Lensbaby announced a new Velvet 85 85mm f/1.8 lens with 1:2 macro capabilities for SLR and mirrorless cameras. For pricing and availability check Adorama and B&H. Sample photos can be found here. See also this hands-on report on the new lens.
Velvet 85 lens specifications:
Velvet 85 is an 85mm f/1.8 SLR and Mirrorless camera lens with 1:2 macro capabilities. This lens brings the ethereal glow and crisp vintage look of Lensbaby's popular Velvet 56 lens to photographers clamoring for a portrait-friendly 85mm focal length. Velvet 85 builds on Velvet 56’s ability to create buttery smooth skin tones with the added compression and beautiful bokeh found in high-quality 85mm lenses. Velvet 85 is a must-have for anyone looking to capture artistic soulful portraits. Shoot at bright apertures to create soft, dreamy images with underlying sharpness and detail or stop down to darker apertures to capture a classic, film-like quality in your portraits. Evoking the image style and construction quality of classic portrait lenses of the mid-20th century, Velvet 85 features the heft and smooth, dampened manual focus of these early lenses in an all-metal lens body.
