Learning to work with or around each lens’s unique characteristics can be a challenge, but it’s the reason why I enjoy testing new camera lenses and I feel that this helps me grow as a photographer. With my own selfish little goal of expanding my photographic knowledge, I agreed to give Lensbaby’s new Sol 45 () a spin on a recent trip to the Adirondack Mountains.
First look:
I have used a few other Lensbaby products in the past and was quite fond of some of them (especially the Composer Pro II, and I’ve also reviewed the Sweet 50, Edge 50 and Twist 60, and the Velvet 56 and 85). My initial out-of-the-box impression was the the Sol 45 is very similar to other Lensbaby products: it’s small, solid, lightweight and the metal and composite construction gives the lens a smooth and firm feel during use.
As I’ve observed, the lens is also a cross between a portrait lens and a tilt shift. The “tilt shift” motion doesn’t actually shift the frame (as with a true tilt shift), but rather moves the area of focus around the frame like other Lensbaby products such as the Composer Pro II. This feature allows you to selectively focus on a small portion of the frame, effectively pushing other areas on the edges and to the rear of the frame out of focus. This forces your subject into the “spotlight.”
But the feature that truly sets this lens apart from other Lensbaby lenses is the addition of the “Bokeh Blades.” These are two small blades that you can manually move in front of the lens elements to drastically increase the bokeh effect. The nice thing is that they’re there if you want them, but are easily “retractable” if you don’t want to enable the feature. It’s a bit like having a built in “bokeh filter” on your lens that you can turn on or off in a matter of seconds.
Image quality:
Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty: how does this lens perform? As with all manual focus lenses, this is not one that you would use to run and gun with on a regular basis. A little bit of thought into your composition will go a long way to getting great images with the Sol 45.
The focus ring and the tilt function both have a very smooth feel, but I did find it a little difficult, at times, to get the focus area exactly where I wanted it. With a constant aperture of f/3.2, the depth of field is quite shallow. The process to achieve sharp focus where you want it involves a bit of a dance between the focus ring and the tilt function. Both of these features work in conjunction with one another to push the focus area through and around the frame.
I was using this lens in a variety of different situations, including fast-moving subjects, which may not be its intended use. After some practice, I did get more proficient at achieving sharp focus where I wanted, and quickly. The image quality is quite nice, and the lens is very sharp (in the selected focus area) and buttery soft. Color renditions are vibrant and true. There is also a distinct lack of vignetting and distortion, which is great to see.
But what really sets this one apart is the bokeh. The lens displays a really smooth and pleasing bokeh pattern to start. Then when you engage the “Bokeh Blades” you get a completely different bokeh pattern. These simple little blades really help bring a variety of looks into your background. The only downside that I experienced with the bokeh blades was that they gave an unpredictable effect when shooting into the sun. Sometimes this effect was great and other times it was less desirable.
Key takeaways:
- Good build quality
- Affordable price (currently )
- Good image quality
- Outstanding bokeh effects and flexibility
- Small and lightweight
- Fully manual — though note here that because it’s fully manual, there is no communication with the camera, which can mean composition is slower
- Bokeh blades have an unpredictable effect when shooting into the sun
Summary:
The Lensbaby Sol 45 can definitely help coax out that creative photographer deep down inside you. This unique little lens would be a great addition to anyone’s bag. It’s small, lightweight and packs a nice punch. Yes, it’s manual and yes, it’s going to force you to slow down and think about your composition, but that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?
The Sol 45 lens is now available for in Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Pentax, and Sony mounts. An additional Sol 22 lens, which is a f/3.5 selective focus lens that creates an effect similar to the Sol 45 on a Micro 4/3 sensor camera mount, is also available.
