Comments on: Product Review: Lensbaby 3G

By: medusaeyes

medusaeyes — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:31:46 +0000

I’ve enjoyed your reviews/comments about both your new camera and the lensbaby. Although I love photography, I’m an amateur so reading your insights is helpful. Keep ‘em coming!

I’ve recently been sharing more photos on my own site and have a few questions about sharing photos online (if you don’t mind).

Do you worry about photo theft? Are you concerned with people taking your photos and using them? Do you take steps to prevent this? Personally, I’m drawn to the interactive aspects of sharing photos online at Flickr. I like giving and receiving comments and feedback, I like challenging my own creativity and seeing how others use the medium. I don’t like the idea of watermarking, but short of that, I can’t think of another way to protect my photos.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:52:19 +0000

Thanks for this write up. I’ve been pondering a lensbaby for a few weeks now and I think you just sold me.

By: minxlj

minxlj — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:54:28 +0000

Thanks for sharing your review, it cool to see how people actually USE things and what they also THINK of using them. You don’t have to explain why you want to make more arty shots or representations of them — your photography is exactly that — yours!. These people who say they aren’t really photographs — ???? WTF? If it’s taken with a camera, it is a photograph. I for one am enjoying the stuff you’re doing, and thanks for sharing! It’s given me a couple of ideas for my D70 shots, and I might even buy a 3G at some point, cos it looks cool for experimentation

By: fred

fred — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 01:20:11 +0000

i just got some of my prints back from my first time shooting with my new holga. it was lots of fun.

By: blurb

blurb — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:31:00 +0000

leahkay, spend hours in photoshop or a few minutes shooting? Over the lifespan of the lens, I’ll save well over the cost of the lens in the time it takes getting cool blurs with the lens versus the time it takes to get a similar effect in Photoshop.

The lens is flexible and so bendable that one can get an infinite number of blur effects at the touch of a finger. While I love Photoshop, I love being able to work quickly and spend the time in Photoshop on other things.

For me, it is more than just two methods to get the same effect. I don’t even have to think about how many layers and types of blurs it would take to get an effect. I just bend the lens, get the sweet spot where I want, meter, shoot and adjust. Repeat. The whole process takes a fraction of the time and yields an effect that doesn’t require lots of post-processing.

I’ve already got a massive camera bag, adding the relatively small Lensbaby to it isn’t that big of a deal, especially knowing that I’ll get some cool shots I will be more likely to share and do so more quickly.

By: leahkay

leahkay — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:18:21 +0000

As I’ve mentioned before in this forum, I’m both cheap and lazy. This winning combination leads me to think I could recreate the lensbaby effect in Photoshop without having to invest in and lug around and finetune on the spot an extra attachment. As you said, “Itís cheaper in time and money for me to use the tools I know and can afford to get the results I want.” For me that means Photoshop. And although I completely understand the lure of the gadget in and of itself, maybe you could tell us a little bit more about the advantage of lensbabies from a technical standpoint as it compares to Photoshop. Is it more than just two different methods to get the same effect?

(For the record, I think that digital manipulation of photographs should be considered a subgenre of the art. It’s not cheating on “pure” photography; it’s just an extension of the artistic process.)

By: Pete Dunn

Pete Dunn — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:08:59 +0000

Bitchin’ Camaro.

I love my Canon S3 IS but have wanted to do some cool stuff like this. I guess I’ll have to check it out.

By: JesC

JesC — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:02:44 +0000

I’ve been eyeing the Lensbaby and while I’m not quite ready to buy it, I really appreciate your review. I have a D70 and I also thought your post about the Canon 5D versus the D70 was well done and on point. Keep the reviews coming–

By: Virginia Gal

Virginia Gal — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 14:02:31 +0000

I expect my digital camera to point and shoot a beautiful picture without any effort on my part. That said, while I don’t always “get” your pictures, I appreciate that you explain how you create them, and that you do so in a way that even this semi-technophobe can understand. Many thanks!

By: spookychick

spookychick — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:53:35 +0000

stu mark ~ my best-girlfriend and her first husband had spinner rings. great for attention deficient people.

i would love a lensbaby! this is a technique i used to force in the darkroom with somewhat unpredictable results. good blog!