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Lenses

We Got a Bad Unit. The Lensbaby Twist 28 Actually Rocks

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 03/09/2026
05/05/2026
2 Mins read
Nikon Z fc camera with a strap resting on a round wooden stool, viewed from above.
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If you read my Lensbaby Twist 28 review way back in February when I published it, you’ll be happy to know that there’s been an update. At least, I’m happy that there’s an update. So we’re posting the updated text below.

Update March 9th, 2026

After receiving the marketing materials for the Lensbaby Twist 28, I was really, really, really skeptical about what I was seeing. So I emailed our reps at Lensbaby to ask about how others seemingly got sharper units that I had. Otherwise, I flat out said that there was a lot of Photoshopping in the imagery.

I was told by Lensbaby VP of Sales Michael Anthony that I got a bad unit and that one of the internal optics was about 1.2mm off in the housing. During my review period, I even talked to them about this. Then Mr. Anthony ensured that I got a new unit.

When I put it on my Nikon Zf, I realized that it was indeed a bad unit. The Lensbaby Twist 28 that I’ve got in my possession now is very sharp, more constrasty, and it’s easier for me to get the Twist ability. On top of that, the images that I make with it really are very sharp in the center of the image.

Of course, that means that I can only ever frame subjects around the center — and that’s fine.

I really wish that this lens had aperture control. For the record, though, I get more of the Petzval look than I do with Lomography’s 35mm f2 Joseph Petzval lens (reviewed here).

Ultimately, both lenses add extra character to the otherwise bland Nikon Z system unless you’re using the Nikon Picture Control profiles.

Here are extra sample images made with the new unit. It’s rather incredible that I can get this look with a wider lens than the Lomography 35mm.

A blurry photo of a parking meter on a wet city street at night, with apartment buildings in the background.
A potted plant with a bare stem sits on a windowsill, with a street visible through the window.
Close-up of a motorcycle parked on a city street at night, with blurred lights and buildings in the background.
An empty, covered outdoor patio with string lights and scattered trash on the concrete floor.
A white to-go coffee cup with a brown NYCBC&H sleeve sits on a table in a cozy café.
Close-up of pine tree branches with a blurred background of a building and a fence.
A blue Little Free Library box stands empty in front of brick apartment buildings and a garden.
Close-up of a street sign pole reading TEDZ GOT GAME on a city sidewalk with parked cars and buildings.
Close-up of dried roses in a yard with a white fence and blurred houses and street in the background.
A wooden garden arbor stands beside a brick building with greenery and trees in the background.
Two plush toys, one skeleton and one monster, sit together on a windowsill inside a colorful, artistic shop.
Baskets filled with fresh loaves of bread on display behind a glass bakery counter.
A torn green tarp hangs over a chain-link fence in a cluttered urban backyard.
Pathway lined with leafless trees, surrounded by red brick apartment buildings under a cloudy sky.
A bright yellow bench stands in a small urban park with other dark benches and dried leaves scattered around.
A city street with parked cars, buildings, and a large STOP painted on the road in white letters.
A bouquet of pink flowers rests beneath a black lantern, with a bare tree and buildings in the background.
A red hand signal on a pedestrian crossing light, with bare tree branches in the background.
28 lensbaby look Petzval twist
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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