Reminiscent of classic 20th century lenses, the black Leica L mount Lensbaby Velvet 56mm f/1.6 Leica L Lens Blackfrom Lensbaby Velvet 56mm f/1.6 Leica L Lens Blackproduces a uniquely soft, glowing image quality that is well-suited to making expressive and ethereal portraits. The overall softness can be controlled by stopping down the lens while still retaining the smooth tonality of a soft focus lens. Compatible with full-frame sensors, this slightly longer-than-normal focal length pairs with the fast f/1.6 maximum aperture to excel in difficult lighting and achieve a shallow depth of field with controllable sharpness. Additionally, for increased creative versatility, the lens also offers a 1:2 maximum magnification and a minimum working distance of 5" for macro shooting. Housed within a black metal barrel, this lens also features smooth, dampened manual focus control to further benefit creative flexibility. Consistent with Lensbaby's aim of purveying selective focus capabilities and a unique velvety image quality, the Velvet 56mm f/1.6 is a versatile tool that marries classical looks with contemporary control.

L-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format    Aperture Range: f/1.6 to f/16    Singlet-Doublet-Singlet Optical Design    Soft Glowing Effect at Wide Apertures    Inspired by Classic Portrait Lenses    1:2 Magnification, 5" Working Distance    Manual Focus and Exposure Control    All-Metal Lens Barrel    Filter Thread: 62mm

Portrait-length 56mm focal length is compatible with Leica L-mount cameras with full-frame-format sensors.

Fast f/1.6 maximum aperture offers extensive control over selective focus and shallow depth of field, and also benefits working in difficult lighting conditions.

The unique singlet-doublet-singlet lens design renders imagery with a soft, smooth, and glowing image quality reminiscent of mid-20th century portrait lenses.

Softness can be controlled by stopping-down the lens: when stopped-down to f/16, the image exhibits a smooth quality with greater central sharpness.

A 1:2 maximum magnification ratio and 5" minimum working distance enable working with close-up subjects.

Manual focus design with a smooth, dampened focusing movement is complemented by engraved focus distance indicators.

Manual exposure control requires stop-down metering and manual setting of the aperture.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Since this doesn't have the typical hood mount, does this lens perform well without one? Or is there a recommended lens hood that still allows use of filters safely?

A: The lens element is set rather far back on this lens so I don't think a UV/Protection filter is needed really. I find a 0.9 neutral density filter is handy when you want to open this lens up outside in daylight and it works wonderfully.

Q: 2. Because this is a full frame lens will it work with a Canon 40D?

A: Yes

Q: 3. I'd like to use the lens on a full and cropped sensor Canon. I assume the equivalent focal length on my 7D would be about 85? Thanks.

A: Hi Robert, I use mine on a 6D, 1DIV, 60D and an old 1000D successfully. As with any prime or fixed lens, the focal length of the lens is fixed by the engineering and design of the lens and is not altered by what camera is attached. What does change is the field of view, and as this lens focusses softly from the centre out, (sharper in the centre), some of the dreamier focus attributes are theoretically not able to be captured with the crop sensor. But I haven't found this to be any sort of issue as the range from extreme soft focus to extreme sharp available by aperture adjustment is so great I usually dial it down a bit anyway. I think the field of view of the Velvet 56 would work out to be more similar to a 90mm lens than an 85mm lens though. Hope that's useful - Phil

Q: 4. The lens cap does not sit, if a filter is attached to the lens. Since the lens cap does not have any clamping mechanism, is there any way to keep the lens cap on?

A: If your filter has 62mm front filter threads you can use this clamping lens cap on it. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/806386-REG/Sensei_lc62_62mm_Center_Pinch_Snap_On.html

Q: 5. does the barrel move when focusing?

A: The barrel of this lens does move when manually focusing.

Q: 6. For those that own one, how would you characterize the overall build quality (fit and finish) of this lens?

A: This lens seems to be well made, better than some other Lensbaby lenses. It resembles a regular lens, with smooth focusing and a good aperture ring.

Q: 7. will this work on my Sony Nex 5n?

A: Yes, the Velvet 56 is compatible with your Sony NEX 5N camera. It will work in aperture priority mode and your in-camera light meter will work or in manual mode.

Q: 8. Is this lens compatible with aps-c? Would it mean it is equivalent to an 84mm macro lens?

A: Yes, it is compatible with APS-C which it'll give an 84mm equivalent focal length.

Q: 9. What is the difference between the silver and the black Lensbaby Velvet 56?

A: The only difference between the two items are the color. It is purely a cosmetic color preference.

Q: 10. When re the soft/etheral effects of a lens not confused with a lack of focus?

A: With this lens, objects in focus have a soft feeling about them. Unlike out of focus images where the object is not clear at all, soft focus lenses have the object sharp enough so you know what it is. In other words, a soft focus lens has spherical aberrations added deliberately to create the appearance of blurring the image while retaining sharp edges. This cannot be done by simply defocusing a lens. Special lenses like this can create the image in camera.