Lensbaby’s New Creative Filter Collections
Lensbaby has announced two new creative filter collections, Omni Color II and Omni Crystal II. Both are designed to create different effects directly in-camera, instead of having to add them later in editing. For those unfamiliar with the system, it works by placing coloured films, crystals or reflective materials in front of your lens. You can move them around, change their angles or combine several filters to get different results. Some add a little colour or flare, while others create much stronger distortions and reflections. You can either hold the filters manually or use Lensbaby’s magnetic filter ring and magnets to keep them in place.
The Omni Color II Collection includes eight new filters, starting with five coloured film sheets in yellow, orange, red, green and blue. Depending on how you position them, you can add a colour cast to just part of your photo or cover almost everything. There are also three flexible films called Blue Diamond, Gold Diamond and Dark Pink Diamond, which add different colours and textures. You can bend or roll them to change how the effect looks. The Omni Crystal II Collection, meanwhile, comes with three crystals attached to magnetic wands. The Bat Prism creates fragmented reflections and mirrored details, while the Melon Wedge produces colourful prismatic reflections that change depending on the angle. The third crystal, called the Repeater, splits parts of your subject into repeating sections. Lensbaby has also released a limited-edition Silver and Gold Collection, which includes five reflective filters with metallic surfaces.
As for how useful these filters actually are, that really depends on what you are trying to achieve. Some of the effects are pretty subtle, while others can change your photo quite a lot. And because you are physically moving the filters in front of the lens, getting a good result can take some trial and error. They are also quite specific tools, so unless you regularly experiment with reflections, colour effects or more abstract photography, you probably won’t have much use for them. The Lensbaby Omni Color II Collection costs $59.95, the Omni Crystal II Collection is $69.95, and the limited-edition Silver and Gold Collection is $49.95.
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