Freelensing exposes the inside of your camera to dust and debris.
Freelensing is risky, and I am generally not a risk taker.
So when my brother suggested it, I immediately discounted the idea because I didn't want to attract any more dust to the inside of my camera.
Then I got some giant debris (“giant” meaning a 1cm long fiber plus lots of dust) inside while changing lenses for an event. I figured since the camera needs to be cleaned soon anyway, why not give freelensing a try?
Freelensing can give you a tilt + shift effect if you tilt the lens (gorgeous examples here and here), and can also give you a macro effect if you turn the lens around. I can get my macro fix easily with my 105mm, so I tried tilting my 50mm in this practice session. As you can see, I got zero clarity, with nothing in focus. Turns out the aperture of my 50mm closes down completely when detached, so in order to achieve proper exposure, I had to crank my ISO up as high as possible (6400 is as high as I'm willing to go on my D7000). With the bright sun streaming in, I couldn't see through the viewfinder well enough to see if anything was in focus. Looking through a tilted lens is tough!
I do think the toy camera look I got is fun, but I can get that with my kid's camera.
I might try again in a brighter room when the light is more even. It would probably be best outside, but I am definitely not comfortable with my lens detached for an extended time outdoors. With my luck, I'd get a bug stuck in my camera.
I'm also looking into a Lensbaby, so I can get a similar effect without taking my lens off. I'm not a fan of most of the Lensbaby looks, but since I'm not planning on dropping $2000 for a real tilt + shift lens anytime EVER, I'm not going to rule out a Lensbaby completely.
Do you freelens? Do you have a Lensbaby?
