Last Updated on 10/27/2015 by Chris Gampat
Have you ever wanted all the bokeh? I’m not just talking about lots of it–I genuinely mean all the bokeh; like holy crap it’s so blurry I can’t see anything oh man I may just have an astigmatism type of bokeh?
Well, there are these lenses and then a very rare Canon 50mm f0.75 lens available for bidding right now on eBay according to what Canon Watch is saying. With an aperture that wide open, you’re bound to get lots of bokeh–sort of. You see, it was developed to focus an image onto the face of a 1″ video camera tube and so it has a very limited focusing range. However, because it uses a Leica 39mm screw mount, you can probably put it onto your camera with an adapter; though it’s also bound to vignette.
The lens’s description states:
This is an unusual lens. It’s incredibly fast – and heavy. The front element is about 70mm diameter and the rear element is about 17mm diameter. Its original purpose was to focus an image onto the face of a 1″ video camera tube. It is designed to perform best at infinity. There is a focus adjustment built into the lens barrel, but it is a very limited range. The back focus (Distance from the surface of the rear lens element to the plane of focus) is very short – perhaps 1/4 inch. The lens has a standard Leica 39mm mount, so mounting it is relatively simple. There are a few very small spots on the front element, but since the lens has no aperture and is always wide open, my guess is that they will never be noticed. Maybe you can think of something interesting to use this lens for. If so, better off in your house than mine! Shipping to the USA only. No international shipping.
This lens may be best used in conjunction with focusing bellows that give it more of a range. A search on Flickr shows us a couple of samples (and not even all of them are with the lens.)
If you snag it, have fun with it! No need to pixel peep that hard here.