Lensbaby enter the Petzval market for some swirley shots with the Twist 60
Apr 12, 2016
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Petzval lenses are nothing new, but that’s kind of the point. Dating back as far as 1840, Petzval lenses offer a unique look to our images that other lenses simply can’t match, and while it may not be to everybody’s tastes, one can certainly see the allure.
Lensbaby have now entered the world of Petzval lenses with the introduction of the Twist 60, fitting neatly into the Lensbaby Optic Swap System.
Developed by Joseph Petzval, than man after whom they were named, Petzal lenses suffer from an affliction called “coma”, or Comatic Aberration. The result of which is the swirly appearance around the edges of your image, specifically in those parts of your scene which are out of focus.
What was once simply a defect with lens design that had to be overcome by means of newer technology, coma is now one of the desirable “features” of this type lens for many photographers, particularly those who shoot portraits.
It certainly provides an interesting look, which you can see more of in the sample images below.
The biggest factor with Lensbaby’s offering seems to be the price. The Twist 60 is available for preorder now at only $280, and only $180 if you already have the Lensbaby Optica Swap System, so offers quite a substantial saving over the alternatives. Lenses are expected to ship out early May, 2016.
What do you think? Is the cost low enough for you to finally pick one up?
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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5 responses to “Lensbaby enter the Petzval market for some swirley shots with the Twist 60”
Why not just use a vintage lens…
And just like the Lomography lens, they’ve chosen to limit the lens mounts to only the most popular cameras, obviously aiming at digital rather than film. If they’d simply add T-mount, it would open up the options to so many more cameras.
Nikon hasn’t changed their mount in over 50 years.
That’s true in some sense, but irrelevant – the Twist will work on Nikon cameras, and on some Canon, and on some Sony mirrorless. And yes, we could buy the bare optic for $180 and add a $300 Composer Pro to get K and a few other mirrorless mounts. With T-mount it would work on almost anything for an additional $20 per mount ring.
damn you lens baby… another lens I will need for my collection.