On Tuesday, February 14th, 2012, Lensbaby Inc., creator of extraordinary optical products, has announced a new member of their “Optic Swap System” product family, the Edge 80. With a focal length of 80mm and an intial aperture of f2.8, the lens is ideally suited for portait and product photography where selective focus effects are desired. Read more after the jump.
The Edge 80 is compatible with most of Lensbaby‘s current lens bodies, including the Composer (Pro), Muse, Scout and Control Freak. As pictured above, the Edge 80 comes with a bayonet mount that fits either of these tiltable bodies, in combination with which it is able to deliver selective focus effects. By tilting the lens in any direction — vertically, horiztontally or diagonally — a corresponding slice of selective focus can be achieved. The width of that slice can be increased by stopping down the 12-blade aperture, which goes from f2.8 all the way down to f22. The selective focus effect can be used to selectively place objects inside the plane of focus, or to selectively keep objects outside the plane of focus.
In combination with one of Lensbaby’s tilting bodies, the Edge 80 can also be used to increase depth of field, which makes it suitable for product photography as well. Simply by tilting the lens, a large depth of field can be achieved even at wide aperture settings. Additionally, the Edge 80’s internal extension mechanism (which works like an extension tube) provides a minimum focusing distance of 17″, allowing for macro and close-up photography.
The Edge 80 is available online via Lensbaby’s own web shop as well as via worldwide suppliers for an MSRP of US-$ 300.
Technical details
- Focal length: 80mm
- 5 multi-coated lens elements arranged in 4 groups
- Max. aperture: f2.8; min. aperture: f22
- 12-blade aperture mechanism
- Min. focusing distance: 17″ (43 cm)
- 46mm filter thread
- Compatible with Lensbaby Composer Pro, Composer, Muse, Scout and Control Freak lens bodies*
* Not compatible with the Composer with Tilt Transformer for Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX Cameras.
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