Lensbaby's New Soft Focus II Optic

 Just this morning, Lensbaby announced the newest addition to their lens line up, the Soft Focus II optic!

This is a new and updated version of the Soft Focus optic which is one that I have always loved, and still used from time to time. This new optic produces the same beautiful, soft and dreamy look overlaying subtle sharp detail. When using the original version, aperture was controlled by dropping rubber aperture disks into the lens opening. This new version has a 12-blade manually adjustable internal aperture which you adjust right on the top of the optic, as you can with the Sweet and Edge optics. 

When you stop down to f/8 or smaller apertures, the Soft Focus II can create images with wonderful detail and sharpness in the center of the image with out of focus edges. I love the versatility of different looks I can get with the same optic by varying my aperture.

It also comes with a set of 4 magnetic drop-in aperture disks. Three of these disks are multi-holed, which combines the soft focus glow and sharpness differently for an even more custom look, especially evident when you have highlights in the background of a scene, not so much with a plain background. The 4th disk is a sunburst design, which can change the shape of any out of focus highlights in the background, again, customized with your aperture selection.

The minimum focus distance of this 50mm optic is 15 inches, so I will be using macro filters to get closer for my flower portraits. If you have extension tubes, those will work too. The optic will work in any Composer that is part of the Optic Swap system, Lensbaby does not recommend tilting. You can alternatively purchase the optic with a non-bending holder. 

Here is a video I made with some images I created while beta-testing this optic. I included a couple of images of the same subject at different apertures so you can see the different looks.

I think this optic is a great upgrade to the original Soft Focus optic, and it’s one I know I will use often for flowers and portraits.

Happy Shooting,

Kathleen