First Impressions of the Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64 Art Lens: Aloysius Lim

When he’s not rushing to capture the fleeting yet crucial moments of a concert, Aloysius Lim can be found preserving memories and delicate scenes from a wedding. Both tasks are demanding; one has to think and act fast. Testing the Daguerreotype Art Lens however was an entirely different experience that encouraged him to take a step back and slow down. He talks to Lomography about the experience of shooting with the lens in this quick interview.

This lens has a fascinating history, so let’s play the association game. What came to mind when you first saw the Daguerreotype Art Lens? What is special about its build?

The first thing that came to mind when I opened the box and saw the lens was “Wow.” I looked at it and it felt similar to the Petzval lens. I made some pretty cool images with the Petzval lens and I was quite sure that this lens would result in some interesting images. If there was one word to associate at the first moment I saw the lens then it would be “bokeh.” The lens felt really nice and solid in my hands and I thought that it was a pretty good weight. Felt a little heavy at first for its size but after mounting it to the camera, it felt good. The lens has a focusing ring which is similar to the manual focusing lenses, whereas the Petzval has a focusing knob. In a way Daguerreotype Art Lens looks like a vintage old school manual focus lens which is great!

Did the lens impart a special look to your photos?

The Daguerreotype Art Lens did give my photos a different look. There was this dreamy and moody feel to it. My first session with it was backstage with Singaporean band In Each Hand A Cutlass before their show. Coincidentally, they were also involved when I was testing out the Petzval lens. The Daguerreotype Art Lens was quite difficult to use backstage as we had limited space and the surroundings wasn’t really that great to bring out the full potential of the lens. I was quite disappointed with the first few shots with the lens but I knew I had not gotten the best out of the lens yet. When the band went on stage, I finally saw what the lens could do and it made some really cool images.

The lens is a continuation of Lomography’s experimental tradition. What special effects have you done using the lens?

I tried the various aperture plates that came with the lens. There were a total of 12 but I didn’t manage to use every single one although I would say I used at least half of them. Each plate gave a slightly different effect and I would say for now my favourite would be the Aquarelle plates which gave the star-shaped bokeh. My eight-year-old daughter calls it the Sun plate. I’ve also had instances where the lens had some light leaks and that was quite special as well.

In terms of your own photography needs, what is the best feature of the Daguerreotype Art Lens?

The best feature of this lens for me would probably be the dreamy soft focus effect together with the bokeh made with either the Aquarelle or Lumière aperture plates.

How does Daguerreotype Art Lens differ from other Lomography Art Lenses?

The Daguerreotype Art Lens is able to give a seductively soft focus effect coupled with differently shaped bokeh with the use of the aperture plates. However, if you are not in the mood for soft focus images, you can get rather sharp images with the correct plates.

Why use a special lens at all?

By using a special lens, you can get the special effect in camera and thus spend less time in front of a computer tweaking the image. You can save time and shoot more! Also, there are some effects which are quite impossible to recreate in Photoshop and so having a special lens would make the final result a little more satisfying if everything is achieved in camera.

Let’s get technical. What tip would you give to a first-time user?

Start off with a standard aperture plate of perhaps f/4 to get a feel of how the lens work. Try the various aperture plates and experiment on from there!

The artist thanks the following:
In Each Hand A Cutlass
*"Inch Chua,":http://www.thisisinch.com/

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