I have been using a Lensbaby Composer lens for a few months now (read the review here) and I am particularly excited and the newest addition to the Lensbaby family, the Tilt Transformer. Sadly it isn’t available (yet) with a Canon fit but lets come this changes in the near future.
The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to mount any Nikon mount lens onto their Micro Four Thirds or Sony NEX camera and tilt up to twice the amount of standard tilt-shift lenses, delivering photos that have a slice of focus through the image, bordered by a soft blur.
The Tilt Transformer also serves as the foundation for the Composer Focus Front. When used together, they become the Composer with Tilt Transformer, for use on Micro Four Thirds or Sony ? NEX cameras. This provides photographers with access to the limitless creativity offered by the Lensbaby Optic Swap™ system.
The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to fluidly tilt their Nikon mount lens up to twice as much as a standard tilt shift lens, giving photographers extraordinary control over the size and placement of a slice of focus through their photograph. The Tilt Transformer’s swivel ball is based on the patent pending design Lensbaby developed for the award winning Lensbaby Composer creative effects camera lens.
The front of the swivel ball has a Nikon mount, allowing photographers to mount Nikon mount lenses.
Tilting a Nikon mount lens on the Tilt Transformer will place the slice of focus in different orientations within the image. Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slices are possible depending on the direction the lens is tilted. Objects in both the foreground and background can be in focus within that slice.
For example, a photographer can focus on one person close up in the left portion of the frame while also focusing on someone standing much further away from the camera on the right side of the frame. The ability to focus on several items at once (while blurring out the rest of the image) when each item is placed at a different distance from the camera, is typically possible only with traditional tilt-shift lenses or view cameras.
The size of the slice of focus is dependent upon the aperture used. For example, f/1.4 will produce a very thin slice of focus with abundant blur. F/22 will produce a very wide slice of focus with just at tiny bit of blur. Also, when tilting extremely and shooting at a very wide open aperture like f/1.4 the slice of focus will appear even thinner than when shooting at f/1.4 with minimal tilt.
Due to the extraordinary tilt available with the Tilt Transformer, photographers can produce a more extreme angled slice of focus than possible with standard tilt-shift lenses. For instance, with the Tilt Transformer a photographer can focus on an object very close to the camera in the extreme lower left hand corner of the frame while simultaneously focusing on an object in the extreme upper right hand corner at infinity.
Specs and features:
- • All of the Tilt Transformer Specs and Features, plus the following:
• Ships with the Double Glass Optic and optical adapter installed
• The photographer can change the aperture using the included aperture disks from f/1.6 with no disk
installed to f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/13, f/22
• Supports the Lensbaby Optic Swap System*, allowing photographers to swap out the Double Glass
Optic and swap in Single Glass, Plastic, Soft Focus, and Pinhole/Zone Plate
• Optical adapter reduces actual focal length of above lenses to ~40mm (~80mm effective focal length)
• Focus Type: Manual
• Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
• Minimum Focus: approximately 12” (30 cm) / Maximum Focus: Infinity (and beyond)
[Main Photo Credit : Keri Friedman ]
Links:
LensBaby
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