Lomography launches Petzval lens for Canon/Nikon Mount

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Lomography Resurrects the 19th Century
Petzval Lens for Canon and Nikon SLRs

"Lomography today announced that it has brought an
old school lens back from the dead. It’s the Petzval lens,
originally introduced by optic inventor Joseph Petzval back
in 1840. Lomo has reinvented and reengineered the lens for
modern day Canon and Nikon SLR cameras."

-- snip --

http://petapixel.com/2013/07/25/lom...entury-petzval-lens-for-canon-and-nikon-slrs/

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Observations:

1. currently 300 usd, retail will be 499 usd,
expected to ship in dec 2013.

2. Produced by Zenit Russia.

3. Aperture from f2.2 to f16 via inserts.

4. Sharp in the centre, crazy bokeh.

5. Made of Brass body.

 

[stompyq]

Part of the charm of the petzval lenses was that they were on large format film making the dof razor thin. I don't know how successful these would be in recreating that look on FF digital. Forget crop format. Better off using a helios or old nikon lens if crazy bokeh is important. However kudos to lomography for thinking outside the box..

 

[alienmeatsack]

I was excited to see that our guesses on what this was were true. And saddened to see the price. Even at $300 (all gone) or $350, it's way out of my price range for a Lomography gadget or lens no matter how well it is made. At $500, it's just not possible for me to even justify.

I can get similar images with my Auto Miranda 50mm lenses with the swirly bokeh and it's mine already. So I'm going to sit this one out.

I am happy to see that they are making this happen. But I wish it was cheaper. IMHO $250 would have been a perfect price point.

 

[Lauffray]

Call me hipster but I like what these guys are doing for photography, despite the chain stores opening here and there

 

[mfogiel]

The idea is brilliant, the price is crazy, and the lens should be also made in a version capable of covering at least 6x7 with Pentax, Mamiya and Hasselblad mounts - then it would have to be about 150mm. I am not sure how useful this will be on a 35mm frame. BTW, in the film you can see one of the guys focusing it with a Rollei SL 66 I believe...

 

[xayraa33]

I was thinking about this two weeks ago, what a coincidence !

I wish that they come out with an LTM Petzval lens also.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

They missed part of the point with this lens - they made it with modern glass and multi-coating. Half the look of the old Petzval lenses came from the chromatic abberations in the glass.

As to the price, well, have you seen what vintage Petzval lenses are selling for these days? Try and find any name-brand Petzval going for under $1K, and any no-name for under $250. I might find the lens overpriced, but I think Lomo knows their market and will have zero problem finding buyers for this lens at $500 a pop. Even though it's not really producing the image people expect with a Petzval because of the relatively long focal length for the frame size and the aforementioned corrections.

 

[f16sunshine]

The idea is brilliant, the price is crazy, and the lens should be also made in a version capable of covering at least 6x7 with Pentax, Mamiya and Hasselblad mounts - then it would have to be about 150mm. I am not sure how useful this will be on a 35mm frame. BTW, in the film you can see one of the guys focusing it with a Rollei SL 66 I believe...

It would be nice if they made one for Pentax 6x7 or even a 300mm for 4x5 (that I may buy).
The lens can have an effect on 35mm. I have a biotar 1.5/75mm that gives a similar look on a 35mm frame.
It may even be a bit wilder looking.
It's a Zeiss lens and built like one. No silly aperure discs to lose or bend. That may be novel but a PIA to be sure.

I've posted this before. Sorry in advance for the redundancy. It's one of the only SFW image I have with this lens.

Biotar 1.5/75mm

And here is a bit longer focus distance shot although frankly I missed focus on the model a bit.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

that's some swirly bokeh...

 

[Armoured]

Given that this is made by Zenit / KMZ, this looks an awful lot like the Helios 85mm. The swirly bokeh esp, as well as the size and other. Looks like they're chanigng the coating (maybe just not painting the brass?), and removing the aperture in favour of these weird insets.

 

[segedi]

Part of the charm of the petzval lenses was that they were on large format film making the dof razor thin. I don't know how successful these would be in recreating that look on FF digital. Forget crop format. Better off using a helios or old nikon lens if crazy bokeh is important. However kudos to lomography for thinking outside the box..

Based on their samples... Not be impressed. Doesn't look very Petzal like in the output.

 

[alienmeatsack]

This lens is now officially available for pre-order outside of Kickstarter with a 5 month wait.

The non-Kickstarter price = $600 for the Brass version and $700 USD for the black version. OUCH. Sadly, I kind of wish I had gone in for the $400 Kickstarter one. I know I'd enjoy the lens but man that is a lot of money. I could buy a vintage lens with similar look and feel and a camera to go with it for that kind of money.

Black...
Canon Mount:
http://shop.lomography.com/us/lenses/black-petzval-canon-mount

Nikon Mount:
http://shop.lomography.com/us/lenses/black-petzval-nikon-mount

Brass...
Canon:
http://shop.lomography.com/us/lenses/brass-petzval-canon-mount

Nikon:
http://shop.lomography.com/us/lenses/brass-petzval-nikon-mount