I have been taking some online photography classes and the Lensbaby Velvet 56 kept coming up. I liked the images I was seeing and thought it could be an interesting addition to my bag. Before doing that though, I did some additional research, looked at 100s of images and ultimately decided it was something I wanted to try out. The lens is known for its unique bokeh effects and selective focusing. The first thing you’ll notice about the Velvet 56 is the weight and feel. The mount is very snug on the camera but is not overly tight. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get the hang of it but so far I am enjoying the process of learning it. Focusing the lens takes a bit of practice. I have heard that the best results are had by using live view while zoomed in to get the focus sharp. I have not tried that yet. The Velvet 56 creates a soft focus effect. The more you open up the aperture the more of a dreamy look you will achieve. The lens has a minimum focus distance of 5” allowing you to get up close and personal with your subject. One downside I found was because there is no chip in the lens, the camera has no clue what the aperture is to store in your meta data. The only macro lens I currently have is the Sigma 105mm. I think this lens will be great as a dual purpose lens for macro and walking around lens. I can't wait to really put it through the ringer.
If you like the soft focus type of images, you can now get much better results than smearing your equipment with petroleum jelly or covering it with nylons. :-)
Below are a few of the test shots I have taken.
