Rose wrote:Including the Lensbaby Velvet 85mm and Samsung 14mm, I now have more manual focus lenses than AF ones... but that's still not to say I am an expert at manual focussing!
I have looked at the Lensbaby Velvet in the past. Presumably you have the 56 mm version? For the moment, I am relying on a Lomography Daguerreotype lens for soft focus effects, but it does not focus quite as close as the Lensbaby. There is a macro adapter which I could try. Wide open at f/2.9 or stopped down to f/4, it produces a soft, low contrast image which I can play around with in post processing. Once I get to f/5.6, the rendering loses a lot of its appeal. At the moment, I am mainly using it on my infrared camera which offers further possibilities.
Manual focussing on a modern camera can be tricky. Most DSLRs lack the necessary focussing aids although live view helps. Mirrorless cameras are more convenient and have been largely responsible for the resurgence of interest in vintage lenses over the past few years which has seen prices increase. Not so long ago, people were paying £5 for those Helios lenses if they were not being given away.
