Lensbaby Composer with Tilt Transformer Review

Before we take a closer look at the Tilt Transformer you might be asking, "What is a Lensbaby?" These simple and elegant tilt lenses allow you to shift the plane of focus so that much of your image has a strange out-of-focus blur except for a small "sweet spot" of the frame that is in perfect focus. That description, in a nutshell, is why some photographers love Lensbaby lenses and other people say, "Why would you want to do that to your photos?"

Another technical criticism that some people level against Lensbaby lenses is that the optics (the actual glass or plastic elements inside the lens) aren't very good. Yes, it's true that even if you don't alter the plane of focus with the original Lensbaby the center of your image will be in focus but the edges of the frame still won't be sharp. This is just one of the reasons that the Lensbaby Tilt Transformer was invented. The Tilt Transformer allows you to attach any Nikon lens to the Tilt Transformer's swivel ball mount, instantly turning a regular Nikon lens into a tilt-shift lens.

The exit sign images below illustrate how a typical Nikon 18-55mm zoom lens can be transformed into a tilt shift lens using the Tilt Transformer. In the first image, the lens was essentially in the "normal" position which created a normal-looking exit sign. In the second, the lens was tilted to one side so that only a small portion of the sign was in focus.

Normal

Tilted

Is this a fun tool that can help you create some unique photos? Absolutely. Is it worth $250 for the Tilt Transformer or $350 for the Lensbaby Composer with Tilt Transformer? We'll have to take a closer look to answer that question.