In your face website design

OzPeter

I was browsing craigslist photo and video ads when I noticed an add for the "Lynny Lens System". I decided to take a look and … (well make your own judgement) lynnylens.com

The parent company is also a treat: Creayte.com

Things I love about this site:

I don't need to zoom in in order to see the details
Broken links all over the place Sorry. This video does not exist
Product pics that look like 3d renderings
Absolutely no way to contact them other than through a web form
Astounding copywriting Why Tilting/Spinning Is Great With This Lens:
The ability to tilt and spin this lens around is great because it offers the control that you need so bad in your final photos. Photos can't give the expression and meaning that you want without being able to put your personality, and show the subjects personality or characteristic(s) in the photo. That's why it's so important to have control over the photos. And being able to tilt the lens, and then spin the lens around to control where the effects are, assures that you will have a perfect photo every time!
Amazing technical design: From many tests done with the Lynny Pressa, comparing it to my Nikon lens with a similar sized aperture, and using a light meter, I have come to the conclusion that the Lynny has an aperture around f/1.4.
Coming soon in 2013!
You too can work for Lynny! .. you will get $5 per sale, which can add up pretty fast! You will also get a bonus every so often for high amounts of sales
The quality reviews from Chayne, Bob and Dan
Sooooo .. slooooowwww. And when I peeked at the code, even I could see why
I like seeing http 500 errors!
Name your own pricing! Did you know that we can work with your budget if you can't afford our lenses? Tight budgets are no problem and we want to work with you to make sure that in the end, you are happy and using one (or both) of our cool lenses! So fill out our form with your max budget and we'll follow up with customized and personalized options to work with your budget!

blakeyrat

No mention of the BeforeUnload handler begging you not to leave? That's the worst feature, IMO.

The site actually looks decent before you click anything or scroll down.

OzPeter

@blakeyrat said:

No mention of the BeforeUnload handler begging you not to leave? That's the worst feature, IMO.

Yeah .. I saw that one but forgot to comment on it.<br ?>
Also:

The big red splotch on the first page of their slide show, where they left off the text quote
The only photo of a camera on the entire site looks like it is a stock pic, and doesn't even show their product

https://lynnylens.com/rota-verta-photos/

@WTF is a Lynny said:

			<article class="post-4065 page type-page status-publish hentry" id="post-4065">
				
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										Photos of Lynny Rota &amp; Verta										
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			</article>
			
    	</div>
    	
    	
	
	
	






	
		
		







	
			
	
	
		


	
			
	
	<div class="clearfix">
		
		<div class="entry-content"> 
	
			<h3>Photos below are of pre-final drawings, and do not reflect the most recent changes in cosmetic and design features</h3>

no images were found

		</div>

	</div><p></blockquote></p><p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RmBMt72.png" mce_src="http://i.imgur.com/RmBMt72.png" alt="" height="104" hspace="" align="" border="" vspace="" width="103"></p><p>&nbsp;@OzPeter said:<blockquote>Name your own pricing! <i>Did you know that we can work with your budget if you can't afford our lenses? Tight budgets are no problem and we want to work with you to make sure that in the end, you are happy and using one (or both) of our cool lenses! So fill out our form with your max budget and we'll follow up with customized and personalized options to work with your budget! </i></blockquote>When I read that I figured this must be some really super-expensive high-end product (BH Photo, a well known camera store in New York lists almost 400 different lenses on their website that cost $2000 or more). </p><p>Then I looked at the prices for their lenses: $220 - $250.&nbsp; </p><ul><li>Create 3D drawings</li><li>Take money for pre-orders</li><li>????</li><li>Profit !!<br></li></ul>

RTapeLoadingError

@OzPeter said:

Astounding copywriting Why Tilting/Spinning Is Great With This Lens:
The ability to tilt and spin this lens around is great because it offers the control that you need so bad in your final photos. Photos can't give the expression and meaning that you want without being able to put your personality, and show the subjects personality or characteristic(s) in the photo. That's why it's so important to have control over the photos. And being able to tilt the lens, and then spin the lens around to control where the effects are, assures that you will have a perfect photo every time!

Not that it entirely excuses it but it does read like something written by a non-native English speaker.

The whole thing does feel like they're trying to get money up front without having a product. Maybe they will make the lens and send it to the early adopters, maybe they'll fold leaving nothing but a long, thin website and some 3D models behind. Who knows?

@OzPeter said:

The parent company is also a treat: Creayte.com

WHOIS:

Creation Date: 2013-03-12

Registrant Name: Creayte
Registrant Organization: Creayte
Registrant Street: 2711 Timber Court
Registrant City: Richmond
Registrant State: VA
Registrant Postal Code: 23228

Google street view:

In all fairness, there is a small shed in the back yard. Maybe that's where he manufactures the 3D renderings of the lenses.

Ben L.

The stylesheet's so long it needs a table of contents!

@RTapeLoadingError said:

Not that it entirely excuses it but it does read like something written by a non-native English speaker.

Well the domain name for their website is registered to an address in Virgina, so, yes you could be right.

GreyWolf1

"gives you the control you need"...I couldn't stand looking at more than a handful of the photos they imply were taken with this lens - none of them were in focus.

Yeah, I can already do out-of-focus pics with the equipment I've already got.

rudraigh

@GreyWolf said:

"gives you the control you need"...I couldn't stand looking at more than a handful of the photos they imply were taken with this lens - none of them were in focus.

Yeah, I can already do out-of-focus pics with the equipment I've already got.

It's called "selective focus". The lens is basically a cheap tilt/shift lens. Lensbaby makes a better one for less.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/580401-REG/Lensbaby_LBCC_Composer_Special_Effects_SLR.html

OzPeter

@rudraigh said:

It's called "selective focus". The lens is basically a cheap tilt/shift lens. Lensbaby actually makes ~~a better~~ one ~~for less.~~

FTFY

I have an original lens baby somewhere in a closet, I haven't used it nearly as much I as I should have. On the other hand recently I rented a Cannon EOS 5D Mk III (worth $3k) and the Canon tilt/shift lens (worth $2k) for a week. That was an experience and a half and really taught me about the scheimpflug principle. And sadly I have to say that the Canon lens is far superior to the equivalent Nikon one (say me the owner of several Nikon lenses and bodies)

flabdablet

@El_Heffe said:

@OzPeter said:
The parent company is also a treat: Creayte.com
WHOIS:
Creation Date: 2013-03-12
Registrant Name: Creayte
Registrant Organization: Creayte
Registrant Street: 2711 Timber Court
Registrant City: Richmond
Registrant State: VA
Registrant Postal Code: 23228
Google street view:

In all fairness, there is a small shed in the back yard. Maybe that's where he manufactures the 3D renderings of the lenses.

Could do with an upgrayedd.

dkf

@El_Heffe said:

Google street view:

In all fairness, there is a small shed in the back yard. Maybe that's where he manufactures the 3D renderings of the lenses.

Either that, or it is in the secret underground lair. The entrance is via a manhole under that vehicle, which the google tag is pointing to.

boomzilla

@dkf said:

The entrance is via a manhole under that vehicle, which the google tag is pointing to.

Better check the tree, too.

RTapeLoadingError

@boomzilla said:

@dkf said:
The entrance is via a manhole under that vehicle, which the google tag is pointing to.

Better check the tree, too.

I'm on my way...

HardwareGeek

@OzPeter said:

4. Absolutely no way to contact them other than through a web form

As much of a WTF as that site may be, this isn't true. The home page has links to their social media pages, and the contact form on the individual product pages also has a mailto link. It's not obvious if you've trained yourself to ignore social media button clutter, but it's there.

@rudraigh said:

@GreyWolf said:
"gives you the control you need"...I couldn't stand looking at more than a handful of the photos they imply were taken with this lens - none of them were in focus.

Yeah, I can already do out-of-focus pics with the equipment I've already got.

It's called "selective focus". The lens is basically a cheap tilt/shift lens. Lensbaby makes a better one for less.

Actually, it looks like the Rota has a single axis of tilt, and I don't see any provision for shifting. The Verta has no tilt or shift. Both intentionally blur the edges of the image for "artistic" affect; the tilt/spin feature of the Rota allows one to position the (sort of) sharp region somewhere other than the center of the image. I have yet to make any sense of the "Alluring Vividness" and "Elegant Color Abstraction" claims; chromatic aberration and color fringing, maybe?

There are so many WTFs in the product design, never mind the web site, that it is hard to pick one, but maybe the biggest is their claim that sliding the lens in and out in the barrel offers precise focusing:@Lynny Lens System said:

The reason is because with push/pull movements, the level of accuracy is really extraordinary. With other lenses the movement can be too much and result in a blurred image.

I don't understand how every manufacturer of professional quality camera lenses for the last hundred years could have overlooked something so simple, elegant and cheap, instead of wasting money machining expensive helicoids.</sarcasm>