Lensbaby is no stranger to making interesting lenses. It's moved beyond the limited scope of tilting, selective focus lenses like the Composer Pro II with optics including the Circular Fisheye and the Velvet 56. The Twist 60 ($279.95) is Lensbaby's take on updating the 1840s Petzval optical design for the 21st century. It follows in the footsteps of two lenses from its rival Lomography, but comes in at a lower price point and with internal aperture adjustment, missing from both the Lomography New Petzval and Petzval 58 Bokeh Control. It doesn't offer the extreme bokeh control available in the pricey Petzval 58, but it's an excellent option for someone who wants to capture portraits with swirled backgrounds, without having to spend a lot of money.
Design
The Twist 60 is the smallest and lightest of the trio of Petzval lenses currently available. It measures about 2.5 by 2.5 inches (HD) and weighs 7.8 ounces. That makes it a compact featherweight compared with the Lomography New Petzval, an 85mm prime that measures 4.5 by 3.7 inches and weighs 1.5 pounds.
Lensbaby offers the Twist 60 in mounts for Canon and Nikon SLRs, as well as for Sony mirrorless cameras. The Sony version is physically longer, as its design needs to replicate the distance between the sensor and lens mount found in an SLR. While it's possible to mount the Twist on a body with an APS-C image sensor, the swirled effect is greatly lessened. For that reason, Lensbaby only recommends you use it with full-frame models.
Similar Products
Lomography New Petzval Lens
Lomography New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control
Lensbaby Velvet 56
Lensbaby Composer Pro II
Lensbaby Circular Fisheye
Lensbaby Composer Pro
The 60 in the name refers to the focal length—60mm. That's very similar to the Lomography Petzval 58 Bokeh Control in field of view, although the Twist 60 doesn't swirl backgrounds with the same exaggerated effect as the Bokeh Control lens when set to its most extreme background defocus setting. The Twist has an internal aperture control that can be set at f/2.5, f/2.8, and other full-stop settings through f/16. It supports 46mm front filters and can focus as close as 18 inches. That's not macro territory, but does provide you with some flexibility to work close to a subject.
The optic itself can be removed from the barrel—that's an aspect of the Lensbaby Optic Swap system. This allows you to use other Lensbaby optics, like the Edge 80 ($299.95 at Amazon) , in a mount that doesn't support tilt adjustment. You can also buy the Twist 60 optic on its own for $179.95 for use in a Composer Pro II; Lensbaby doesn't recommend using the tilt adjustment capability if you opt to go down that road.
The external barrel is finished in black, and the optic itself has a gold color scheme. The two-tone design is attractive, and certainly draws comparison with the Lomography Petzval lenses, both of which are finished in a bronze color scheme.
Image Quality
Like other Petzval designs, the Twist 60 captures images that are sharp in the center and give way to a swirled, blurry periphery. Of the three Petzvals that are out there, the Twist 60 delivers the sharpest center, but the swirled background isn't as extreme as the Lomography lenses.
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That said, the swirled look is pronounced at f/2.5 and f/2.8, and center subject isolation is accentuated by a dim vignette around the edges and corners of the frame. Illumination is a bit more even at f/4, and there's still a pronounced swirl effect in backgrounds. The effect is notably lessened at f/5.6, mostly gone at f/8, and virtually absent at f/11 and f/16.
If you want to get the most extreme Petzval look out of the Twist 60, shoot at f/2.5 or f/2.8, and use f/4 when you need a bit more depth of field for your shot. At no point can the Twist 60 deliver as extreme a background as the Lomography Bokeh Control 58, but even wide open the Twist 60 has a larger, sharper sweet spot of focus at the center of the frame. It comes down to personal preference as to which look you prefer.
Conclusions
With competing lenses priced more than twice as much, the Lensbaby Twist 60 is the clear choice for photographers who want to play with the Petzval look, but don't want to break the bank. When you factor in its compact, lightweight design, and compatibility with other Lensbaby optic modules, you have a lens that's easy to recommend—as long as you have a full-frame camera. If you're shooting with an APS-C model, you'll be underwhelmed by the Twist 60's look. If you're in that boat, the pricey New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control is your best bet, as you can dial in a more extreme background effect, and its field of view, when matched with an APS-C camera, is an excellent choice for portraiture. But full-frame photographers in search of a budget-friendly Petzval shouldn't count the Lensbaby Twist 60 out.
The Lensbaby Twist 60 is the least expensive Petzval lens out there, but it doesn't swirl backgrounds with the same extreme effect as others.
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