A unique short telephoto with distinct classic appeal, the Canon EF-mount Velvet 85mm f/1.8 from Lensbaby produces a mid-20th century-inspired image quality that is well-suited to portraiture. Characterized by a smooth, glowing aesthetic, this lens's softness can be controlled by stopping down in order to produce a range of effects from soft and dreamy to sharper and crunchier at smaller apertures. A 12-blade diaphragm also contributes to the lens's aesthetic, and helps to produce a smooth bokeh quality to suit shallow depth of field imagery. Additionally, the manual focus design affords a working distance of 9.5" with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2 to benefit working with close-up subjects.

Velvet 85mm f/1.8 Lens    Velvet 56mm f/1.6 Lens    Twist 60 Optic with Straight Body

Short telephoto portrait-length lens is designed for full-frame Canon EF-mount DSLRs, however it can also be used with APS-C models where it provides a 136mm equivalent focal length.

Bright f/1.8 maximum aperture affords greater control over depth of field for working with shallow depth of field and selective focus techniques, and also benefits working in low-light conditions.

Inspired by classic portrait lenses from the mid-20th century, this lens is designed to produce an ethereal glowing quality with soft, smooth tonality that is well-suited to portraiture.

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 working distance of 9.5" along with a 1:2 reproduction ratio suits working with close-up subjects.

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

A 12-blade diaphragm contributes to a smooth bokeh quality that is ideal for selective focus imagery.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Does this work without an adaptor on the Sony a7r?

A: Correct, the Twist 60 for Sony E-mount will attach directly to your camera.

Q: 2. I just order one here on B&H. HOPE it does Come with lens caps. On the Lensbaby site is says it comes with front and rear caps but here on B&H the in the box description doesn't show that??? In fact they offered me a $10 Lensbaby front cap as a recommended accessory. Guess I'll find out when it arrives next Tuesday.

A: The Twist 60 for Nikon will come with front and rear lens caps.

Q: 3. How does this lens work with the NIKON D90?

A: The Lensbaby Velvet 28mm f/2.5 Lens for Nikon F (Silver) would be compatible for use with the Nikon D90 DSLR camera. Do note that the Lensbaby Velvet 28mm f/2.5 Lens for Nikon F (Silver) is a fully manual lens with no electronic contacts on the lens. As such, you would not have aperture control using the dials on the camera body, so you will need to use the aperture ring built onto the ring. EXIF data and metering data will not transferred from the lens to the camera..

Q: 4. Will the swirl effect from this lens be lost from the 1.5/1.6x crop from APS-C cameras?

A: The swirl effect from the Lensbaby Twist 60 Optic with Straight Body for Canon EF is on images from a cropped sensor camera.

Q: 5. Compatible with Canon 40D?

A: Technically it is compatible but this optic is specifically designed for full-frame cameras. If you have a crop sensor camera, most of the effect will be cropped out. Some effect will be visible with the aperture wide open.

Q: 6. when I connect the twist 60 to my sony nex 6 I got this msg the lens not well fix .. does it need a special adaptor??

A: Sorry I cannot help. I use the Lensbaby on Sony a7rii and have not had any problems.

Q: 7. Is this manual focus only, or will it work with the canon autofocus system?

A: All Lensbaby products are manual focus only. A slight learning curve, but you'll adapt. Be sure your diopter is set for your personal vision before you attempt to focus manually.

Q: 8. I have a Nikon 7100. I see that it says works best with a full frame, obviously my 7100 is a crop sensor. Will this still work? Is it worth it? I either want to buy this and a 35 or a 50. If it's not worth it on a crop senor I'm going to buy an 80.

A: Yes, it will work, but because this lens projects a full frame image circle and an APS-C sensor only sees a cropped portion inside that image circle, most of the swirly bokeh effect will be cropped out.

Q: 9. Can you provide sample pictures taken by the twist 60.

A: Of course. Please visit our website gallery, select Twist 60: a href= http://lensbaby.com/gallery/?galpro=product-33443&?galgen=genre-all target= _blank http://lensbaby.com/gallery/?galpro=product-33443&?galgen=genre-all/a

Q: 10. Will it work with a D500?

A: Yes, the Lensbaby Velvet 28mm f/2.5 Lens for Nikon F would be compatible for use on the Nikon D500 DSLR camera. Do note that this is a fully manual lens with no electronic contacts to communicate with the camera, so you will have to focus the lens manually and set the aperture using the aperture ring built onto the camera.