Lomography introduces Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens

Lomography has officially announced the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens that allows photographers to adjust the bokeh effects in their photos using a dedicated ring on the optic.

Petzval lenses were resurrected in 2013 by Lomography. The Petzval 85 Art lens offered an 85mm focal length and it was built on the design introduced by the legendary Joseph Petzval back in 1840.

Lomography is back with another optic, one that comes packed with a bokeh control ring that is aimed at providing control over the bokeh effects in your photos. The brand new Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens is available on Kickstarter and it promises to deliver high image quality among others.

Lomography allows photographers to control bokeh in their photos with new Petzval lens

The company is inviting photographers to control the strength of the bokeh using the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens for Canon EF and Nikon F-mount DSLR cameras.

The technology sounds similar to Defocus Control, a system available in some Nikon products. Whereas Nikon’s tech adds negative or positive spherical aberration to your photos, the Lomography edition allows users to correct the spherical aberration of the lens.

This is all done using a control ring on the lens. In total, there are seven bokeh levels and photographers can easily select the one they need in a particular situation.

Both models are built with Russian glass and by hand therefore the build quality is also said to be very high. As expected, the optic is covered in brass to give it that original Petzval look. However, a Black version of the optic is available through Kickstarter, too.

Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens features a special ring that allows users to control the bokeh levels in their photos.

Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens features an interchangeable aperture plate system

When it comes to the specifications list, the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens provides a focal length of 58mm and a maximum aperture of f/1.9. When mounted on APS-C cameras, the optic will offer a 35mm focal length equivalent of about 87mm on Nikon cameras and 92mm on Canon cameras.

As expected, the lens employs a Waterhouse aperture system. This means that users can change the aperture plates and they can choose from a maximum of f/1.9 to a minimum of f/16. Lomography says that the optic is suitable for portraiture as well as landscape photography.

The first early bird units have all been pre-ordered and they will begin shipping in December 2015. The next batch will ship in February and March 2016. However, you can still pay more to get one of the first lenses made. You can pre-order right now through Kickstarter.