Lomography’s New Lens Makes Your Photos Look Deliciously Weird

Most modern lenses are designed to keep your images sharp and optical distortions under control. Lomography is taking the opposite approach with its new Joseph Petzval Métamorphose 35mm f/1.8 Art Lens, which turns those quirks into a creative effect.

Designed for full frame mirrorless cameras, the manual focus lens combines the familiar swirling Petzval bokeh with a more dramatic warp that makes the edges of an image appear to stretch away from the center.

The lens is designed for Sony E, Nikon Z, and Canon RF mounts. Its estimated shipping date is December 2026, although pricing has not been provided in the supplied information.

Seven levels of optical weirdness

The Métamorphose has a dedicated bokeh control ring with seven levels, allowing photographers and filmmakers to adjust the appearance of the out of focus areas without changing lenses.

At the lowest setting, the image gradually softens toward the edges, with background highlights producing soap bubble like textures. At level seven, the effect becomes much more pronounced. The center remains sharp while the surrounding image takes on a dramatic optical warp, with lights stretching into shapes resembling comets.

The effect can be adjusted further by changing the aperture and focusing distance. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 and can focus as close as 0.35 meters, giving users room to experiment with close subjects and exaggerated backgrounds.

These effects will not suit every scene. However, they could be useful for portraits, music videos, and experimental filmmaking where a conventional, evenly sharp image is not the goal.

Built for stills and video

The Métamorphose uses manual focus and a 67mm filter thread. Its focus coupled bokeh control system is designed to prevent focus shifts when adjusting the bokeh ring, a useful feature for video creators who want to change the look during a shot.

The lens also supports follow focus systems and has 0.8 pitch gear rings for cinema setups. It can be used with an 80mm diameter matte box, according to Lomography.

Its iris style aperture system also accepts drop in special aperture plates. However, plates from earlier Lomography Petzval lenses are not compatible with the Métamorphose.

A 19th century idea gets a new twist

The original Petzval lens dates back to 1840, when mathematician Joseph Petzval developed a portrait lens that helped shorten exposure times. Lomography has been reworking the design for modern cameras since 2013, embracing its characteristic swirl instead of correcting it.

The Métamorphose pushes that philosophy further by adding a pronounced stretching effect around the sharp center. For photographers tired of backgrounds that behave themselves, this lens offers a different question to explore: what happens when the optical quirks become the main attraction?

[Photos via Lomography]

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