lensbaby!!!......need advice

[gpsi]

I just went through the lensbaby website.It was exciting to watch the various effects.
Just wandering if these lens are really worth........or can I get similar effects with some lens from my camera manufacturer??
For example - Lensbaby says these lens are for those people who want their pics to be soft.
Cant we get softer images from mainstream lens?
How about the quality of optics??......
Does any of the lens have any special features like......vibration reduction. etc.

[Jo.T]

lensbaby is very unique and i dont think you will achieve the same effects with any other lense you maybe able to with PP.

They are very basic no VR or anything fancy and have only just release the Sweet 35 Optic which has a built in aperture all the others have a drop in system. The double glass Optic will give you a sharper image than the single and the plastic is softer again it just depends what you like.

I picked up a second hand original lensbaby for $50 luv it but not in a hurry to upgrade as it doesnt get a lot of use. it will be again soon it is my fav lense for roses. There are a couple of groups on flickr if you would like to see what it can do.

Cheers Jo

[OsmosisStudios]

Never saw the point of them or the appeal of the "toy" camera look.

[NathanFranke]

Lensbaby is a schtick kind of system. there's no auto-anything. The focus you get will be all manual. Some of the effects you get with a lensbaby you can probably get with specialized filters--I have "soft-focus" filter that I bought when I was too young to know anything about photography. I haven't used it since.

I don't think you can get the tilt abilities of a lensbaby anywhere else, short of buying a tilt/shift lens which will cost more than a decent used car.