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Reviewed by
mjs1973
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$270.00
at B&H
Photography Experience
2-5 years
, Outdoor
Summary
I have been kicking around the idea of getting a Lensbaby ever since the first version came out. I finally pulled the trigger on the Composer. The ball and socket design seemed to be the most user friendly Lensbaby to date.
Overall I like the lens and had a lot of fun playing with it. It only took me a few outings to realize that the Composer just wasn't for me. I found the effect to be a little too "trippy" for my tastes. I have seen some very nice, creative images created using this lens, but after using it a few times, I realized that I don't particularly enjoy making those types of images. As a result, I am returning my Composer. My returning the lens has nothing to do with the performance or build quality of the lens. It has everything to do with knowing that I paid almost $300 for a lens that I feel I will rarely use, and that creates images that I don't really want to make. For others this could be a very low price to pay for a great creative tool. It just isn't for me.
Overall I like the design of the Composer. I found it was pretty easy to use although I did find it hard to get anything in sharp focus once I would tilt the lens. Being able to lock the lens once you have it where you want it was very easy. I set the locking ring on mine so that it was a little stiffer to move and that I wouldn't have to lock it down all the time. This seemed to work fine.
I felt that the focusing ring could be a little stiffer. The focus would change easily while trying to tilt the lens. Changing aperture was simple to do for the most part, but more of a pain in the butt than I would like to deal with in the field. I found myself putting in an aperture disc at home, then just sticking with that ring for the entire outing. This wouldn't be a big deal working in a studio.
I found myself a little frustrated that the Composer didn't focus closer. I found myself having to back up farther than I wanted to in order to get a flower in focus. I did use the wide angle/macro converter that I got free from Lensbaby and that did help a bit. The WA/Macro adapter would also cause severe vignetting on one side when tilting the composer too far to one side.
I view this lens like I view a fisheye lens. You can create some very unique images with it, but a little goes a long way. I wouldn't want to look at an entire book of fisheye photos, and I don't want to see an entire portfolio of Lensbaby images. One or two here and there are fine and for the price, I can't justify keeping this lens to only use once in a while.
I do think the Composer is a good product but it's not a practical lens for what I want to do with my photography. If you like these types of images I think the Composer would treat you well. For me and my photography style, I will stick with a more traditional look.
Strengths
Fun and creative lens to play with
Optical swap system allows for versatility
Easy to lock in place
Weaknesses
Images are too 'trippy' for my taste
Changing aperture a bit of a hassle
Focus ring could be stiffer
Too expensive for 'toy' lens
Wish it focused closer
Similar Products Used
none
Customer Service
A+ for Lensbaby's customer service. A podcast I listen to was offering a free wide angle/macro converter lens for the composer. I emailed the required info to Lensbaby and got a shipping confirmation email before the Composer was shipped. The WA/M lens arrived from Lensbaby before the Composer arrived from B&H.
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