Andrew Mclean's First Impressions of the Nour Triplet V 2.0/64 Bokeh Control Art Lens

Wedding photographer and YouTuber Andrew Mclean tested out the new Nour Triplet V 2.0/64 Bokeh Control Art Lens to the full, using each of the three bokeh effects - Soft, Classic, and Bubble with his model friend Jake Smithies. He talked to us about his experiences shooting with this new lens and the different spherical aberration effects it can create.

In which situation did you use the lens?

In order to test the lens out, I shot some portraits of the incredibly talented Jake Smithies both here in the studio and outside as well to see how the lens holds up. In the studio I decided to set up some shots with some fairy lights in the background to really accentuate the effect of the drop in aperture plates and also to show the difference between the different levels of spherical aberration.

We then headed outside to use some of the natural foliage along with different buildings to make some really interesting backgrounds which is where the lens really shines, in many ways, quite similar to the Petzval 55 f/1.7 MKII Art Lens that I’ve reviewed before.

How was the shooting experience with the lens?

In terms of build quality, the lens itself is very well made, it’s a hand crafted brass construction that feels both solid and well-balanced when on a camera such as the Sony A7RIV. The spherical aberration lever is solid but moves freely and the focusing and aperture rings are the same, they’re super smooth and will only move when you want them to.

Regarding ease of use, the focusing, changing of aperture and changing the spherical aberration lever are all super easy, no stress at all. When using focus peaking on your camera, making sure that you’re in focus isn’t too challenging and I don’t think that this lens has as steep a learning curve as something like the Petzval Lens. Changing the drop in aperture plates can be quite time consuming as the thread is a long one and requires quite a lot of turning so unless you have plenty of time, if you’re going to use one of the plates, pick one and stick to it to save time. In terms of the quality of images produced, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I looked through the files.

Whilst the use of drop-in aperture plates isn’t personally to my taste, I noticed that the effect is much less aggressive than I anticipated it to be and certainly allows for some really interesting backgrounds to be created. I found all three levels of spherical aberration control to produce different effects as you would expect and actually I don’t know which I prefer, I feel that all have their qualities depending on the purpose of the shoot. Classic does exactly what its says on the tin, it gives smooth backgrounds that accentuate the subject without imposing on the image. It gives that hazy, soft focus look, almost like a pro-mist type filter has been used and Bubble gives the sharpest results whilst really making the background pop.

How did this lens help you in your portraiture work?

I can see this lens being very useful for portrait photographers who want the versatility to take different types of images without changing lens or having to add filters, with the 64 mm focal length being a really nice one to work with. This is the first fixed focal length lens that I’ve ever used at this focal length, only ever using 50 mm or 85 mm before and this sits nicely in the middle, allowing for both environmental portraits and more head shot style images. This is a creative lens which means that I think in most photographer’s bags, this will be a lens that is carried in addition to other lenses, not instead of them.

To see more of Andrew's work visit his website, and Instagram page..

You can now find our NOUR TRIPLET V 2.0/64 Bokeh Control Art Lens on Kickstarter.

2023-10-07 #news #videos #bubble-bokeh #nour-triplet #kickstarter-2023 #portratt-lens