Now, I’ve yet to get my mitts on a Velvet 56 of my own, but I plan to, and I’ll review the crap out of it when I do 🙂 In the mean time, check out the announcement by Lensbaby today:
Lensbaby Announces Availability of Fuji X Mounts for Flagship Lenses
Company also adds popular mirrorless mounts for hugely successful Velvet 56 portrait lens
I’ve slowly been crawling out from the pile of work I’ve created for myself and have gotten around to playing with MacPhun’s Focus 2 Pro. The beauty of this program is it’s ease and remarkably intuitive skill set. After playing with and reviewing Tonality Pro, I was very curious to see what else MacPhun had to offer. If you are a Mac OS user, have a look, download a trial and play around with this fun program. On sale through the 15th of March, you can download a free trial, or purchase it HERE. Normally $39.99, it is on sale for 25% off, or $29.99 for the next 10 days. Upgrades from Standard to Pro can be had for a mere $14.99 as well! Come on in to see some of what you get with Focus 2 Pro.
My friends and hometown optics company, Lensbaby is offering a wide gamut of their unique products at substantial sales for the holidays.
As many of you know, I tend to shy away from using this site to push gear specials or sales constantly because we get them from many other sites, especially this time of year. I will however give a shout out for Lensbaby because they’re a very cool, forward thinking, local company that I have been fortunate enough to become friendly with over the years. I’ve helped create promotional imagery for them, I’ve done quite a bit of beta product testing and feedback, and have been published in a coffee table book focused on Lensbaby imagery. When I was a wee blogger, they didn’t look twice when I asked about reviewing their lenses for the mirrorless systems way back in the day. They even had me do some acting spots for their educational videos for larger retailers like B&H and Adorama which was a lot of fun, so you can say that I’m a bit of a honk.
I make no money from you buying Lensbaby products, so I’m not saying this because there is monetary incentive for me to do so, I just like them as a company, and like their products. If you or someone you know has been interested in one of the many cool Lensbaby optics or creative products for photography or film making, now might be a good time to check on their sale. You can see updates and find links to all of the discounts going on through the 22nd of December on Lensbaby’s website HERE. Have a look, and let me know if you have any questions about the Lensbaby stuff, I’ve used quite a bit of it 🙂
If interested, you can see my various Lensbaby reviews and articles on the Review Page HERE.
Happy holidays to all, and happy shooting.
Tyson
April 2nd, 2012 – Lensbaby has announced it’s second MILC dedicated product which now gives the MILC (Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Compact) systems, micro 4/3, NEX, and NX users access to every optic and add on in the Lensbaby system. Where the Tilt Transformer for Micro 4/3 and NEX cameras allowed for the Composer Front to be used, it was limited to the Lensbaby optics that were compatible. Now, the Sweet 35, Fisheye, Edge 80, Macro Converters and all standard optic swap inserts are entirely compatible! It’s like immediately gaining access to a bunch of new lenses for these young systems clamoring for more affordable and diverse options. More after the jump…
February 14th, 2012 – Uh oh, don’t look now. Lensbaby has further diversified their lineup with a sharp, solid portrait lens with the same quirky capability of that signature Lensbaby look… It’s been a busy winter for Lensbaby. Out now and available immediately, the new Edge 80 optic. Like the Sweet 35 before it, the Edge 80 has the ability to control the aperture of the optic without having to use the magnetic drop in disks necessary with the standard optics. An 80mm f/2.8 Flat Field focus Optic with a 12 blade circular, user controlled aperture mechanism is great for anything from portraits to street shooting. Read on for more examples and links…
It’s here. This, more than any other Lensbaby optic I’ve personally used, changes the Lensbaby from a fun tool, into a productive, creative asset. Not that any of the other Lensbaby optics are bad, quite the contrary, I think that the Lensbaby system is and has always been a wonderful addition to my photographic arsenal, it’s just that up until now, one big challenge with any of the Lensbaby optics has been the inability to alter the size of the sweet spot via aperture adjustment quickly on the fly… Now, you can bring all of the cool, selective focus effects into concert with the adaptability and exposure tuning qualities of a more standard lens. Read on for a quick video and image samples…
*image used courtesy of Lensbaby
As announcement after announcement come in, excitement in the photographic industry rarely hits the pitch that it does when Photokina rolls around. Lensbaby has used this stage to announce their first micro 4/3 and Sony NEX dedicated offerings in the form of a combined Tilt Transformer and Composer for each of the subsequent mounts. Being that I do not have, nor have access to a NEX 3 or 5, I’ll be writing about my experience with the micro 4/3 mount Lensbaby Tilt Transformer/Composer combo. Combining the optical playground that is the Lensbaby Composer with the ability to replace the composer element and mount any Nikon F mount lens to gain a multitude of tilt-able options is just what we’ve needed to see in a micro 4/3 mount, a versatile, affordable, different and really, really fun option. Read on for a few test shots and examples…
Why do we take pictures? For the majority of us, I’d guess it falls somewhere into the realm of, enjoyment and/or documentation. Regardless of the medium, whether it be digital or film, we like to preserve moments and may enjoy trying to do so with some level of artistry. Isn’t it nice when someone says, “wow, that is cool!” or “how did you get your picture to look like that?” Simply put, many of us enjoy taking pictures because we like to and it’s nice when that is noticed or appreciated. Add in a few cool tools and enjoyment can turn into excitement from behind the lens.
Tyson Robichaud Photo-blography 