The Lensbaby Composer Special Effects SLR Lens is part of the Lensbaby series of SLR lenses, and offers the same spectacular special-effect results. However, the Composer introduces a completely new design. Based on a ball and socket configuration, this version allows for smoother selective focus control.

The Composer will retain its position after being bent, which makes it easy to use even with one hand. Users also no longer have to squeeze the lens to focus, they can simply tilt the lens to a desired angle and then focus with a traditional barrel focusing ring.

A Lensbaby lens is a hybrid between a bellows camera and a tilt-shift camera. It allows for selective focusing with SLR cameras. It will bring one area of a photo into sharp focus, surrounded by gradually increasing blur. Effects like blurring, glowing highlights, and subtle, prismatic color distortions can all be achieved without software manipulations. The lens can be bent off-center in any direction for different results.

The Composer features the Optic Swap System. Lensbabies has developed a line of different "optics" that can be interchanged with the Muse and Composer versions. This provides artists with an almost unlimited variety of looks and styles to capture their unique visions.

The Composer comes supplied with the Double Glass Optic, which provides the sharpest focus in its range. It offers a tack sharp sweet spot, with minimal diffusion at all aperture settings. Also available optionally are the Plastic optic for an ultra-soft and ethereal look, the Single Glass for that vintage look, or the Pinhole/Zone Plate for softer, dreamier focus images that are equally sharp from edge to edge.

No electronic communication is possible between the camera and the lens. All operation is strictly manual. Automatic light metering is possible by shooting in aperture priority mode with almost all digital and film SLR camera bodies.

The lens aperture can be changed by inserting different size aperture discs.

The Composer features a unique manual focus design which requires more rotation to move the optic as you approach infinity. This makes it easier to focus on objects at intermediate and distant depths than regular manual focus lenses.