The Lensbaby Velvet 56 ($449.95) is unlike any other lens that I've ever attached to a camera.
When shot at wide apertures it captures images with an ethereal soft focus look, but stopped down to f/5.6 or so the center sharpens significantly, giving way to a surrounding blur.
It's a look that's unmatched by other lenses, especially when you factor in the macro focusing capability.
The Velvet 56 isn't for every photographer (or every shot), but if its rendering speaks to you, it's a lens worth buying.
Its one-of-a-kind design earns it our Editors' Choice.
Editors' Note: This review has been updated to reflect additional camera systems with which this lens is compatible.
It was originally published on April 7, 2015.
The Velvet Fog
The Velvet 56 is a hefty lens with a sturdy, metal build.
It weighs about 14.1 ounces, and dimensions vary a bit depending on which version of the lens you get.
The SLR model for Canon EF and Nikon F systems measures 3.3 by 2.8 inches (HD) when focused to infinity, but extends all the way to 4.4 inches when focused to its minimum (5-inch) focus distance.
The version of the lens for mirrorless systems (Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z, and Sony E) is a little longer (3.7 inches at infinity and 4.7 inches at the minimum focus distance), but its girth is the same.
The mirrorless lens ships with a hood, but the lens for SLRs doesn't need one as its front element is deeply recessed.
Both SLR and mirrorless versions support 62mm front filters.
The standard Velvet 56 has a black finish, but Lensbaby also offers it in a special anodized silver edition, the SE; it costs $499.95, a $50 premium.
In addition to the different finish, the Velvet 56 SE has engraved markings on the barrel, as opposed to the printed markings on the standard model.
These include the logos, the distance scale markings, and the aperture markings.
The distance scale is presented in both meters and feet, with marks and hard stops at infinity and the point of maximum 1:2 magnification.
The aperture can be set at f/1.6 and at f/2 through f/16 in full-stop increments.
I reviewed the lens in a Nikon mount, and was a bit disappointed to see that it's not coupled to the camera; when you set the lens to f/8, the aperture narrows before the picture is captured.
The result is a viewfinder that's much dimmer than when shooting at f/1.6.
The lens is a pure manual focus design, with a long focus throw that requires you to twist the barrel a few times to go from infinity to the minimum focus distance.
Digital cameras are tops in popularity, there's no arguing that, but after shooting with the Velvet 56 on a digital SLR, I wondered how it would look when paired with a 35mm film body.
I loaded up my trusty Nikon F3 with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 to see what the results were like.
The first thing I noticed is that it's easier to focus manually through the viewfinder with the F3 than it is with the Nikon D810.
That's no surprise; the D810's viewfinder is optimized for autofocus lenses.
But I did find myself centering subjects in the frame, especially when working at f/2.8 or wider, as the split-image and microprism collar at the center of the F'3s focus screen ensured that I was nailing focus.
When working with the D810 I would sometimes use a magnified view on the rear LCD for focus.
Soft to Sharp
As for the images, they might be a bit too soft at f/1.6, even with a fine-grain film like Ektar.
The detail that shines through the soft glow on a digital shot doesn't quite translate the same on film.
But at f/2 and f/2.8, the lens shines.
The grain adds texture to images that can be lacking from a digital shot.
If you're the type of photographer who still enjoys using a film camera from time to time, the Velvet 56 is worth a try.
See How We Test Digital Cameras
We don't usually run Lensbaby and other arty optics through the Imatest benchmark, because looking at them in terms of clinical sharpness really isn't the point.
But looking at test numbers is helpful in understanding how the Velvet 56 is going to draw an image at different apertures.
Using the 36-megapixel Nikon D810 as the test body, at f/1.6 it scores just 96 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness test.
Stopping down to f/2 nets 110 lines, and f/2.8 gets you 247 lines.
At f/4 there's a big jump—1,036 lines on average, with the center-third exceeding our 1,800-line sharpness cutoff.
The center shows about 1,925 lines, but gives way to softness as you move toward the middle third and outer third of the frame.
At f/5.6 the score improves again (1,336 lines); the center is just a little bit crisper than at f/4, but the sharp area covers more of the frame.
At f/8 the lens starts to have a more traditional look, with strong center sharpness (1,922 line) and a middle third that's pretty decent (1,684 lines), giving it an average score of 1,519 lines.
At f/11 the average improves to 1,820 lines thanks to strong center performance (2,302 lines) and a crisp middle third (1,947 lines).
The edges are still a bit soft, at 667 lines.
At the minimum f/16 aperture, the lens hits 2,062 lines on average, again with a strong center and middle third, but with edges that are a bit blurry (965 lines).
Barrel distortion is a bit of an issue; the lens shows 1.8 percent.
This is pretty easily compensated for with a slider in Lightroom if you really want to, but this isn't a lens you use to get clinical results.
For the Artists
It takes a little bit of time in the field to really get a feel for how the Velvet 56 will draw images at each f-stop.
Putting the test numbers into more practical terms, at f/1.6 and f/2 the rendering is very, very soft, to the point where images have a glowing, foggy look.
At f/2.8 the glow is still there, but it's lessened, and the very center of the frame is fairly sharp.
The sharp area expands and the overall glow is barely noticeable at f/4.
At f/5.6 and f/8 the lens is pretty crisp at all but the edges.
If you want to get the look of a more traditional lens, you can shoot at f/11 or f/16.
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 is sure to catch the attention of photographers with an artistic eye.
Its soft rendering is perfect for portraiture and landscape photography, and stopping the lens down makes it possible to capture macro images with a sharp center and a lovely, blurry vignette.
It's available for a variety of interchangeable lens camera systems, and while it's more expensive than your typical Lensbaby, in some ways it's a more traditional lens than the selective focus optics for which the company is famous.
The Velvet 56 isn't going to appeal to every photographer, but there are those out there that will love its qualities.
We're naming it Editors' Choice, and recommend it to anyone who is tired of the optically perfect, clinical look that many modern lenses deliver.
The Bottom Line
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 is a macro lens that delivers a soft focus look when shot at wide apertures, but sharpens when stopped down.
Its one-of-a-kind design earns it Editors' Choice honors.
