[f/3.5] Waited awhile to get this lens but it was worth the wait. If you are buying this lens then you will already know it is not the sharpest lens wide open but that’s not what people are buying this lens for. With that being said, if you stop it down to f/4 it is tack sharp. So onto why people buy this lens, ofcourse it is for the soap bubble bokeh and unique rendering of the triplet design. The build quality is exceptional compared to Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses. Currently adapted to my Fuji XT-3 and loving the result, although I imagine the bokeh would be even better on a FF which I cannot wait to try out but you also utilize the best part of the lens when adapting to an APS-C camera. The image quality and especially the rendering that this lens gives is beyond what I’ve expected. If you want to get more creative or add a little flair to your photography, then definitely give this one a try. Will update with more thoughts once I find a suitable FF camera to test it out with.

[12] I ove the way this Lydith renders, excellent detail wide open but with a soft glow. Stop it dow to f/5.6 and it get amazingly sharp, although still a bit mushy in the corners. It is proving outstanding for head/shoulders portraits wide open and nice for landscapes stopped down to f/5.6 to f/11. Its optical design is old but then that what I bought it for. Fabrication quality is excellent, beautifully made. My old wish would be that they make it rangefinder couple for Leica M cameras (none of M digital cameras support live view). One buys this lens for what it is, and it is not like a late version Leica lens yet it has its own qualities one can take advantage of. Considering it is a lens made in Germany by skilled craftsmen just as Leica lenses are, the price is not bad at all. Just realize what you are buying is old school optical design in a beautiful modern package.

[12] This is a great optic, full of character that inspires you as you work with it. If I could wish for one improvement, however, it would be to decrease its MFD. If you could shoot closer to the subject this lens would be legendary.... Still, I highly recommend this lens!

[52 mm (Front)] Very practical lense smaller and ligther than modern AF lenses.

[12] As said by some expects many times in past - 'You Love it or you hate it'. I am not the technical person to do dissection of lens and come up with details about how it is made and what’s magical inside it to get Soap Bubble Effect (dreamy bokeh)

For me, I wanted to lost myself in the dreamy bokeh. That’s the wish and it came true when I found 1 last copy left in stock at B&H. I had a chat with the service representative and ordered it immediately. I was shocked to get it in mere 7 days in lockdown time (Covid Crisis). Its shipped from USA to UK, though Germany is near UK, but the manufacturer didn’t have this in stock. I had concerns about shipment but it came before time.

Lens is well made and feels solid to handle. Its packaging is super awesome. The way it’s packed is very nice. When you unbox the package, you may find the outbox is just a piece of cardboard. Beauty lies inside the box, when the first layer was uncovered, I was mesmerized by the main box. It reminded me of the box in which my mum used to keep gold jewellery in India. A velvet packing inside with lens and lens hood. Lens hood has got threads to fix to the lens.

The Aperture ring is very smooth to operate. It's click-less and a boon for videographers. See attached videos. It is super easy to use an aperture ring to increase or decrease the f-stop values.

For me, I am not going to go beyond F4 as I bought this lens for art work especially Macro and also for some artistic model shoots. I got his lens for soap bubble effect and I will keep it mostly at F2.8 for all my Macro work. At F2.8 it's super awesome, it generates magical soap bubbles. It’s all a matter of the direction of the light source and you are done, rest is magic of aperture blades and elements within the lens. You make composition, get focus by physically moving forward or backward if doing handheld photography and then just click the shutter button.

Focus ring is smoo with a ideal kind of resistance which makes it a joy to operate

[52 mm (Front)] How do you activate the close focus front moving element on this lens?

[71°] Worthy of the Lydith name

[71°] It's look very Solid and very beautiful ! The legend is back and more powerful than before !!!

[52 mm (Front)] The small size of the lense make it easy to carry in your photo bag.

This lense enables not only great bokeh but provides a very good sharpness and is very sensitive to white balance variations.
Try it and you will enjoy it immediately.

[f/3.5] It's true that the legend has returned ! Lens looks very beautiful !