Buy Lensbaby Micro Four Thirds Tilt TransformerLensbaby Micro Four Thirds Tilt Transformer Product Description:
- When used with a Nikon mount lens, produces a slice of focus through the image
- Width of focus slice is dependent upon aperture - f/1.4 will produce a very thin slice of focus with abundant blur
- Built-in mechanism allows Nikon G lenses to function properly at all apertures.
- High quality metal swivel ball for smooth, fluid tilt
Product Description
The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to mount any Nikon mount lens to their Micro Four Thirds or Sony ? NEX camera and tilt up to twice as far as with standard tilt-shift lenses, delivering photos that have a slice of focus through the image, bordered by a soft blur. The Tilt Transformer provides the foundation for the Composer Front Focus. When used together, they become the Composer with Tilt Transformer, for use on Micro Four Thirds or Sony ? NEX cameras. This provides photographers with access to the limitless creativity offered by the Lensbaby Optic Swap system. The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to fluidly tilt their Nikon mount lens up to twice as far as with traditional tilt-shift lenses. It also provides photographers with extraordinary control over the size and placement of a slice of focus through their photograph. The Tilt Transformer's swivel ball is based on the patent pending design Lensbaby developed for the award winning Lensbaby Composer Creative Effects camera lens. The front of the swivel ball has a Nikon mount, allowing photographers to mount Nikon mount lenses
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A nice addition for lovers of blur
By Comdet
I'm a huge Lensbaby fan. I've been using them with my Canon SLRs almost since they first came out, and have assembled a pretty extensive collection of them over the past few years. Yes, I am a lover of blur. It's one of those creative effects that you either love or don't (although I certainly will admit it can be overused with some horrible results). I've recently been playing around with Micro Four Thirds cameras and was thrilled to see that Lensbaby came out with a model specifically designed for the MFT format.Quick primer for those not familiar with a Lensbaby: it's a very simple device that allows you to tilt the focal plane of the lens to shift focus to any area of the frame and produce a smooth blur effect. It can be in a small or large part of your photo depending on which of the several aperture rings you choose from (all supplied with this Lensbaby) and how much tilt you apply.This particular version of the lens, called the "Composer" is part of Lensbaby's new Optic Swap System, which allows you to use any one of several optics (plastic, glass, double glass, pinhole/zoneplate) that you can easily swap out of the main body. This comes with the double glass optic - the other optics have to be purchased separately.The new Composer design allows you to lock the tilt into place for some level of repeatability in your shots. A lot more convenient than earlier versions of Lensbabies, which required you hold the tilt with your fingers. Now it's just pick your aperture and your optic, tilt, and snap away!This lens comes with an extra you can't get with other Lensbabies for other camera formats - the "tilt transformer." This is an attachment that will allow you to use any Nikon-mount lens as a close approximation of a tilt/shift lens (only close, since you really only get the benefit of tilt and not shift). With this attachment and a "regular" lens, you get a movable sliver, a line of focus, as opposed to the movable point of focus you get with a Lensbaby Optic. Same basic principle, but it produces a slightly different look.Build quality is good. There's a lot of plastic in it, but my other Lensbabies have performed very well over the years with zero problems. The product comes nicely packaged, but only has minimal instructions. That's not really a problem since the company website has a lot of resources on how to use Lensbabies, plus has photo galleries, forums, instructional videos, and a lot more. Very nice resource if you own one. If you're not sure if a Lensbaby is for you, that should be your first stop to see what type of effects their products can produce. I've spent a lot of time there, and it has been time well spent. The company itself is excellent when it comes to customer service. I've contacted them a couple of times with questions, and they answer emails promptly.This lens is versatile, and is more convenient to carry (both the Lensbaby as well as a MFT camera itself). I've found with all my gear that convenience of toting it means I'll carry it more often, and thus have more opportunity for taking great shots. The tilt transformer is a wonderful addition - you can play around with a tilt lens at a fraction it would cost you to buy a real tilt/shift lens.While pricy for a Lensbaby, when you add up all the features it brings to the table, I find it to be a real winner. Highly recommend if you have a MFT camera.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
A little gem
By D. J. Haynes
A wonderful little tool for the GH1 arsenal.It works - tho there is a very fine line in grip between being able to gently nudge the lens and have it flop around uncontrolled.Reasonably well made, a bit `plasticky' but should be tough enough.Handles the G lenses fine - the aperture being set by sliding the ring - better than some of the adaptor mounts found on ebay.I had hoped it would have a detent for centralised position. That way I could use it as a general adaptor for Nikon lenses on the GH1 even when I don't want any blurring effect. But sadly that isn't going to fly - there is no way of knowing that the thing is exactly centered.Works really well with the smaller prime lenses - gets a little unwieldy with some of the pro zooms and you have to trust the thing can cope with all that weight.It is a lot of fun and I find it easier to get what I want than the Composer - easier to control and setup - and using the Nikon lenses get a very nice looking image.I've used it for both stills and video - the GH1 has proven excellent for professional use and has already been used for several of our broadcast shows. The tilt transformer is open to being over-used but does allow some nice interpretive visuals as part of documentary filming.Would I recommend it? Well, it's a nice little tool for creative filming and photography. But if you're interested in using it mostly for filming rather than just stills...then maybe invest in Magic Bullet Looks instead. I prefer hands on use to adding a look in post production. But there's little doubt that Looks is also pretty easy to use and saves a lot of time on location.UPDATE Jan 2013We had to shoot some stylised stings for a show last year - and decided to use the tilt transformer for a few of them. With an old Nikon lens and ND filter on a GH2 we managed some very funky shots - and easily too thanks to the GH2 capabilities. The broadcaster loved them so much we then used the same technique throughout the series - as well as some timelapse sequences with the transformer as well.The ease and simplicity of use meant no slowdown to filming with the main cameras - and with the amount of stings we had to shoot, was much faster and easier than trying to add fx in post - contrary to what I said a couple years ago above.While cameras come and go, this is one of those gadgets that will last a long time - is small enough to live in a camera bag for any opportunity and cheap enough to be a no-brainer.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
waiting for the composer pro version
By OregonCoast
According to the Lensbaby website's FAQ page, Lensbaby optics have a curved (not flat) field of focus. The "tilt action only moves a sweet spot of focus around the image plane and does not correct perspective or make converging lines parallel", that is, tilting the lens does not allow photographers to adjust the plane of focus of the subject at an angle that is not parallel to the film or image sensor.The Lensbaby Tilt Transformer solves this issue by allowing photographers to attach their own lens with flat fields of focus on the Lensbaby tilt base (the "Composer" unit). Some non-Nikon lenses might be used by using third-party mount adaptors that mate those lenses to a Nikon F mount. So far, terrific idea.The kind of tilt photography that I am capable of is a rather cumbersome, deliberate affair requiring a tripod and multiple shots to determine composition, focus, and exposure. Precise control helps reproduce results, which in turn facilitates improving pictures. Having enjoyed the evanescent images produced by the Lensbaby 2 (now evolved to the "Muse") for several years, I would prefer a more stable tool for a change.I am waiting for this product to be upgraded to the "Composer Pro" level because the "Pro" allows more precise control of the ball and socket mechanism. (See the "Composer Pro Sweet 35 review" on the dpreview website.) If and when the upgrade becomes available, I plan to use full-frame manual focus lenses of various focal lengths for landscapes, architecture, portraits, and macro photography.
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