The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Lensbaby Velvet 56 and the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED is the longer of the two lenses at 99mm. The Lensbaby Velvet 56 with a length of 86mm, is 13mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED also has a larger diameter of 84mm compared to the Lensbaby Velvet 56's 72mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Lensbaby Velvet 56 weighs 400g, which means it is 165g (29%) lighter than the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED which has a weight of 565g.
Filter Threads
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 has a filter size of 62mm whereas the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED has a 77mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 62mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Lensbaby Velvet 56:
And these are the 77mm filters that we recommend for the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED:
Lens Mounts
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 has the Pentax KAF3 lens mount whereas the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED has the Pentax KAF2 lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Pentax K-3 III Mono, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III for the Pentax KAF3 Mount and , and for the Pentax KAF2 Mount.
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is also available in the Canon EF , Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon F (FX), Samsung NX, Sony Alpha and Sony E mounts.
Focal Range
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 56mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
84mm.
On the other hand, the Pentax smc 16-50mm F2.8 ED has a focal range of 16-50mm and 3.1X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 24-75mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
