The Weirdest Lens I’ve ever Seen

Published on September 22, 2020

Cinematography & Filmmaking

Lensbaby Shark

Back when I was in filmschool we learned a lot about gear and equipment. Many of us would also seek online for new gear and one of my friends had this Lensbaby Shark.

Right off the bet I knew it was just a toy and not a serious lens, but for $90 it does create a unique look. I slowly forgot about this lens, but while brainstorming for a new idea it came back to my mind and so I decided to purchase one myself and try it out.

Tilt-Shift Lens

The Lensbaby Shark is a a tilt-shift lens. This is a technique where you tilt or shift your lens, creating a unique focus field. The glass element ends up slanted from your camera sensor.

Professional tilt-shift lenses come with screwable pins that can lock the position of the lens in place. This is mostly used in photography as you want a steady lens to capture your subject.

With the Spark from Lensbaby, you need to manually squeeze the lens. It’s not so easy to keep it steady, which does have its benefits for video. This allows you to quickly change your focus and add movement to your shots.

Unique and Creative Shots

Such a lens is mostly used for creative shots like in a music video. Keep in mind that it’s not so easy to operate this lens when you have a fast moving subject. But when you shoot the artist from multiple angles, you can take the best parts out in the edit.

MSI Creator 15

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