Photography News - The latest digital photography hardware and software news, reviews, articles, tips, techniques and more!

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

New 0.42x accessory lens designed exclusively for use with all Lensbaby lenses

Lensbaby has announced a new 0.42x Super Wide Lens for use with their new line of selective focus lenses – The Composer™, The Muse™, The Control Freak™ and their companion Lensbaby Optic Swap System™ consisting of Double Glass, Single Glass, Plastic, and Pinhole/Zone plate interchangeable optics. Like the current line of Lensbaby accessory lenses (which includes a 1.6x telephoto, 0.6x wide angle, and +4 and +10 macro filters), the 0.42x Super Wide Lens simply screws onto the front of any Lensbaby lens via its standard 37mm screw thread. The 0.42x Super Wide Lens converts Lensbaby optics from a 50mm focal length to an ultra-wide 21mm focal length.

Lensbaby President and Co-Founder, Craig Strong, stated, “Many Lensbaby users are shooting with cropped-sensor digital cameras, and are looking for a wider angle of view. With this new 0.42x Super Wide Lens, we are offering the widest angle-of-view yet for selective focus lenses in one of the lightest, most compact 0.42x conversion lenses available. The 0.42x Super Wide Lens can be used with any Lensbaby lens and optic combination. My favorite use of this accessory lens is to combine the 0.42x with the Lensbaby Pinhole/Zone Plate optic to provide expansive views and the widest pinhole and zone plate photography currently possible with an SLR camera.”

Product Pricing and Specs:

• Converts Lensbaby optics from a 50mm to a 21mm focal length
     
• Compatible exclusively with all Lensbaby lenses using the Double Glass, Single Glass, Plastic, and Pinhole/Zone Plate optics as well as Lensbaby 3G, Lensbaby 2.0, and the Original Lensbaby
 
• Attaches via 37mm screw thread onto the front of any Lensbaby for ease of use
 
• In contrast with the Lensbaby 0.6x wide angle lens, the Sweet Spot of focus shrinks in size and becomes very small and precise with enhanced blurring and prismatic color shifts on the edges of the photo
 
• Measures 2” W x 1.75” H (5.1cm x 4.4cm)
 
• Weighs 2.4oz (68g)
 
• Lighter and more compact than industry-standard 0.42 wide angle accessory lenses
 
• Will vignette when not pointed straight ahead on a full frame camera
 

All Lensbaby lenses provide photographers with a new way to control depth of field by bringing one area of a photo into sharpest focus with that Sweet Spot™ surrounded by gradually increasing blur. By bending the Lensbaby lens, the photographer moves the sharp area around the photo for customized creative effects.

Three new Lensbaby lenses – The Composer, The Muse and The Control Freak, – make up the new line of products. Each features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap system.  With the Composer, Lensbaby introduced a completely new lens, based on a ball and socket configuration that delivers smooth selective focus photography with unparalleled ease of use and greater precision.  The new Composer retains its position after being bent and is easy to use.  The Composer stays in the desired bent position without requiring a locking mechanism and is compatible with the new Lensbaby Optic Swap System. 

About Lensbaby
Lensbaby (formerly Lensbabies, LLC) is a Portland, Oregon based manufacturer and marketer of award-winning selective focus SLR camera lenses.  Lensbaby was launched in February 2004 by Craig Strong, a professional photographer and the inventor of the patented Lensbaby selective focus SLR lens.  Lensbaby sells to photographers all over the world through its website, www.lensbaby.com, by calling 877-536-7222 / 971-223-5662, at tradeshows, in leading photo retailers and through a growing global network of international distributors.

• For more information visit http://www.lensbaby.com