Lensbaby 3G Review
Operation and Real World Images
On an EOS 20D the Lensbaby 3G is easy to use. With the camera set to Av (aperture priority), metering and exposure is automatic and seems fairly accurate, with maybe slight underexposure at the larger apertures, but that is easily corrected. Focus is manual of course, and the EOS bodies do not provide electronic focus confirmation (though other bodies such as the Pentax K10D and K100D do). EOS users might be able to get electronic focus confirmation by buying a Lensbaby with, for example, a Pentax screw mount then using one of the chip enabled Pentax screw to EOS adapters with focus combination (see my review of the focus confirmation adapters).
Just as with the original Lensbaby, it's possible to hold the camera in such a way that you can use the middle two fingers of each hand to adjust focus and tilt and still use the index finger of your right hand to press the shutter. With the camera on a tripod, tilt can be adjusted with the more precise screw system and fine focus can be achieved using the focusing ring.
Here are a couple of "real world" images. They were taken using an EOS 20D and the Lensbaby 3G with the f4 aperture in place. They were shot handheld, adjusting focus and tilt using my fingers as described above. The first shows the degree and nature of the background blur. The second shows the result of tilting the lens to move the "sweet spot" down towards the bottom right corner of the frame.
Macro
Lensbabies has a macro lens kit ($32.95) which consists of two lenses (a +4 and a +10), that can be used individually or together. The two images below were shot with an EOS 20D using the +10 lens with the f16 aperture disk in the Lensbaby 3G.
Conclusions
The Lensbaby 3G is a significant improvement over the original lensbaby in many ways. It has a better lens resulting in higher contrast images with a sharper center zone, especially at wide apertures. It's also much more controllable since the focus and tilt can be locked in place and adjusted with some precision (the original lensbaby required controlled squeezing of the bellows with your fingers for both focus and tilt).
The image is surprisingly sharp within the "sweet spot", sharp enough to allow large prints which show crisp detail over at least part of the frame (the size of the sweet spot depends on aperture).
For those looking for something different, the LensBaby provides an opportunity to create images which you certainly couldn't get with a "normal" lens.
The lensbaby 3G may still be available through Adorama but it is being replaced by the Lensbaby "Control Freak", which is essentially the same as the 3G except that it will have interchangeable optics. Adorama also carry the complete line of Lensbaby accessories including the aperture kit and auxiliary wideangle, telephoto and macro lenses. Adorama also carry the Lensbaby Muse which is the original Lensbaby but with the new interchangeable optics system.
