LENS TEST
This unusual optic gives a sweet spot of focus with dramatic blur for creative photography. Angela Nicholson has been shooting with it for our review
12-blade aperture
Unlike the original Double Glass, there’s an aperture ring to control the aperture.
Creative aperture discs
The optic is compatible with Lensbaby’s magnetic aperture discs.
Optic Swap bodies
Compatible with all of Lensbaby’s Optic Swap bodies, including the Composer Pro II, Spark 2.0 and Straight.
No contacts
There are no electrical contacts, which means the aperture isn’t recorded in the image EXIF data.
The Double Glass II is an update of the popular Double Glass optic from the early days of Lensbaby’s Optic Swap System. It improves on its predecessor with the addition of a built-in 12-blade iris that allows aperture control through the range f/2.5 to f/22 (the original version used drop-in magnetic discs). The optic’s barrel is also made from metal to give it a higher-quality and more robust build.
Lensbaby has used a similar optical design to the Sweet 50, which means the Double Glass II can cover a full-frame sensor, has a focal length of 50mm, and captures a sweet spot of focus at the centre of the frame which is surrounded by blur.
Despite the inclusion of the aperture control, the Double Glass II is still compatible with Lensbaby’s magnetic aperture discs. With this in mind, Lensbaby supplies the optic with 11 creative aperture discs that can be used to give the bokeh a particular shape. Nine of the discs have a pattern cut-out such as a star, spiral, heart or rose-like swirl, but two are blank so you can cut your own shapes.
Optic Swap System
As part of Lensbaby’s Optic Swap System, the Double Glass II cannot be mounted on a camera by itself. Instead, it needs to be fitted into one of the company’s lens housings such as the Composer Pro II, Spark 2.0 or the Straight Body. The bendy nature of the Composer Pro II and Spark 2.0 allow the sweet spot of focus to be moved around the frame, while it’s locked to the centre with the Straight Body.
Lensbaby sells the Double Glass II either by itself for those who already have an Optic Swap Body, or in a bundle with the Composer Pro II.
Getting results
None of the Lensbaby bodies include electrical contacts, which means that most cameras don’t recognise that a lens is mounted. This means you may have to enable the camera to shoot without a lens via the menu.
It’s also worthwhile customisin
