something more for my work. The lensbaby lenses are not you out of the box instant perfection kind of lens, you need to learn the feel and focus of these things, adjust your camera settings and lighting and get creative. The first time I put my lensbaby on, I was very discouraged, but after about an hour, I adjusted some settings and feel in love. You really can take some beautiful shots with this thing.Two accessories which I purchased are the aperture kit, this is pretty sweet, if the lighting is right. each aperturering refracts and reflects light throughout your shot and cast a corresponding shape in your image. This can be a very cool treatment, however as digital photographer and a fan of photoshop, I am hesitant to lock myself into having some of my photos permanently tweaked. This is an effect I can easily re-create in post and really need to be in a creative mode when I slap on some of these treatments. That being said, 10 bucks, it's worth it, even just to mess around.Next up, the lensbaby Macro filter set. Sweet, these 2 filters, 4x and 10x actually work, which may seem like nothign special but having wasted money in the past on useless macro filters, I was shocked to get this result, pleasantly surprised perhaps. Add the lenbaby price with this addition and you are still way under the cost of a dedicated macro lens. So worth the coin.I am very happy with my lensbaby gear and I can honestly say it is making me a better photgrapher, manually having to focus, zooming with my feet, getting creative with lighting, these lenses make you work hard but the results are always something you can be proud of.

This lens looked to be way too much fun for $150, so I took a chance and bought one and am happy I did. It does take some practice to get the focusing down but it is fun to learn and experiment with. I have mostly L lenses and was suprised by the photo quality this lens produces. It is not in the same league as an L lens but still produces nice images. The f/stop inserts are easy to use but I did have to find a place in my camera bag to keep them. You really need to have control of your settings to get the exposure correct, but I am having lots of fun with it. The quality and having to keep up with a seperate bag of inserts is why I rate this at 4 stars but for fun it is definitely a 5.

It's only been a short while since I bought the lens baby so I've not really mastered the technique yet. I have been surprised by how much you need to practice (but maybe that's just me). Getting your subject in focus is tricky and getting the 'sweet spot' when you bend the lens is even more difficult. But I'm pleased with the couple of decent pictures I've managed to snap. It'll just take time and there are some decent web-sites out there to help out with tips and techniques.

I ended up buying this after my young son snapped the lens off my Diana plastic camera. It was about the same cost for replacement and would be one less camera to carry around. It doesn't have the "just point and shoot" qualities that a plastic camera has, but that's OK since the added control over the point of focus is very nice. It's sharper at the point of focus than a plastic camera so if that is the quality you are looking for this lens might not be right for you.I'm still shooting with a D70 so my camera doesn't detect any information form this lens. This isn't a big deal because I have a good hand held light meter. I have found that the f-stop rating for the Lensbaby is dead-on and with the light meter I get perfect exposure. If I don't have the meter with me I just use the camera's bracket feature and usually get good results.I'm very happy with this product and will likely add some of the accessories in the near future.