They Cut a Lens in Half… And Still Shot With It

Viltrox posted a short video on their official Instagram page showing exactly what it looks like to shoot with one of their AF 35mm F1.2 LAB FE N lenses – after it’s been cut clean in half. Yes, you read that correctly. And the crazy thing is, it appears to actually work.

The caption under Viltrox’s Instagram reel reads shortly: “POV: When I take half an AF 35mm F1.2 LAB FE N lens out to shoot.” The half-lens delivered, and so did the comments.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VILTROX 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 (@viltrox.official)

Someone asked a pretty reasonable question, asking if the lens is also half the price. Someone else commented, “When they tell you the lens is 50% off but you misunderstood them.” Another Instagram user found a purpose of this lens “for those half budget shoots” and it made me laugh out loud.

“And here I am worrying about a speck of dust touching my weather sealed lens,” another person added. It reminded me of spiders and flies somehow ending up in weather-sealed lenses.

“Just add some Dehaze in Lightroom” another person noted. Seriously, though… That might work.

Now, some comments also note that this is a case of destroying a perfectly good lens just for clout. However, this will probably be used at trade shows to show internal construction and optical engineering to visitors. Whether this particular half-lens ends up in a display case or keeps getting taken out to shoot is, at this point, anyone’s guess.

This video is fun, and most definitely an unusual marketing tactic. But it can also be a reminder that gear anxiety is larger than it needs to be. Our lenses are apparently more resilient than we give them credit for.

Have you ever shot with damaged or modified gear and been surprised by the results? Let us know in the comments.

​

[via PetaPixel]

---