The Magic of Lensbaby

As Fotodiox celebrates 20 years in the photography industry, we share this anniversary with our friends at Lensbaby. Lensbaby is an innovator in creative lens optics. Taking inspiration from vintage lenses and cameras, Lensbaby has created an ecosystem of specialty lenses that gives photographers or filmmakers extra visual flair. In this article, we’ll visit what makes up the magic of some of Lensbaby’s greatest hits.

Flange Focal Distance

Flange focal distance, in short, is the space between a lens mount and the sensor/film plane. This distance is critical in that it directly controls whether or not a lens will focus to infinity. This is the same principle Fotodiox uses in our lens adapters.

The original Lensbaby lens is the answer to a problem, where the ultimate goal was to find a solution for getting a large-format lens to mount onto a DSLR camera. At the heart, the solution is simple: place the lens at a specific distance from the sensor and fill the gap with light-tight material. The final product does resemble a lens adapter, but upon closer inspection, you’ll see that the design is much more than that. The lens utilizes a tube that functions like a set of bellows (not unlike what you’d see on a large-format camera); compressing the lens lets you focus farther and have a control of focus in lieu of a focus ring.

The rule of thumb is that if a lens has a rather long flange focal distance, it’s much easier to adapt it to other systems. Because of this, Lensbaby lenses are compatible with a wide variety of lens mounts and can be easily adapted to other mounts as well.

Lensbaby lens on Nikon F camera (left) vs on Nikon Z camera using a Fotodiox adapter (right)

Tilt Movements and Selective Focus

As mentioned above, the original Lensbaby lens’ functions like a set of bellows. This allows for the focus functionality, but if one were to compress the bellows asymmetrically, this has the same look as tilt movements on a view camera.

Tilt movements change the plane of focus, and depending on the depth field and aperture used, can be used to create a thin sliver of focus. If you’re interested in incorporating tilt, and you have compatible, adaptable vintage lenses, our TLT ROKR adapters are a great way to get started.

Tilt movements are apparent in Lensbaby products such as the original Lensbaby lens, the Sol, and any lens that uses a Composer body. Selective focus can be used to create emphasis on particular elements of a photo, but it can also give an image or video a surreal, dreamy look.

Scene using a standard adapter with no selective focus (top) vs Scene using selective focus via a TLT ROKR adapter (bottom)

Bokeh

“Bokeh” is a term thrown around the creative world and is usually defined as the out-of-focus elements of an image or video. The quality and general look of bokeh is dictated by lens design, but aperture and depth of field also play a part in the look of your work.

One Lensbaby product that comes to mind is the Creative Bokeh Optic, which allows the user to change the shape of a setup’s bokeh. The optic is kitted with various disks with cutouts that can be easily swapped out for a variety of different looks and shapes. This is a fairly easy DIY that can be done with construction paper, but the disks of the Creative Bokeh Optic definitely feel easier to use.

A popular optic Lensbaby offers is the Twist 60. Its most prominent feature is the swirly bokeh. When using this lens, the subject stays sharp in focus, and any bright specular highlights that aren’t in focus are given a new sort of texture that spirals around, framing the subject.

Bringing it all Together

All of these concepts and mechanics of photography are blended together by Lensbaby to create exciting, creative products. Using a flange focal distance that’s as long as possible allows their lenses to be compatible with as many systems as possible This also means that Nikon F and Canon EF-mount Lensbaby lenses can be used with mirrorless cameras via a Fotodiox adapter!

Tilt functionality, and selective focus, go hand-in-hand and have shown to be staples for Lensbaby’s products. Combining that with the unique lens designs makes for bokeh that you won’t see anywhere else.

While you can recreate some of these looks without an actual Lensbaby lens, it won’t be the same. For the most complete experience of the Lensbaby look and the different effects they can offer, head on over to their website today to add a whole new level of creativity to your craft.