The just announced Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8 lens in both Sony E-mount and A-mount (preorder from Amazon for $499.95) is designed to shoot velvety portraits with lovely bokeh. The 85 follows the success of the best-selling Velvet 56 (also $499.95 on Amazon) and combines lustrous skin tones with the added compression and bokeh of a high-quality 85mm portrait lenses. Velvet 85’s macro feature also lets you get close for detail.
Product Highlights
- Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
- Soft Glowing Effect at Wide Apertures
- Inspired by Classic Portrait Lenses
- 1:2 Magnification, 9.5″ Working Distance
- Manual Focus Design
- 12-Blade Diaphragm
The Phoblographer Chris Gampat shot with a pre-production 85 the last time I saw him and reviewed the much-anticipated lens saying
I really love this lens. It’s not so incredibly, overly sharp. Not a whole lot of contrast; and it turns images from Sony cameras known to be oversaturated into something sort of like Kodak Portra if you fuss with the settings on the camera enough.
And, he took photos of me with it noting at the time how amazed he was with the lens for the film look.
I haven’t shot with the 85, but trust Chris’ opinion and welcome more 3rd-party lenses to the Sony ecosystem.
…My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.