BorrowLenses.com: LensBaby Composer

Recently, I’ve been noticing ads for a company, BorrowLenses.com, that is now starting to rent Pentax equipment. For the last year or so, I’ve been the target of jokes with fellow shooters who shoot with Canon and Nikon equipment. For them, Pentax is a “toy” and doesn’t stand up to the “big cameras” in the market place. I hope that my shooting will eventually begin to help them see the light of Pentax equipment (J) or at least that the equipment and glass are just as good if not better.

So, to get back on subject, I first noticed that they had a Pentax banner on one of their facebook ads and checked out their website. They do indeed carry nice Pentax equipment now and since then I’ve rented a couple of lenses. So far it has been a pretty good experience and it has given me a chance to get out and shoot with a couple of lenses that I’ve been interested in, but not interested enough to buy.

So I went to the website and checked out the Pentax section:

And there I found several interesting lenses. The first being the Lensbaby Composer

I proceeded to rent it, and opted to pick it up instead of waiting for it to be mailed to me. I headed out to find the location in San Carlos, CA. It’s in an industrial center but not too hard to find, and I was in and out with my lens in about 5 min. Here’s a shot of the entrance:

Once back in the car I took the lens out of the carry bag to check it out:

Here are a few “product” shots I took of the lens:

Here are a couple of my first shots. These were taken at the BART station and on the train. After the statue shot, I immediately began to think of using the lens for portraits:

Here’s a self-portrait shot with the Composer:

The following Sunday, I had a chance to shoot the B.Y.O.B.W. event in San Francisco. Here are a couple of shots that I liked from that event. The lens takes some getting used to as it is completely manually focused. Not necessarily ideal for fast a fast moving event, but I think it worked out ok in the following shots:

All in all, the rental was extremely smooth and I got a chance to play with the lens instead of buying another piece of equipment that I would rarely use. The rental price for the week ($29) was definitely worth it compared to the $500 LensBaby kit I was looking at. I also now have a very good feel for the lens and can either choose to rent it again, or purchase it, if the need arises.

If you have a chance, check out BorrowLenses.com for yourself. I consider my first rental a success.

Jonathon
Blog: https://jljfoto.wordpress.com
Site: http://jljfoto.com

 

 

Tags: borrowlenses.com, california, camera, composer, lensbaby, photo, photography, San Francisco

• April 29, 2011
• Product Shots, San Francisco
• 4 Comments