For those that have followed my work for a while, you’ll know that I love to show a sense of depth to my images. Sure we can all shoot wide-open (f2.8 for example) to get that shallow depth of field, but nothing beats the depth of showing not only a separation between subject and background, but a foreground element to your image too.
Adding foreground elements to your shot like you see above can add a sense of depth. But relying on a metallic chair leg like I’m doing here can be a pain!
Whenever I’m on location or even in the studio, I am always looking for elements around me that might be introduced into the foreground of my image. Plants, widow reflections and even a metallic chair leg have all been clever ways to add a sense of depth to my images, but they are far from consistent and reliable choices.
To combat this issue of unreliable foreground elements, I’ve often resorted to holding all manner of objects in front of my lens. Items like crystals, wine glasses, keys… the list goes on, but again, these are often inconsistent and nearly always inconvenient due to me having to hold them with one hand and shoot with the other. That was until Lensbaby introduced me to the Omni.
The original base pack for the Omni contains all the key items you need to hold the filters in front of your camera. The back disk above simply screws on to your lens thread and you attach the filters to that via magnets.
If you’re not familiar with what the Omni is, then by all means check out my previous review on it here Lensbaby Omni Review. But in short, the Omni is a metal disk that screws onto the front of your lens. On that metal disc you place moveable magnets and onto those movable magnets, you place all manner of creative elements (filters) that can moved and supported unaided in front of your lens. As a result, you get consistent and hands-free foreground elements with each and every shot.
The original Omni was released by Lensbaby last year in 2019. It quickly saw huge success and demand for more variety in elements to hold in front of your lens soon followed. As a result, Lensbaby answered the call with their latest offering, Omni - Colour Expansion Pack.
The images above shows what the original Omni does for your shots. It adds those beautiful foreground elements in-camera without the need for post-pro.
The Omni Colour Expansion Pack
This year however, Lensbaby released a brand new pack of additional elements to play with and that pack is called the ‘Colour Expansion’ pack. As you may well assume from the name, these new elements are designed to add a splash of colour to your shots. But what do we get with this latest edition?
What’s in the box?
So what do we have in the add-on pack?
In the box we have:
Two multicolor crystal effect wands
A bunch rainbow diffraction film
A set of colored films & gels
As the image above shows, we have 4 new magnet stalks that attach to the original Omni metal ring and on these new stalks, we have a whole host of new items to play with. First and foremost we have two brand new crystal elements, both of which have a rainbow coating that add a variety of additional colours to the shots. One of these crystals is straight and the other is curved and cut so that you can get more of a shape in front of the lens. This is handy if you are after a more subtle effect.
In addition to the two crystals, we also have a bunch of coloured films to play with and they break down into three sets.
First we have the coloured gel films. These are simple swatches of colour that can be held in front of the lens.
Next we have the almost quilted diffraction films. These films are highly reflective but also let a little light through them. The quilted surface is producing just enough shape so as to catch some highlights across its surface if you have lights going back into the lens.
And lastly we have a set of flat diffraction films. These are thinner and let more light through them, plus they are flat and won’t catch the light as much as the quilted versions.
5 new additions to the Omni lineup: 1.Curved Crystal 2 Straight Crystal 3.Coloured Films 4.Quilted Diffractions 5.Flat Diffractions
What Effects Do They Produce?
But of course, the real question is, what results do they produce?
Below you’ll see me playing with a bunch of the different filters from this Omni Colour Expansion pack during a model shoot. Take a look and see for yourself. See anything you like?
Note: Clicking on any of the images below will enlarge them
All of the images below are taken with the straight crystal…
All three images here were taken with the regular straight crystal.
All of the images below are taken with the curved crystal…
Both of these images are taken with the curved crystal
All of the images below are taken with the quilted diffraction film…
The images here were all taken with the quilted diffraction film
The image below is taken with the flat diffraction film…
Image here taken with the flat diffraction film.
The image below is taken with the coloured film…
Image here taken with the coloured film
Before you message me about the lighting…
Oh and before you ask, as I know I always get loads of messages about this lighting setup whenever I share it… yes this is using the coloured gels from my Gel Packs on the lights and this setup is also part of my Creatively Simple Lighting Workshop. This is the second setup of six that we cover on the day and you can see more about it here.
The Lensbaby Omni ‘Colour Expansion Pack’ does add a lot of colourful effects to your shots. In fact all of the new filters in this pack each have a huge range of looks and colours, but are you ready for that level of creativity?
Closing Comments
Of course, as with many reviews I do, I tend to shoot a lot of example images so that you guys can make your own decisions from what you see. But I do also like to share my personal thoughts with regards to things I like or any concerns I might have.
Essentially this ‘Colour Expansion Pack’ is more of the same from the Lensbaby Omni. If you are familiar with the base product and what that entails, this whole process and look probably makes a lot more sense to you than if you’re seeing this idea for the fist time. The Omni product allows you to maintain a more consistent look with your foreground elements as it literally keeps everything in place so that you can get the same look with each shot you take.
If you shoot any video, you may immediately appreciate the power and value of this. Having a video with something wobbling about in the foreground of the shot will be extremely distracting. Having this effect locked down with the Omni however is huge.
The base Omni pack contains a solid selection of creative tools for you to play with, but ultimately they are all fairly clean and crisp looking. This new ‘Colour Expansion’ pack does kick the creativity up a good few gears as every item in this pack will add colour to your images. Yes this colour can be managed, but I did find it tricky to keep a consistent look throughout a range of shots due to how much variety in colour each of these items add. The crystals (which although my favourite) did add the most variation due to their rainbow coating. Any minor adjustment made huge changes in the final shot, and although I loved that level of variation in images, some may find it frustrating to recreate one look from a previous shoot.
Personally I think the sheer variety in looks this new pack adds is it's selling point and like I said, it’s a lot more creative than the base pack. In short, if you already have the base Omni pack and you’re not afraid of adding a little bit of colour to your images, then this is a must-buy for you. If you prefer a slightly subtler and cleaner effect to your images, maybe stick with the base pack for now.
Featured model: Valencia Germain
U.K. Links - If you’re buying from the U.K. be sure to check my discount code below
The Lensbaby Omni Colour Expansion Pack - Currently retailing at £59.00 (June 2020)
Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System Large for filter thread sizes 62-82mm - Currently retailing at £86.95 (June 2020)
Jake Hicks Discount Code
Although I was not paid to write this review, I was given a discount code to share with you guys if you buy any Lensbaby product from WEX Photo here in the U.K.
Use the code: JAKEHICKS10 at checkout for 10% off. Plus this code works on ALL Lensbaby products at WEX too!!
U.S. Links
The Lensbaby Omni Colour Expansion Pack - Currently retailing at $59.95 (June 2020)
The Lensbaby Omni Creative Filter System (Base Pack) - Currently retailing at $99.95 (June 2020) - Note that there are two base system sizes depending on the lens sizes you have. Be sure to check which is best for your lenses first.
Please note: I do not earn commission from any sales on the Lensbaby store.
Thank You
Thanks for checking out this review and spending a little bit of your day with me here. I know this article probably took a little while to load due to all the large images, but I hope you found it useful and that you left here with a little more knowledge than when you arrived. If you did, then this was worth it. As always, if you have any questions, then by all means fire-away in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer what I can. Thanks again and I’ll see you in the next one.
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