By now hopefully you've already seen the newest addition to the Lensbaby family aka the Burnside 35. It's the first wide angle adaptation of the Petzval lens and an absolutely fantastic lens. I was lucky enough to be able to be one of the beta testers and since my Twist 60 lens is probably my favorite portrait lens in the Lensbaby series, I couldn't wait to test out the Burnside 35 with a model.
As I stated in my previous post, when comparing the Burnside 35 and the Twist 60, make sure you know what style you're going for. This is an environmental lens and will allow for much of the background in the portraits unless you're about 3 ft away from your model. In all honesty, my normal go-to portrait lens is the Sigma 85 1.4, and having a wider angle lens was very different to shoot with. When I'm normally about 10 ft away from my model and doing a headshot, with this lens, 10 feet away meant I was getting the whole body and much of the background. So in having to adjust for that difference I found myself constantly walking closer to the model to get that really twisty background blur.
I think what I loved about shooting portraits with the Burnside 35 was the different feel I got with it. It was very much a "fashion" lens and I think that's what really pushed me toward composing my portraits. When the Twist 60 is shoot wide open, the background falls completely out of focus and helps compress the model, but with the Burnside 35, it was a much more subtle texture in the background and edges. The twist wasn't as overwhelming and sometimes that's a better option for the story.
I didn't get the chance to shoot portraits in a lifestyle setting, but I have been looking for a wider angle lens to allow for those small space sessions and this is it. I know I would be able to capture the emotion in the photos and still be able to get what I wanted in the shot with the added effect of the Lensbaby touch.
Just a few other little details.
- It is it's own lens and does not fit into the Composer System.
- It has a small slider on the side for added vignette.
- The optic weighs 13.20 oz.
- Wide open is a 2.8 aperture.
Final thoughts: The only downfall I found with shooting portraits with this lens is the lack of the lensflare and light leaks. I love shooting with a lot of sun and it might've been that I needed more practice with it, but I was a little saddened that I couldn't get that beautiful rainbow look I love so much. Was this a deal breaker for me? Not really. I can always go into photoshop afterwards and add the extra flare I like, but getting it authentically in camera would've really pushed this already wonderful lens that extra distance. Overall, the Burnside 35 is what I have been searching for to add to my collection. It really gives that editorial and modern look to the wider angle photos and being able to provide that look to my future high school seniors is just what I've been wanting.
For more information on the Burnside 35, make sure to visit the Lensbaby website. And for further comparison images, click here to read the Lensbaby blog.
(Make sure to click on the images to enlarge.)