Lomography’s New Petzval Art Lenses Revive the Legendary Swirl

Lomography has announced a revitalized lineup of its classic Petzval lens line with the new Joseph Petzval Focus-coupled Bokeh Control Art Lens Series. The new lens series adds refined manual controls and improved focus-coupled bokeh control.

According to Lomography, the revitalized lens lineup features five focal lengths ranging from 27mm to 135mm that have been designed using recalculations from Joseph Petzval’s original 1840 portrait lens to bring 19th-century optical magic into the digital filmmaking and photography era. This includes the aforementioned updated focus-coupled bokeh system, refined manual controls, and native full-frame mirrorless support. The new lenses will offer users optimized precision for videography, providing unified gear positions and follow-focus support for seamless integration into any filmmaking workflow.

The hallmark of the Petzval look is, of course, its dramatic swirling bokeh. However, now, it’s variable — each lens offers seven levels of bokeh swirl intensity, controllable via a distinctive chrome ring. What’s especially exciting about these lenses is that the bokeh response is now mechanically linked to the lens’s focusing mechanism, providing a more natural transition in rack focus and a depth-based change in the bokeh structure, which the company hopes will be especially appealing to videographers.

Technically speaking, while great for photography, the improved lenses have been optimized for video work with the company saying, “the lens series will streamline any video production workflow.” Each lens will feature a seamless, de-clicked aperture ring, a long-throw manual focus ring (180 degrees), standard 0.8 pitch gears for follow focus systems, and a unified gear spacing across all focal lengths for easy lens swaps on set.

Lens Specifications

The new 35mm f/2 Art Lens will feature a lens construction of five elements in four groups with an aperture range of f/2 to f/22. This design provides a field of view of approximately 63 degrees, with a minimum focus distance of 0.4 meters (15.75 inches), and features a 67mm filter thread.

The new 55mm f/1.7 Art Lens will feature a lens construction of four elements in three groups with an aperture range of f/1.7 to f/22. The design provides users with a 43-degree field of view and features a minimum focus distance of 0.7 meters (27.56 inches), as well as a 67mm filter thread.

Finally, the 80.5mm f/1.9 Art lens will feature a lens design of four elements in three groups, with an aperture range of f/1.9 to f/22 and provide a field of view of 30 degrees. The lens offers a minimum focus distance of 0.8 meters (31.5 inches) and also has a 67mm filter thread.

Sample Images

Pricing and Availability

The new Joseph Petzval Focus-Coupled Bokeh Control Art Lens Series will include 27mm f/2, 35mm f/2, 55mm f/1.7, 80.5mm f/1.9, and 135mm f/2.8 primes for the Sony E, Canon RF, and Nikon Z systems. While The 27mm and 135mm are currently still in development, the 35mm, 55mm, and 80.5mm are available for preorder now for $499 each. The company will also offer discounted bundles for photographers who want multiple lenses.

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Image credits: Photographs by Lomography