Lensbaby Introduces Sweet 35 Optic for Adjustable Apertures

Check out the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.

What is it? It’s a 12 blade adjustable aperture lens that fits onto the Lensbaby you already have (Composer, Muse, Control Freak, or Scout). The price is $180 and the Sweet 35 Optic in available now. Sorry, Micro 4/3 folks, you don’t get one. Yet.

The aperture is adjustable from f/2.5 to f/22. Depending on the lens you attach it to, it can focus as close as 3” (using the Muse lens). This makes the Sweet 35 Optic versatile, allowing you to expand your creativity.

Photographers will find this a great addition to the Lensbaby line. The interesting thing is how HDSLR filmmakers will use this lens, now that they have an adjustable aperture available to them. I think we’re going to see some filmmakers using this for some special visual effect shots they could not get easily in the past.

Will you use the Sweet 35 Optic for photos or video?

[hide-this-part morelink=”Full Press Release”]Lensbaby® Introduces its First 35mm Optic with 12-Blade Adjustable Aperture

The Sweet 35 selective focus optic has the sweetest spot of all

Portland, OR – Embargoed until 10AM ET, March 1, 2011 – Lensbaby, manufacturer of award-winning Creative Effects SLR camera lenses, announces the addition of the Sweet 35 Optic to its Optic Swap System. The Sweet 35 Optic, a 35mm selective focus optic with an internal 12-blade adjustable aperture, creates a Sweet Spot of sharp focus that photographers can move around the photo by tilting their Lensbaby lens. The Sweet 35 Optic boasts the widest focal length of any selective focus Lensbaby optic, features close-focus capabilities, and is available now for use with the Lensbaby Composer®, Muse®, Control Freak™ and Scout lenses.

Departing from its interchangeable magnetic aperture system, Lensbaby has created its first optic with an adjustable aperture. With the Sweet 35, photographers can quickly and seamlessly change the aperture from f/2.5 through f/22, simply by rotating the dial on the front of the optic. The aperture opening is what controls the size of the Sweet Spot of sharp focus, giving photographers the ability to see the Sweet Spot change through the lens, without missing a moment.

“Changing the look of images from my Lensbaby lens with the Sweet 35 optic by quickly adjusting the aperture dial at the front of the optic has become habit-forming and allows me to create photographs I would never see through another lens,” said Craig Strong, Lensbaby Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer.

The Sweet 35 allows focus down to 7.5 inches from the front of the lens when used with the Lensbaby Composer and as close as 3 inches when used with the Muse. The 35mm focal length is just wide enough on full-frame cameras and just normal enough on APS C senor cameras, making the Sweet 35 perfect for landscape, environmental portrait, and event photography.

“The Sweet 35’s easily changed apertures, wider focal length, and close focus ability make it our most versatile and fun optic,” said Strong.

Sweet 35 Optic Product Specs:
Focal Length: 35mm
12-blade internal aperture, controlled by a dial on the front of the optic
Aperture range from f/2.5 through f/22 (sweet spot size ranges from 15%, at f/2.5, to 40%, at f/22, of total image area on APS-C sensor cameras)
Selective focus optic (creates a sweet spot of focus surrounded by gradual blur)
Compatible with Lensbaby Composer, Scout, Muse, and Control Freak lenses*
Focus distance when used with: Composer: 7.5” to infinity / Scout: 6.5” to infinity / Muse & Control Freak: 3” to infinity
4 multi-coated glass elements, in three groups
46mm front threads**
*The Sweet 35 Optic is not compatible with the Composer with Tilt Transformer for Micro 4/3rds and Sony NEX Cameras.
**The Sweet 35 Optic is not compatible with current 37mm Lensbaby accessories.

The Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic is available now for $180.00 (MSRP) from www.lensbaby.com, Lensbaby-authorized photo specialty stores worldwide, and from adorama.com, amazon.com and bhphotovideo.com.

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