Well that was funded fast. In less than 24 hours Lomography's Kickstarter for the Daguerreotype Achromat2.9/64Art Lens has racked up more than five times its total funding goal. Sheesh!
With the Kickstarter currently sitting at a whopping £571,055, almost half a million over its funding goal of £100,000, and with a full 29 days left to run on its campaign, theDaguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64Art Lens is not only funded in this world but also any crazy parallel worlds too.
The lens, which is based on the world's first photographic optic lens dating from 1839 as created by Louis Daguerre and Charles Chevalier, delivers a "highly versatile tool for modern day cameras", allowing photographers to "alternate between razor-sharp images, or drape your world in silky soft focus."
That "soft focus" is the real star of the show here though and is why people are seemingly losing their minds over the Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64Art Lens. The original 1839 lens had the "soft focus" effect too, however back then it was because of a totally unintended series of aberrations in its image-forming optical system, which naturally caused a glazy, soft picture at wide apertures.
The modern, Lomography-designed lens, has had these abberations purposely left in, with the designers chasing that old-fashioned, dreamy, ethereal aesthetic.
What is probably most cool about this new, crowd-funded lens however - well asides from the natty old-school design - is the fact that it can be equipped to almost any camera with a series of mounts (Canon EF, Nikon SLR and Sony Alpha series with an adapter being a few examples). It can even be attached to video cameras.
From what we can see here at T3 Towers this could be the ultimate experimental lens for photographers and film makers. It also looks just lovely with that premium brass finish.
Anyway, enough Kool-Aid, check out the campaign's launch video below and decide for yourself:
And, for those who are interested, here is a selection of those "silky soft focus" images the lens specialises in producing:
If you want more information about theDaguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64Art Lens, then go check out the campaign's official Kickstarter page.
