Tyson Robichaud (Click here) tested a new Lensbaby product for the mirror-less systems which enables access to all of the Lensbaby optics. He writes: “Not only does the Composer Pro offer access to the entire Lensbaby system, it also promises to be much more “future proof” in the event that Lensbaby looks to further diversify its system as the new Composer Pro has worked around the design issues with these mirror-less system mounts that the newer optics had compatibility-wise with the Tilt Transformer.”
And Carl Zeiss released two new CP.2 15mm T/2.9 and CP.2 135mm T/2.1 lenses also for m43 mount (Source: Dpreview). They will be available in late 2012 for $5,700 or €4,200 each (VAT excluded). These are special video optimized lenses and perfectly color-matched to allow consistency in footage. Sound good for the current AG-AF100 and the new camcorder that is going to be announced next week!
Links to CP.2 lenses on [shoplink 15756 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
7 Responses
That cam is really interesting. Any rumors about that yet admin?
I really am glad I don’t do movies. (Other than the grandchildren so I don’t worry about anything as long as there is some movement). I might be in real trouble with 2 lenses at nearly $6K each, gee, I am very lucky.
Be nice to see Zeiss make some m43 glass though, with AF. Biogon 21mm special for m43 Mmmmm…….
Don’t worry, people who do movies also realize how much better off they are buying cost-effective stills lenses.
The only people you will see using these are folks like Philip Bloom.
Eh, I’m kind of drawn on the lensbaby stuff. I used to be really into them in the early days, but they seem to be making stuff more and more expensive and more and more, well, camera like. The whole point of the original line was that it was fun, unpredictable, and also cheap.
They are also easiest to use on full frame where you have the best possible view finder to look through to see exactly what’s in focus.
While the Sweet 35 looks like a nice solution to the aperture disks (which I hardly ever changed, f/4-8 or so it pretty much ideal), the idea of the Edge 80 being an effective 160mm tilt shift limits it’s usage considerably on a micro 4/3rds body, and it still looks a little large. Something that aimed for tilt effects at an effective 50mm range would be better, I think.
The optic swap thing was a bit overdone too, as (at least for me), the double glass one was the one you always wanted to use, and the rest degraded picture quality too much.
If you don’t have one, they can be a lot of fun, but I’d recommend using them on a lightweight SLR (so you can grip it easily with one hand) with a very good view finder — and also buying the original flexible model because they are more fun. The composer isn’t a bad idea, but it’s a bit expensive for what it is.
The lensbaby stuff seems kind of pricey to me but I have seen some beautiful footage made with it.
Those are really good comments, Michael; I couldn’t have said it better. I’d also add that seeing as these special effects lenses are not something I’d want to use all the time, it’s a tough sell to make me want to buy them for almost the price of a top dollar lens. I would also worry about buying in something like a NX mount which is both short register and whose future is not as well assured as EF and M.
In this particular movie I think it’s rather stupid that the camera and lenses are out of frame most of the time.