Digital Video - July 2008 - (Page 22) IN REVIEW LENSBABY 3GPL In my test, I worked with the Brevis35 adapter with Cinevate Flip on my Canon XL2 DV camera. The Brevis35 (See review in DV June ‘08) attaches to the Canon’s 72mm lens threads and is supported by a fairly complicated custom rod system. The Lensbaby 3GPL then attaches to the front of the Brevis35 PL mount. The Lensbaby is a multi-coated optical glass doublet with a focal length of 54mm. The focus is approximately 12" to infinity, but there is no calibration on the focus ring. The lens can accept both 37mm and 52mm threaded accessories such as wide-angle or telephoto converters, filters, etc. The primary purpose of the Lensbaby 3GPL is to put only one specific area of the frame in focus. One of the best examples of use of the Lensbaby is Janusz Kaminski’s POV photography in the The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, for which the cinematographer received an Academy Award nomination. The image is manipulated by physically bending the lens to the sides or compressing or expanding it away from the camera on a plastic bellows and then locking it in place with a small button. The Lensbaby 3GPL can produce quite beautiful results. In the past, to achieve this kind of look on a budget, I had to combine several split-field diopters, which were difficult to stack FINDING FOCUS THE LENSBABY 3GPL OFFERS UNIQUE INCAMERA EFFECTS FOR A MODEST PRICE. BY JAY HOLBEN L ooking like something NASA would have launched into space in the 1960s, the Lensbaby 3GPL lens, which is the PL-mount third-generation of the device, is an inexpensive way to achieve some unique looks. Shallow depth-of-field has been widely touted as a holy grail in digital photography as it mimics the photographic characteristics of 35mm film. With the Lensbaby 3GPL, this concept is taken to another level in which you can have selective focus of a single element in a frame and have the rest of the image bend off out of focus for a very unique view. It’s not a new concept, by any means, but the Lensbaby brings the swing-and-tilt lens results into a much more affordable range for digital videographers. The PL mount can attach directly to any 35mm or 16mm camera or to many different 35mm adapters for digital cameras. SCORE LENSBABY 3GPL PROS: Inexpensive, versatile, beautiful images. CONS: Imprecise, form over function, for digital cameras requires additional adapter. BOTTOM LINE: A unique addition to your kit, but useful depending on your creative approach. MSRP: $490.00 CONTACT: www.lensbaby.com 22 dv july 2008 www.dv.com http://www.lensbaby.com http://www.dv.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.