Original Lensbaby Canon EF Mount SLR Camera Lens (LBOC)

by Lensbabies

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 2.2 x 2.4 inches ; 4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009EIA0Y
• Item model number: LBOC
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 13, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer PhotoFocus Magazine awarded Lensbabies its "Best of Show" award as the most outstanding product of the 2004 PhotoPlus Expo. This award comes shortly after Professional Photographer magazine awarded Lensbabies its coveted Hot 1 Award for 2004 as the best new manual-focus camera lens of the year.

Images taken with the Original Lensbaby. (Click for larger views.)

The Original Lensbaby is a flexible camera lens that creates a 'sweet spot' area of focus surrounded by a graduated blur, that photographers can move around the image area by bending the flexible lens tubing. The Original Lensbaby brings the soft, roughed-up Holga look to digital and film SLR photography, but with greater versatility, convenience, creative control, and new effects. Photographers can control the size of the sharp area and the overall level of blur by using one of four aperture settings: f2.8, f4, f5.6, and f8. The Original Lensbaby is available in camera mounts for almost all SLR camera bodies.

The Original Lensbaby combines several vintage camera technologies into a novel, patent-pending combination. The shooter focuses a Lensbaby using the same general principle used with a bellows camera--by moving the focusing collar in and out with the fingertips. The photographer moves the 'sweet spot' of focus around the picture plane by bending the glass optic out of a parallel position to the image capture plane, like a tilt-shift lens. Finally, reminiscent of Waterhouse stops, the photographer swaps apertures by removing one aperture ring and replacing it with another.

The Original Lensbaby is simple and easy to use. Most photographers get rewarding images within a short practice period.

While technologically rooted in photography's early history, The Original Lensbaby addresses the creative needs of today's often completely digital photographer. The Lensbaby creates tantalizing and gorgeous effects, but does the work in the lens rather than the photographer later applying software filters to add a creative look to their images.

Photographers have found that using a Lensbaby enhances their creativity by giving them a fresh look and a new way to create interest within their photos. Creativity may be the decisive reason that most photographers add a Lensbaby to their camera bag, but nostalgia is also a draw.

The Original Canon EF Mount fits all Canon digital and film EOS SLR bodies as well as: Kodak DCS-1, DCS 520, and DCS 560. (Note: A Lensbaby does not communicate electronically with your camera body.)

Product Description

Lensbabies selective focus SLR camera lenses bring one area of your photo into sharp focus, with that sweet spot surrounded by graduated blur. You can move the sweet spot to any part of your photo by bending the flexible lens tubing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a funky and fun lens to play with., December 25, 2006

By 

M. A. Filippelli "Marc12074" (Roseville, CA, US) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original Lensbaby Canon EF Mount SLR Camera Lens (LBOC) (Electronics)

There are a million different photos you can take with this lens just by moving it slightly one way or the other. This lens has provided hours of enjoyment for me and has rewarded me with interesting shots.

For 100 dollars this lens is well worth the price. You can achieve focal and blur effects that you don't get with standard lens'. This is not by any means a walk around lens this is just a very cool special effects lens.

It will take a v few minutes to get used to adjusting the lens with your left hand and then keep your hand on the lens to keep the focal point in place. The lens has a firm springy action to the there is always tension against the fingers you are using to hold to focal point. The normal focal point for the lens is about 2 feet in front of the lens. You adjust the focal point nearer then 2 feet by pushing the lens out away from the camera body. If you focal point is farther then 2 feet then you pull the lens back towards the body of the camera. Aperture changing is problematic us have to use this little pry tool to remove the aperture ring to install another one. It comes with 3 aperture rings f2.8, f4.0, f5.6 and f8.0.

If your making the choice between this and the lensbaby 2 or the lensbaby 3 i don't know that either of those lens' offer that much more the the Lensbaby original to warrant paying that much more money.

In summery don't let the fact that this lens is only 100 dollars scare you away from buying it because you think it might be cheap. It is sturdy and will produce some amazingly wonderful and unique shots.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice, January 3, 2007

By 

HWJ3 (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Original Lensbaby Canon EF Mount SLR Camera Lens (LBOC) (Electronics)

Someone in our camera club told me "I can make the Lensbaby effect in Photoshop." But the whole point of this lens is how it makes you think about composition in the field.

You tilt it to aim at your subject and focus on your subject. The rest of the frame is progressively more blurred as its distance from the subject increases. From there it is up to the artist behind the camera to mold the impact of the whole frame on the viewer.

Overall, I like the way it makes me think about the relationship of subject to context in a frame. The trick is, the power of composition has to be there before you apply the Lensbaby.

The Lensbaby effect is not the blurriness of the background. It is the composition of the strong subject set against visually interesting by not detracting background. This you cannot do in the computer. You can only do it in the field, with or without the Lensbaby.

5.0 out of 5 stars Have only used it once..., August 31, 2008

By 

J. West "I thought I was watching a dream I w... (Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original Lensbaby Canon EF Mount SLR Camera Lens (LBOC) (Electronics)

My uncle is a photographer, and he has made a lot of money with this little guy. I visited home this summer, and bought a Canon 40D (my first foray into SLR photography). He told me to give the Lensbaby a try. I must say my shots are nothing like his, but I do plan to get one sometime and give it a serious try.

I could see someone buy this, and easily getting fed up with it. If you don't seem to get any good shots, just keep trying, and try different things. I'm sure if you bought this little guy, you're willing to give it a good try. Just don't give up on it.

I will post a couple of pictures so you can see some first attempts. They're not great, but offer a lot of potential.