It seems like tons of lens and camera manufacturers want to get rid of lens flare as much as possible. But some companies are trying to give it back to us in various different ways. Lens flare can add a cinematic look to your images. And best of all, you can do it cheaper and with less hassle than having to sit around in post-production for a long time or spending a ton of money on presets and brushes. So in this roundup, we chose items in our Reviews Index that will give you better lens flare. Ready to fall in love?
This piece is presented in partnership with LENSBABY. We’ve independently and ethically reviewed all the products in this post already without sponsorship. And we worked with them to recommend a few key gems to you.
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear that we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Pro Tips on How to Get Great Lens Flare
Here are some pro tips all about lens flare:
- All of these products listed are part of a partnership we’re doing with Lensbaby. But we’ve independently tested all of them ourselves. You can dive into the reviews to see just that.
- Lens flare can’t be had just by smudging your lens or removing the lens hood. It has to do with coatings and more.
- Try backlighting your subject for some of the best lens flare. Otherwise, try a sharp angle from the side.
- Trust us, once you get to experience lens flare, you’ll never want to supress it again.
Lensbaby OMNI Kit
In our review, we state:
“Modern cameras and lenses can sometimes be too sharp and clinical. They lack the imperfections that sometimes give images unique optical characteristics. As a photographer who occasionally likes to introduce distortions and other lighting effects into my photos for added visual impact, the Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System allows it with ease, and without having to juggle between different crystals and prisms in one hand while holding a camera in the other. The magnetic Effect Wands stay put securely onto the Filter Ring thanks to powerful, rare earth magnets and can easily be re-positioned and adjusted to generate a near infinite amount of interesting in-camera effects without having to resort to adding them in post-production via Photoshop (cheating). My only wish is that Lensbaby will offer custom Effect Wands in the future so I can affix my own collection of crystals and prisms to them that I’ve amassed over the years.”
Lensbaby Velvet 85
In our review, we state:
“If anything though, it’s there in the form of flare. There isn’t much of any major problems that I was able to find with fringing although I will surely admit that there are traces of it.”
Lensbaby Composer Pro with Edge 35
In our review, we state:
“However, when you use the Lensbaby 35mm f3.5 Edge you start to see that this lens has a lot of character. From the way it can deliver lens flares to the tiny sliver of semi-sharpness that it has in the center, the Lensbaby 35mm f3.5 Edge can provide any photographer with lots of fun if you fully embrace it and throw all the conformities out the window.”
