Lensbaby’s New Sol Lens Has Bokeh Blades That Swing Into the Shot

Lensbaby today announced the Lensbaby Sol 45, the company’s “most playful and accessible” lens yet. It’s a lens that features unusual “bokeh blades” that can be moved into the field of view for stylized texture effects.

The lens features a fixed f/3.5 aperture and is designed for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Pentax K, Sony E, and Fuji X DSLR and mirrorless cameras. There will also be a Sol 22 22mm lens designed for Micro 4/3 shooters.

Photographers can customize the look of resulting photos by both bending the lens and adjusting the bokeh blades.

“Users simply identify a subject in frame, bend the lens toward it, rotate the focus ring to bring subject into focus and shoot, ultimately creating a tack-sharp circular area of focus surrounded by bold blur and smooth bokeh,” Lensbaby says.

“In addition, users can bring the lens’s bokeh blades – situated on hinged arms hiding at the edge of the lens – into the lens’s field of view,” Lensbaby continues. “These bokeh blades add subtle lines of texture in-camera to the bokeh, creating stylized texture effects that many photographers only experience post-edit.”

Here are some sample photos showing what the Sol 45 can capture:

The Lensbaby Sol 45 is available now for $200 through the Lensbaby online store, and the Sol 22 can be pre-ordered as well (it’ll arrive in September).