Review of the Lens Baby 2.0
Manufacturer: Lens Baby
Model: 2.0
Price: £110
www.intro2020.co.uk
The cult of Lensbaby is sure to grow with this new improved version. With an improved Low Dispersion, high refractive coated main element, the lens is sharper and brighter than version 1.0. This is also thanks to an increased maximum aperture of f/2.
Like the original, the new version has drop-in apertures, but these are now magnetic, so the need for the rubber stopper has gone. A newly designed aperture grabber and aperture pot is also included. There are four apertures available covering f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 and f/8. With no ring inserted the aperture is f/2.
Using the new version is still the same as before, with the flexible lens barelling allowing you to control the focus point of an image as well as the sharpness and depth of distortion by squeezing and bending the barrel.
This provides narrowly defined areas of focus, with the rest of the image rapidly going out of focus, or even streaking the images in some areas. The wider the aperture that is used, the more pronounced the effect is. It takes a little getting used to but does bring a unique touch to images.
Its optical quality is improved, and the added brightness is much appreciated, and its still just as much fun to use as the original.
What Digital Camera Score: 87%