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Lensbaby Launches Obscura Pinhole Lens
21 June 2021
Lensbaby has launched a two Obscura lenses to provide a more refined pinhole experience than its original Pinhole/Zoneplate optic swap module. In addition to a 50mm optic swap version for dSLRs, there is a mirrorless pancake version. You can also purchase the optic swap module in a housing. Each of the options offers three aperture options itself.
Lensbaby Obscura. Optic Swap Module, With Housing, Pancake.
"Pinhole photography taught me to see composition, contrast, leading lines and the shape of things in ways that led me to make some of my most powerful images," says Craig Strong, co-founder and chief creative officer at Lensbaby, Inc. "We created the Obscura so that you could learn and grow while using a technologically advanced pinhole lens with options. It's the Lensbaby twist to old-world imagery."
HIGHLIGHTS
The major innovations of the new optic include:
- The pinhole, zone plate and pinhole sieve are made up of three layers of chrome with a total thickness of 0014mm deposited on 1.5mm thick glass before anti-reflective coating is applied.
- With a resolution of 128K dpi, this photolithography process not only makes true zone plates with excellent light transmission, it produces perfectly round pinholes and precision zone plate zones.
- Photographers can clean the Obscura's glass as they would any camera lens, without fear of destroying any of the three imaging options.
Hope Delarosa. Shot with the 16mm Pinhole.
SPECIFICATIONS
Specifications for the Obscura include:
LENSBABY OBSCURA SPECIFICATIONS Obscura Optic Obscura 50 Obscura 16 Format Full Frame, APS-C, 4/3rds Mirrorless Effect Zone Plate, Pinhole Sieve, Pinhole Optic Swap Yes No No Focal Length 50mm 50mm 16mm Aperture f32, f64, f161 f22, f45, f90 Minimum Focus 10/9/0.04 inches 23/12/0.05 inches Angle of View 46.8/31.6/24.4° NA Filter Thread 46mm None Coating Chrome aperture on broadband
multicoated anti-reflective glassOptical Design Zone Plate: 47 zones
Sieve: 523 pinholes
Pinhole: 1 pinholeZone Plate: 29 zones
PSieve: 203 pinholes
Pinhole: 1 pinholeDimensions 1.94 x 1.75 inches 2.88 x 0.90/1.01 m4/3, Nikon Weight 2.65 oz. 2.65 oz. .333 lbs. Price $179.95 $279.95 $249.95 PRICE, AVAILABILITY
All three options are available today directly from Lensbaby. The Obscura 50 with a housing is $279.95, the Obscura 16 pancake is $249.95 and the Obscura optic swap module alone is $179.95.
Putting a Lensbaby Twist on Small-Format Pinhole Photography; The Camera Lens Co. Redefines Photography with its New Obscura Lens
Lensbaby, the leader in award-winning creative effect camera lenses, is launching its revolutionary Obscura lens. A camera obscura, ancestor of the photographic camera, is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. Dating back to the 4th century BCE, this experience is the earliest image projection technique known to the industry.
Lensbaby is hosting a virtual launch party on June 21 where the newest Obscura lens will be revealed. Free tickets are available on Lensbaby's Web site.
The Lensbaby Obscura comes in two versions -- a 50mm Pinhole/Zone Plate/Pinhole Sieve optic for their Optic Swap System and a standalone 16mm Pinhole/Zone Plate/Pinhole Sieve pancake lens (though pinholes are not technically lenses) for mirrorless cameras.
Summary of Key Features:
- The Obscura's pinhole, zone plate and pinhole sieve are made up of three layers of chrome with a total thickness of 0014mm deposited on 1.5mm thick glass before anti-reflective coating is applied.
- With a resolution of 128K dpi, this photolithography process not only makes true zone plates with excellent light transmission, it produces perfectly round pinholes and precision zone plate zones.
- Photographers can clean the Obscura's glass as they would any camera lens, without fear of destroying any of the three imaging options.
"Pinhole photography taught me to see composition, contrast, leading lines and the shape of things in ways that led me to make some of my most powerful images," says Craig Strong, co-founder and chief creative officer at Lensbaby, Inc. "We created the Obscura so that you could learn and grow while using a technologically advanced pinhole lens with options. It's the Lensbaby twist to old-world imagery."
Photographers and creators who connect most with using an Obscura are those who enjoy working with fewer choices and are willing to challenge themselves to redefine what it means to create photographic art.