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Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

Jim Fisher
 & Jim Fisher Principal Writer, Cameras

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic - Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic
4.0 Excellent

The Bottom Line

The Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic produces a wider field of view than standard Lensbaby lenses, and offers internal aperture control.
Best Deal£122.76

Buy It Now

£122.76

Pros & Cons

    • Wide field of view.
    • Internal aperture control.
    • Compatible with Lensbaby lenses.
    • Expensive.
    • Awkward to use with Muse lens.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic Specs

Type Lens
All Specs

The Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic ($180 direct) is the widest available lens for the Lensbaby system. It produces a 35mm field of view on full-frame cameras, and is compatible with most Lensbaby lens bodies that support the optic swap system. These include the Muse( at Amazon) and Composer Pro. It will fit in the Spark($180.00 at Amazon), but due to the weight of the optic it is not something that Lensbaby recommends you do—the Spark's plastic construction just isn't up to the task.

The Sweet 35 is like other Lensbaby lenses in that it is able to capture a sharp "sweet spot" of focus, surrounded by blur. When used in conjunction with the tilting mechanism of the Muse or Composer Pro( at Amazon), this spot can be moved around your frame, allowing you to focus on a subject at the edge or corner while leaving the rest of the frame blurry.

It costs twice as much as the standard Double Glass Optic( at Amazon), but offers some improvements to justify that. The internal aperture features a 12-blade design, varying from f/2.5 all the way down to f/22, so you can quickly adjust it. Stopping down a bit increases the size of the sweet spot. To do the same with a standard Lensbaby optic you'll have to use a magnetic wand to remove and insert aperture discs into the lens—this doesn't lend itself for quick changes in the field. The lens design is also more refined—the Double Glass Optic is constructed from two glass elements, while the Sweet 35 uses four elements arranged in three groups. This improves image quality, but doesn't take away from the dreamy image quality that the Lensbaby system is able to capture.

If you're a Muse shooter and are interested in the Sweet 35, you may want to try it out before purchasing. Adjusting the aperture while holding the Muse in the desired position is a little bit tricky, and you'll likely have to recompose your shot after adjusting the aperture. Because of this, I found the Sweet 35 to be much more enjoyable to shoot with when mounted in the Composer Pro. If you are serious about getting a Sweet 35, you may want to buy it bundled with the Composer Pro if you are currently shooting with a Muse—you'll likely enjoy shooting with that combination, and you'll be able to use the current Lensbaby optics in the Composer Pro, just as you would in the Muse.

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Final Thoughts

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic - Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic Review

4.0 Excellent

The Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic produces a wider field of view than standard Lensbaby lenses, and offers internal aperture control.

Get It Now
Best Deal£122.76

Buy It Now

£122.76

About Our Expert

Jim Fisher

Jim Fisher

Principal Writer, Cameras

My Experience

Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I've covered cameras at PCMag for the past 14 years, which has given me a front row seat for the changeover from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, the smartphone camera revolution, and the emergence of drones for aerial imaging. I have extensive experience with every major mirrorless and SLR system, and am also comfortable using point-and-shoot and action cameras. As a Part 107 Certified drone pilot, I’m licensed to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial and editorial purposes, and am knowledgeable about federal rules and regulations regarding drones.

The Technology I Use

I use all of the major camera systems on a regular basis, swapping between Canon, Fujifilm, L-Mount, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon, and Sony systems. I still find time to use Leica M rangefinders and Pentax SLRs on occasion, too. I keep an iPhone 13 in my pocket for the rare occasions I'm not carrying a camera.

I'm not a brand-specific photographer. For product review photos, I swap between a Canon EOS R5 and a Sony a7R IV. I use Flashpoint and Godox TTL lights and Peak Design tripods, and I most often reach for a Think Tank or Peak Design backpack to carry equipment.

When it comes to computers, I'm an unapologetic Mac person and have been for the past 20 years. I write in Pages and use Numbers for spreadsheets. I currently swap between an Intel i9 MacBook Pro and an Apple Silicon Mac Studio for writing and use a calibrated BenQ 32.5-inch with the Studio for photo and video editing. I rely on a LaCie 6big RAID for media storage. I also keep a PC around for gaming, but please don't tell my Macs about it; they'll get jealous.

I split time between several different software apps depending on the type of editing I'm doing. For Raw image processing, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic is my standard. I pair it with a LoupeDeck CT console to supplement my keyboard and trackpad, and I lean on RNI All Films 5 presets when I want to give an image a film look. I use Apple Final Cut Pro for video editing.

My first digital camera was the Canon PowerShot Elph S200, and my first DSLR was the Pentax *ist DL. I have a soft spot for antique film gear. I still use a 1950 vintage Rolleiflex Automat TLR and love trying mid-century Leica lenses on film and digital alike. I mainly use whatever's in front of me for review for digital snaps, but I pick up either my Leica M Typ 240 or Pentax K-3 III Monochrome when I want to step away from review work. In my downtime, I enjoy bird watching, reading, video games, and both good and bad movies, especially in the sci-fi and horror genres.

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