Bokehlicious! Save $220 on Laowa's 105mm special effect blur lens

By James Artaius
published

The Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens has an apodization element for beautiful bokeh – and it's just $479

Bokehlicious! Save $220 on Laowa's 105mm special effect blur lens
(Image credit: B&H)

If you love beautiful bokeh, a lens with a fast aperture will only get you so far. For really bokehlicious images, you need a lens with an apodization element, but these are extremely expensive… except for the Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens, which is currently discounted by $220! 

Don't worry about waiting for Amazon Prime Day (opens in new tab) or the Black Friday camera deals (opens in new tab), you can get this stunning lens and start shooting sumptuous portraits right now, as the Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens is just $479 (opens in new tab)! 

If you're looking for a special effect optic, this is one of the best portrait lenses (opens in new tab) for DSLRs – which can be easily adapted to mirrorless cameras, too!

Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens: $479 (was $699) (opens in new tab)

Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens: $479 (was $699) (opens in new tab)
Laowa's STF lens uses an apodization element to smooth the edges of the bokeh in photographs taken on Canon EF, Nikon F and Pentax K mount cameras (the K-mount is slightly more at $499, but still a bargain!).

View Deal (opens in new tab)

Apodization elements (also known as Smooth Trans Focus) further soften the bokeh in images, delivering impossibly smooth and creamy bokeh that standard lenses simply can't render even with fast apertures. 

The Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens gives similar results to the far more expensive Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS (opens in new tab) (along with the Fujifilm XF56mm f/1.2 R APD (opens in new tab) apodization lens and the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM Defocus Smoothing lens), making it incredible for shooting stunning portraiture. 

Read more: 

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS (opens in new tab)
The best portrait lenses for Nikon (opens in new tab) users: for DX and FX DSLRs and Nikon Z
The best Canon portrait lenses (opens in new tab) for EOS camera users

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James Artaius
James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a magazine and web journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients as diverse as Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photographic and lighting tutorials, as well as industry analysis, news and rumors for publications such as Digital Camera Magazine (opens in new tab), PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine (opens in new tab), N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine (opens in new tab), Digital Photographer (opens in new tab) and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and demonstrations at The Photography Show (opens in new tab). An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.

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