special f/2 64mm art lens for full frame mirrorless digital cameras
Toronto. Our friends at Lomography have announced a variable soft focus lens of 64mm focal length and f/2 maximum aperture for full frame mirrorless cameras. The press release states in part, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new Lomography Art Lens. The Nour Triplet V 2.0/64 Bokeh Control Art Lens by Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, Cairo, c.1021 CE gives photographers and videographers the opportunity to cast an irresistible spell of dazzling light using three levels of spherical aberration control.
“Launching on Kickstarter in a historically-inspired brass design and sleek black aluminium version for full-frame mirrorless Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, the lens will be available to backers at an unrivalled starting price of 335 USD with 25% savings to be made on early bird pledges, with a delivery option before December 24th 2023.”.
You can read the full press release here. See how you can step up to artistic use of your mirrorless full frame 35mm camera. The variation in softness is controlled by adjusting the amount of spherical correction in the lens. A separate waterhouse style slot lets special plates be added to vary the effect even further.
Note: The reference to the Thambar is of interest here. Leitz introduced the Thambar in 1935. A 90mm f/2.2 lens, it was a bit late to the soft focus party. The lens used a special 9cm mirrored spot filter to block the sharper central rays. Two aperture scales were needed to set the lens with/without the spot filter. Results were always difficult to predict. Only a few years after introduction, WW2 broke out further reducing interest in the Thambar.
Modern day products from Lomography are intended for those folk using photography as art and willing to experiment in their results. The concept of soft focus by varying spherical aberrations seems to be rising again like stereo has done from time to time.
