Anyone tried Lens Baby's? (distortion effect lens for 35mm cameras)

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

Has anyone tried one of these:

www.lensbaby.com ?

Its a low-cost distorition effect lens for 35mm cameras.

Just wondering before I bought one.

--Jeffrey

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you're in New York City, Photo Gizzmo has them in stock, and you could try one out. Location at www.photogizzmo.com.

 

[rbarker]

I don't have one myself, but I've seen interesting work done with them, ranging from very strange to tastefully artistic. Certainly appears worth the price.

 

[Leon]

just get a holga and have done with it - bigger neg too

 

[Nige]

from what I've seen, not the same as a Holga. Looks interesting to me, I'm going to have a go making one myself at some stage.

 

[Neil Souch]

Purchased one after reading the article about them in the B&W mag. They certainly deserve a place in the camera bag and I have made a couple of interesting images with the lensbaby on my EOS 3. My wife uses it more that I do with her colour work.
Like all special effect devices you have to be careful what you use it on. Recommended all the same.

Neil.

 

[zenrhino]

just get a holga and have done with it - bigger neg too

And the Holga has the advantage that if you're shooting out of the sunroof of your car and a bird knocks the thing out of your hands and it gets run over by a Metro Transit light rail train, you're only out $12.

 

[TPPhotog]

That's why I have all my kit insured, if my F100 bounces down the road it's oooops send me a new one please

 

[Bob Carnie]

Looks a little like a pictrol diffusser, I use this all the time in the darkroom, does any one think this lens baby would work on a enlarger???

 

[rbarker]

. . . does any one think this lens baby would work on a enlarger???

It might. All it would take would be a gaffer's tape adapter on an empty board to try it.

It's amazing what one can do with gaffer's tape

 

[elekm]

Spiratone made something like this in the 1970s and 1980s -- the Portagon. And it was A LOT cheaper than $100. I think I paid something like $20.

You probably could do just as well with the lens from a magnifying glass and a piece of PVC pipe. Again, a lot less than $100.

 

[Mongo]

Check out the PlungerCam at:

Dead Link Removed

for a d.i.y. version of the same idea.

 

[rbarker]

Ah, but the Spiratone Portragon didn't have swings, tilts, rise, fall and shift.