Can you tell from this photo whether the swirl background blur was made with a Petzval lens?
Asked 1/27/2014
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I saw a photo with strong swirling background blur and wondered whether that effect necessarily means it was shot with a Petzval lens. Can this look be identified from the image alone, or could other lenses create a similar result?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
5
It could very well have been taken with a vintage petzval lens, however there are many other lenses also capable of creating a similar swirling Bokeh effect as you see in this image. Ultimarely it is unlikely that you would be able to tell for sure which lens was used without asking the photographer.
Here is a list of a few other lenses that are famous for creating the "swirl"
- Helios 44-2 58mm F2
- Helios 44-6 58mm F2
- Helios 44-7 58mm F2
- Carl Zeiss 1Q Biotar 58mm f2 (10 blades version)
- Carl Zeiss 1Q Biotar 58mm f2 (17 blades version)
- Helios Cyclops 85mm F1.5
Recently a kickstarter campaign raised the funds to recreate Petzval lenses with modern mounts: http://microsites.lomography.com/petzval-lens/ Though they are not shipping to the public until June 2014 so I imagine that it is unlikely that the shot you linked was taken with one.
Originally by user25656. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user25656
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Not reliably. Swirling background blur is often associated with Petzval lenses, but it is not unique to them, so you usually cannot identify the exact lens from the image alone.
Several other lenses are well known for producing a similar swirl effect, including the Helios 44 series, the Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2, and the Helios Cyclops 85mm f/1.5. In the discussion linked by one answer, this specific image was identified as being shot on Efke 25 8x10 with a Dallmeyer Pentac 10-inch lens, which is not a Petzval design.
So the short answer is: the blur could resemble a Petzval look, but in this case the available evidence points to a Dallmeyer Pentac, and in general you’d need metadata or confirmation from the photographer to know for sure.
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