Lomography is continuing its revival of the historic Petzval lens design, announcing the release of two modern additions to its Art Lens Series: a 27mm f/1.7 and a 135mm f/2.5. These lenses, designed for Sony E, Canon RF, and Nikon Z mirrorless systems, aim to bring the distinctive swirl and character of 19th-century optics to modern photographers and videographers. The expansion builds on the initial success of the 35mm, 55mm, and 80.5mm lenses, offering a wider range of focal lengths for creative image-making.
The Petzval lenses are known for their unique aesthetic – sharp center clarity that melts into swirling backgrounds, controlled rainbow flares, and warm highlights. Lomography is now enhancing this classic look with a “focus-coupled bokeh control” technology, allowing users to adjust the intensity of the swirl effect without altering focus. This feature, combined with manual focus rings and standardized gear positions, makes the lenses appealing to both still photographers and filmmakers seeking a distinctive visual style.
A New Perspective on the Petzval Look
The Joseph Petzval Art Lens Series is rooted in the original 1840 portrait lens designed by Joseph Petzval. Lomography has recalculated and reengineered the design for contemporary mirrorless cameras, retaining the optical characteristics that define the Petzval look while adding modern functionality. The new lenses are optimized for videography, featuring a unified gear pitch for seamless integration into professional filmmaking workflows, according to Lomography.
Technical Specifications: 27mm f/1.7
The 27mm f/1.7 lens is positioned as the widest offering in the Petzval series, providing extreme subject isolation and a strong swirl effect. It boasts a close minimum focusing distance of 0.3 meters (approximately 11.8 inches), making it versatile for both detailed close-ups and expansive scenes. The lens exhibits a unique image field curvature, enabling compositions reminiscent of tilt-shift photography, where multiple subjects at varying distances can be simultaneously in focus. Technical details include a 5-element, 4-group optical construction, an 84-degree angle of view, and a 77mm filter thread. The lens features a 180-degree focus throw and a 90-degree iris &. bokeh control throw. It similarly includes an integrated ¼-inch tripod mount and is compatible with MOD 0.8 follow-focus systems.
Technical Specifications: 135mm f/2.5
The 135mm f/2.5 lens is described as delivering beautifully compressed images with a soft, nostalgic aesthetic. Lomography highlights its velvety bokeh, bright highlights, subtle aberrations, and gentle swirl effect, evoking the look of classic Hollywood cinema. A mild image field curvature allows for a larger in-focus area across the image, while the narrower field of view creates a sense of distance between subject and camera. The lens features a 6-element, 5-group optical construction, an 18-degree angle of view, and a 67mm filter thread. Like the 27mm, it has a 180-degree focus throw, a 90-degree iris & bokeh control throw, an integrated ¼-inch tripod mount, and MOD 0.8 follow-focus compatibility.
The new focus-coupled bokeh control technology allows for seamless control over the visual character of images, offering smooth transitions between sharp focus and dramatic swirl. Each lens supports manual focus with a 180-degree throw, is compatible with follow-focus systems, and features a unified gear positioning across all focal lengths for video use. The lenses also include comfortable-to-use control rings and an integrated ¼-inch tripod mount for added stability.
With the addition of the 27mm and 135mm lenses, the complete Petzval series now offers a versatile range of focal lengths – 27mm, 35mm, 55mm, 80.5mm, and 135mm – for photographers and videographers looking to explore a unique and artistic visual style. Lomography suggests the full set allows for greater artistic expression in video production, manipulating perspective and depth to influence the mood of a scene.
The lenses are now available for purchase through the Lomography online store: https://shop.lomography.com/lenses/petzval.
As Lomography continues to expand its Petzval lens series, it will be interesting to see how filmmakers and photographers integrate these unique optics into their workflows and further explore the creative possibilities offered by this distinctive lens design.
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