The fun people at Lensbaby teased us with some images (of bits and pieces of a new product) lately and when it was finally launched … I knew I was in trouble. Not only the new Velvet 56 lens seemed a whole lot of fun … but it comes with a silver version too!
I was a little disappointed (and perhaps a little happy that I might be able to save some money by not buying it) when I saw that the silver edition doesn’t come in Pentax mount (only Nikon and Canon ones were available). I wrote to them to ask if there is any chance to order a silver one for my Pentax DSLR and they promptly told me that they could get one done for me! Yes! A few days of waiting and finally this new shiny sexy lens arrived.
Now this seems like a premium lens … as the packaging (box) seemed to feel more ‘premium’ than those the usual lenses from them came in. Oh … one thing I noticed is that there isn’t the cute text greeting me ‘MAMA!’ when I opened up the box. Oh wait … was it ‘PAPA!’ or is it just my failing memory playing tricks on me?
Some very nice images taken with this lens are plastered on the box. Great … this means I can take such nice photos with this lens. Hahahahaha! What do you mean it is the photographer and not the lens?!! 🙁
Sitting comfortably on some paddings … the sexy Velvet 56!
What usually is something I don’t give a damn about … the lens cap … appeared to be something I DO care about. The lens cap is beautiful! Made out of metal (like the lens barrel) … it is a piece of art by itself! Now this is giving me some stress as I do not ever wanna lose it.
The lens weighs a fair bit and feels super solid. Can’t wait to go try it out this weekend.
The recessed front makes a lens hood unnecessary and the lens has a 62mm filter thread in case you wanna use one on it.
The lens extends quite a fair bit when focusing (manually of course) at the closest distance.
Okay … that’s all for now. I’ll give this baby a test drive this coming weekend and share the photos.
For more information about the Velvet 56 … do check out Lensbaby’s website.
Check out this review where it was named the Editor’s Choice.