Most are already familiar with LensBaby and their brand of creative lenses for photographers. We have featured them a number of times here on Fstoppers (like here, here and here.) Today they announced a whole different type of lens they are adding to their repertoire. This 'tiny' lens will particularly get iPhone users excited.
The new lens is called the "LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens for iPhone" and was designed to create Lensbaby’s signature depth-of-field look, the “sweet spot” of focus, surrounded by gradually increasing blur. The lens comes on and off the phone easily using a magnet that sticks to a stainless steel ring with adhesive backing LensBaby provides you that you simply stick to your phone around the outside of the iPhone camera lens. According to their press release, "our low profile stainless steel rings look great and stay put. The magnets will have twice the strength of other magnetic phone accessories, keeping your lens securely attached to your phone."
There is a video on their Kickstarter page that tells more about the lens and includes a number of samples of the types of photos users are creating with the new lens. It's definitely unique and exciting. Here are few examples that were included in their press release.
They go on to explain that the new lens will also come with an free iPhone app that lets the photographer move the sweet spot of focus around the image to match focus with the perfect composition.
The Lensbaby Sweet Spot Lens for iPhone will exclusively be available on Kickstarter.com until May 2, 2014. The funding goal is $20,000. The pledge levels for the campaign are as follows:
$1 – Thank you on Lensbaby’s site
$5 – The coveted See In A New Way™ Lensbaby sticker
$40 – Earliest Bird special for one lens (limit 50)
$45 – Early Bird special for one lens (limit 75)
$50 – Kickstarter special price for one lens
$125 – Kickstarter special price for one lens + one Spark™ DSLR lens
For more information, visit their Kickstarter page.
I wish this was announced yesterday, so we could all be relieved that it's an April Fools Joke.
Normally, I'm not such a killjoy - but seriously? Lensbaby using Kickstarter? Are they not an established company with revenue for R&D?
Also, those images.... are not my aesthetic preference. Although I do appreciate a tilt/shift effect - these just seem gratutitous.
It's interesting that Kickstarter seems to be the new platform not only for up and coming artist, but for those that are established that want to minimize risk of experimental ideas (i.e. Spike Lee). It's like their rationale is "Why risk it? Lets ensure the interest and money is there before we get too far"
I'd say it's a smart strategy. They can test the waters.
Not really. Kickstarter engagement does not reflect user engagement over your product, it only reflects how many people want to use Kickstarter for your product. KS is less and less liked because now almost everyone with several attempts at kickstarting have encountered the late delivery, so late than a better and cheaper product hits the shelves before. Or poor products and/or poor support. You pay once, you never get answers to your emails, you'll never pay again.
Also to have your kistarter accepted you must show how much you're advanced. Testing would occur before being so much advanced.
Yup.
I could have used a more critical article from F-Stoppers...
For a start, results are really not exciting. Not tilt nor sift, just a peripheral blur that is not very good looking. Length of the lens tells us the quality of the image must be really degraded.
Lensbaby sells its stuff super expensive for what it is. Using Kickstarter is just a shame, it's not an example to follow IMHO, or to encourage.
In the end, not an exciting product at all that you're supposed to pay expensive price and be delivered once a better and cheaper real product has hit the shelves.
It allows their following of suckers to pay for their fad gadget development up front. Win-Win...