Digital Photographer - USA (2019-07)

Inset
Swapandchange
Theopticisremovedfrom
thecomposerProIIby
grippingthefocusingring
androtatingtheaperturering
beyondf22.It’sreinstalled
byaligningthehollowdot
markings,thenpushingin
androtatingclockwise

TheEdge 35 ispartofLensbaby’sOpticSwap

Systemandisdesignedtobeusedwith

thecompany’sComposerProorthenewer

ComposerProIIlenshousing,whichisalso

availableasakitwiththeoptic.Wetesteditin

theComposerProIIwiththeSonyEmounton

theSonyA7RIII.

AstheComposerProIIdoesn’thaveany

electricalcontacts,thefirststepistoopenthe

cameramenutosetittoshootwithoutalens.

Mostcameraswillmetercorrectlyinaperture

prioritymode,butyoucanalsousemanualif

youprefer.

OncetheEdge35,whichhasafocallength

of35mm,ismountedintheComposerProII,

thehousing’sballandsocketdesignallowsthe

optictobetiltedinanydirection.Thismovesthe

planeoffocusintheimagelikearegular(but

expensive)tilt-and-shiftlens(althoughthere’sno

capacitytoshift),enablingyoutocreateasharp

bandacrossthescenewithnearandfarobjects

bothbeinginfocus.Tiltingupordowncreates

ahorizontalsliceoffocuswhiletiltingleftor

rightgivesaverticalslice,andtiltingdiagonally

producesdiagonalslices.Alockingringnear

thelensmountenablesthemovementtobe

tightenedandloosenedasrequired.

ThebuildoftheEdge 35 isstreetsaheadof

thatofLensbaby’soriginalbendylenses.The

barrelismetalandtheelementsareglass,so

ithasaniceweighttoitandfeelslikeagood-

qualityoptic.Muchofthebarreloftheopticis

takenupbytheapertureringwhichhassettings

runningfromf3.5tof22.Focusing,whichis

manualonly,isperformedusingthefrontringon

theComposerProhousing.

It’susefultoactivatethefocuspeakingand

tocustomiseabuttontoactivatethemagnified

viewasthishelpsyougetthefocusjustwhere

youwantit.Withcarefulfocusing,youcanget

impressivelysharpresultsatthepointoffocus,

withsteepfall-offandattractivebokeh.

leNsbAby eDge 35

Acreativelensthatputsasliceoffocus

inanydirectioninyourimages

http://www.lensbaby.com

£189/$249.95

Left

Widelycompatible

TheLensbaby

composerProIIis

availableincanon

eF,NikonF,Fujifilm

X,Sonye,MicroFour

Thirds,Pentax,PLand

SamsungNXmount,

theopticsinsertscan

beusedinthehousing

withanymount

The35mmfocallength is useful for a range

photographic genres from street to portraiture

or landscape, while the tilting mechanism and

the slice of sharp focus open up some exciting

creative opportunities.

Overall

Easeofuse

Valueformoney

Features

Quality of results

Summary

Accessories