Lens News

Lensbaby Spark
Created for young photo enthusiasts, the Lensbaby Spark is a fun and affordable lens that offers Lensbaby effects for just $80. Made for use with Canon and Nikon D-SLR cameras, this 50mm f/5.6 lens features a multi-coated glass doublet and a focusing range of 13” to infinity. This manual focus lens offers a sharp sweet spot surrounded by soft blur. The Spark is compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System and all of the Lensbaby 37mm threaded accessory lenses.

These fashionable, durable, and discreet Messenger bags are available in three sizes. Each features a wide main access compartment with a “dual mode” flap that offers security and a quiet working mode, a wide shoulder strap, stretch pockets, and a grab handle. The model 250 and 150 offer a padded laptop/tablet compartment. The model 250 is large enough to easily hold a pro D-SLR camera, three to four lenses, and an iPad or 13” laptop. The retail value is $79.99. The model 150 can hold a D-SLR camera, two to three lenses, and an iPad. The retail value is $69.99. The model 100 can hold a compact D-SLR or mirrorless camera with a lens attached. The retail value is $59.99.

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens (average price: $969 on various Internet sites) is designed for full-frame cameras; with an APS-C multiply by your usual factor. At about 25 oz, I’d describe the lens as substantial, but not hefty. One of the reasons for the weight is the build—11 elements in eight groups, including the use of SLD glass, Sigma speak for Special Low Dispersion. The big chunk of glass on the end requires a 77mm filter. As to handling, Sigma has gone from their black “crinkle” finish to a smooth black rubberized finish that feels great to the touch. It’s plastic, not metal, but based on my experience with previous Sigma lenses, I’ve found them to be built to professional standards and can take a lot of abuse.

There are three main elements in depth of field—focal length, aperture, and distance to subject—and depth of field is a very important part of a 2D photograph. It’s how we judge scale (or are fooled by it), how we note the importance of certain subjects within the frame, and how we define content and context in the scene. With these three controls, and using various points of view, it seems we have infinite variations to choose from, and that’s part of the creative play of photography. Now you can add a fourth element to the mix—tilts that range from mild to extreme and that create “slices” of sharpness within the frame. The tool that helps us create that effect is the latest optic from Lensbaby, which they dub the Edge 80.

There are two general classifications of lenses that define how you use them in the field—zooms and single focal length, the former being a variable focal length lens that has many convenient advantages, and the latter being a single focal length that, in the group we’re covering here, is what’s known as a “fast” lens. Fast doesn’t mean that it focuses quicker than its zoom cousins, though it might—it usually means that it offers a wide maximum aperture, anywhere from f/1.2 to f/2.8, and that aperture stays put, unlike some zooms where the aperture varies by going narrower as you zoom into longer focal lengths. And to help refine the group we’re covering here we’re also topping out the focal length at 50mm, which makes these lenses prime for street and low-light photography, candid and photojournalism work.

The 85mm VR Micro Nikkor ($529.95, MSRP) benefits from next-generation VR II technology and is stated to deliver usable results at up to four steps below the optimum shutter speed. Keep in mind that we’re dealing with a DX-dedicated lens for an APS-C sensor camera (like my D300). So the optimum shutter speed when shooting handheld and without VR on translates into 1/(Lens Focal Length x Sensor Factor), or 1⁄85mm x 1.5, or 1⁄125 sec (rounded off). (Because this is a DX lens and this is Nikon, the multiplication factor is 1.5, so the effective focal length is approximately 128mm.)