Lomography has launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop the Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII SLR Art Lens for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts.
The Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII SLR Art Lens is available on Kickstarter at an early bird special of $290, but that price tag will rise to $449 upon its official release date. Lomography describes the lens:
A 19th Century Aesthetic: A (d)SLR lens that celebrates the 180th anniversary of Joseph Petzval’s historical first portrait lens, optimized for still and motion photography.
A Filmmaker’s Dream: The New Petzval 80.5 MKII Art Lens sports a helicoid focusing mechanism and stopless aperture diaphragm, that enables you to focus and f-stop, whilst the camera is rolling.
A Swirly Bokeh: The unique Petzval optic design renders photos with a totally different optical effect. It provides velvety swirly Bokeh when shot wide open. When stopped down to smaller apertures, the lens displays extreme sharpness across the frame.
Seven Levels of Swirl: The Petzval 80.5 mm f/1.9 MKII will also be available in an Advanced Bokeh Control Edition. This edition features a Bokeh Control ring, allowing you to adjust the amount of swirl over 7 levels, for even greater experimentation.
A Dual Aperture System: The New Petzval 80.5 MKII Art Lens features not only a stopless aperture diaphragm but also a Waterhouse Aperture System for endless creativity. Through the insertion of special aperture plates of different shapes, you will have the ability to produce rich and patterned backgrounds.
Lomography says it expects the new Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII Art Lens will be ready for delivery by June 2020 for the basic aluminum version, by July and August 2020 for the brass editions and September 2020 for the Advanced Bokeh Control Edition.