L
94 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
MINITEST
Forget maximum sharpness and minimal
fringing: these Lensbaby and Lomo lenses
are all about fun and funky effects...ensbaby and
Lomo lenses are a
great way of adding
fun to your photography
and creative effects to
your pictures with ease.
It can be all too easy to get
carried away with technical
details in photography and
forget about simply having
fun. Rarely is a great photo
made by a lens that’s 1 per
cent sharper than the
competition, but there are
lenses out there that produce
dramatic, eye-catching effects
that can make your shots
stand out from the crowd.
Innovative or retro-inspired
features found on Lensbaby
and Lomo lenses are much
more engaging to use. These
effect lenses also tend to be
completely manual, so you get
to play about with manual
focus and exposure.
You may not always get
flawless results first time
with a lens on this list, but
it’s these very vagaries of
spontaneous manual shooting- combined with the funky
focus and bokeh effects on
offer – that’ll give you unique
photos which you can truly
call your own.
Fun lens
bonanza
There’s a lot of individual finesse to all the lenses on test, here
are five features you should keep your eyes peeled for(^01) Mounting concern
The Lensbaby lenses on test are available for Canon cameras,
whether that’s fitting straight to the EF mount, or via an adapter.
(^02) Manual focus
Don’t expect creature comforts like autofocus: all these lenses are
completely manual, so you do all the work, but that means that you
can also take all the credit.
(^03) Maintain composure
Some of the special effects on offer here necessitate careful shot
composition – don’t expect maximum visual pop right from the off.
(^04) Modular systems
Lenses like the Lensbaby Edge 35 are designed to work with a separate
housing – in this case, Lensbaby’s Composer Pro II; great if you’ve got
one, but it can get expensive you haven’t.
(^05) Budget options
All our lenses use glass elements, but really cheap novelty lenses
with plastic elements are out there if you want a uber low-grade look.
FIVE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOr
£399/$500 http://www.lensbaby.com
£39/$49 http://www.lomography.com^
The burnside 35’s
signature look is a bright, sharp
central area surrounded by bokeh
that has a delightful swirl effect
and prominent corner vignetting,
making it an interesting
proposition for portrait
photographers.
Covering full-frame or crop
sensors and available in Canon,
mounts, the Burnside 35 looks
quite old-school, but its metal
barrel and silky-smooth focusing
action give it a high-quality feel.
The long focus throw makes
manual focusing a pleasure – a
good thing because, like other
Lensbaby optics, this is a
completely manual lens, with no
electronic assistance to speak of.
To get the most out of the
Burnside, you’ll want to shoot
wide open at f/2.8 with your
subject close to the camera and
This diana Premium Glass
lens is by no means premium, but
is priced accordingly. At least its
three lens elements are glass,
where similarly priced lenses can
use horrid plastic elements.
Cost-cutting is evident in the
Diana’s plastic barrel and mount,
and it uses a plastic adaptor to
attach the lens to your Canon.
That ‘premium’ glassware is put
to good use, though: sharpness
is on par with Lomography’s
Petzval lens, and is not bad.
Focusing relies on a focus dial
that requires you to reach into the
front of the lens barrel, meaning
you’re likely to smear the front,
but that could be a bonus when
you’re trying to go ‘max
hipster’ with a soft-focus look.
If you’re after a cheap lens
that’ll help you learn the art of
Lensbaby Burnside 35
Lomography Diana+ 75mm
Premium Glass
VE rDICT
Pros: Gorgeous, unique bokeh;
sharp area of focus; good build quality
Cons: Requires careful composition
to get best results; pricey for its spec
We say: If you put in the effort, the
Burnside 35 can work wonders
VE rDICT
Pros: Surprisingly decent optical
quality; very small and ultra-light
Cons: Irritatingly awkward focus
dial; nasty lens barrel quality
We say: Works well as an
experimental manual prime
well separated from a ‘busy’
background, with texture to make
the swirling bokeh effect obvious.
manual, this is a smart buy, but its
high optical quality can make it a
little too good for lo-fi images.