Lensbaby unveils trio of quirky optics

For that sweeter than sweet focusing spot

23 September 2008 17:16 GMT / By Katie Scott

They have become a bit of a cult photo accessory, and now the team behind the LensBaby optic has announced three new launches.

The original lenses are known for delivering a sweet spot of focus in an image, which can be moved around the frame.

However - there now are a new trio of optics - The Composer, The Muse and The Control Freak.

Each features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap system.

The new Muse and the new Control Freak replace the current Original, Lensbaby 2.0, and Lensbaby 3G lenses, which will be phased out immediately.

The Composer is based on a ball and socket configuration for "smooth selective focus photography".

Photographers just tilt the lens to a desired angle and then focus with a barrel focusing ring.

When using The Muse - snapper focus by compressing the lens and moving the sweet spot by bending the flexible lens tubing.

Both The Muse and The Control Freak features the Lensbaby Optic Swap System which means that when a photographer wants to change the optic in their Lensbaby, they will simply pop the optic out and drop in a different optic using an Optic Swap Tool supplied with the new optic.

The Lensbaby Optic Swap System will include four interchangeable optic options: Double Glass: A 50mm multi-coated optical glass doublet; Single Glass: a 50 mm, updated, uncoated optical glass singlet similar to the optic that was used in the Original Lensbaby; Plastic: a 50 mm f/2 plastic singlet that maximises blur and diffusion; and the Pinhole/Zone plate: an optic cup with an f/177 aperture hole to allow for pinhole photography.

The Composer is $270, The Muse is $150 and The Control Freak is $270.