The brand PolarPro has entered the market for lens designs that offer retro photo effects with its new LightLeak lens.
As can be guessed from its name, PolarPro’s new LighLeak lens series for mirrorless cameras is designed to purposely create light leak effects with your camera.
In a world where something passing for photographic perfection is possible with most decent cameras, deliberate imperfection has long since become popular.
This is why PolarPro isn’t the only one entering this market. It’s one of several other companies doing similar things, including Lensbaby, Samyang and Lomography.
This as part of more general new trends towards a return of analog photography and image filters that simulate analog effects in digital photos from all kinds of devices.
In the case of PolarPro’s lenses, they’re available in three different fixed focal lengths of 16mm, 28mm and 50mm. All three also have a fixed aperture and a fixed focus.
Additionally, they’re being introduced to the market with compatibility with Canon RF, Fuji X, Nikon Z and Sony E cameras and their respective mount formats.
One thing that can be adjusted in the new PolarPro lenses is the degree of light leak effect. You can make it extremely minimal or go for a fully surreal, dreamy effect by letting in lots of light leak effects for your images.
Because of their fixed focal length and fixed focus distance from 1 meter to infinity (3 meters to infinity on the 50mm edition), using the PolarPro lenses is only a little different from working with a point-and-shoot camera.
This makes them much less versatile than the usual lenses you’d probably attach to your mirrorless camera, but if you’re using the LightLeak lens it’s probably not for precisely tuned and focused photos anyhow.
Basically, these little optics were released for having fun with retro effects and for a bit of photographic creativity, not so much for taking them along on a serious photo assignment.
PolarPro has already made its three LightLeak lens variants available. You can get each for your camera type among the supported brands/mounts for $129.99. The full set of three is also available for $349.99.
