Outdoor Live Blog

Video samples - Lensbaby Composer Pro + Sweet 35 optic

Back in the Alps a couple of weeks ago, I took with me a new camera gear which I had been keen on testing for a while: the Composer Pro lens and the Sweet 35 optic from Lensbaby.

The weather was quite bad in the first days and it started to feel like it wouldn’t be possible to get any good ski done, so I went running despite the strong snowfalls. Hopefully, the day after was much better (and much colder too) so we went out ski mountaineering early in the morning. I took back with me a couple of videos which I put together in the clip below:

What’s interesting to note is that all the sequences are raw, with no picture correction done. We can see that this lens offers a really special focus that I think can have a nice effect on videos. Most of the film is shot at F2.8, with more or less tilt applied (tilting the lens will shift the focus to the side or top/bottom of the picture). A tripod was used for a few scenes but in most cases, the camera was simply handheld without any rig.

The result is quite interesting and I think this lens can offer new possibilities to videographers. Of course, you need to focus manually which can be a bit challenging but once you get used to, you can get some pretty unique images. Also, it seems like not all cameras support this lens in a non-manual mode, but I had no issue using it in the Aperture Priority mode with my Nikon body.

Specs

Composer Pro lens