Lomography has just unveiled the Lomogon, a brand new 32mm lens, and after just 24 hours the brand’s latest Kickstarter is an instant success. We’ve got all the details.
The Lomogon is a 32mm lens for Canon EF and Nikon F mount cameras. It has an f-stop range of f/2.5 to f/11 and a minimum focusing distance of 1.3 feet (0.4 meters.) Aperture is controlled using a dial disc that sticks out of the side of the lens; turning the dial changes aperture and with each aperture being a perfect circle, Lomography says the lens will produce outstanding bokeh.
The lens is comprised of six multi-coated elements in six groups, which Lomography says corrects aberrations, minimises distortion and improves micro contrast. As mentioned, it’s available in Nikon F and Canon EF mounts, though comes without electronic contacts.
Lomography worked with Russian manufacturer Zenit to design and bring the Lomogon to market. Each lens is assembled by hand in Central China. Kickstarter supporters, depending on the amount of support, can choose between the black aluminum, brass, or black anodized variants with “Lomography-Zenit” badging.
According to the company, the Lomogon shares both design and stylistic DNA with the LC-A camera and its lens. The Lomogon lens will feature the LC-A’s bold contrast, heavy saturation and vignetting, but will provide them for both film and digital SLR cameras made by the world’s two most popular brands. More noticeably, the Lomogon continues Lomography’s recent trend of releasing unique lenses with non-traditional aperture systems. This includes lenses like the Petzval 58 and 85 as well as the Daguerreotype Achromat, which we have previously reviewed.
The Lomogon will likely fall somewhere between their more tradtional lenses and the more unique offerings. The aperture dial will certainly create some interesting effects and bokeh, but the lens is also small and portable, making it more or a travel companion than something like the Daguerrotype lens.
[Sample photos provided by Lomography]
Those who support the Kickstarter will get the Lomogon at a hefty forty percent discount off its final retail price [update – this option is no longer available, as it’s been sold out via Kickstarter]. Currently, the cheapest is the black aluminium version, which requires a $299 pledge. The black brass and traditional brass versions are $330 and $360 respectively.
Lomography has created a plethora of packages for the Kickstarter, including the option of purchasing lenses with serial numbers between two and fifteen and bundle packages that include other Lomography lenses.
After only one day, the Lomogon Kickstarter has generated nearly double its $100,000 goal. We’ll have a full review when the Lomogon lens releases.
Full details can be seen on the Lomogon Kickstarter page here.
Follow Casual Photophile on Facebook and Instagram
[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]
I’m just wondering how quickly these lenses will fill with dust, and how easy (or not) will it be to clean that out.
Six lenses in six groups also is interesting, not just because that is an awful lot of places for dust to get into, but mainly because the greater the # of air gaps in a lens, the lower the final quality of that lens would be. It’s why higher end lenses have multiple lenses in each group.
I use one of their Petzval lenses that has a big gap where the individual aperture blades drop in. I’m kinda scared to checke that for dust!