The Lomography Petzval 55mm f/1.7 is one of the most distinctive lenses you can put on a camera, and its new focus-coupled version changes the case for buying it in ways that aren't obvious at first glance. If you've ever been curious about swirly bokeh lenses but hesitated because of how awkward they are to use, this update is worth your attention.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this detailed video takes a fresh look at the Lomography Petzval 55mm f/1.7 Bokeh Control Lens with focus coupling, which Frost has tested before in its gold version and clearly has a soft spot for. The new version trades the striking gold aesthetic for a more practical metal body that's fully manual, with a smooth aperture ring at the rear, a bokeh control ring in the middle, and a focus ring up front with a long, well-damped throw. That focus ring is geared, making it compatible with follow focus systems without feeling rough to use by hand. It's a notable shift from the older design, and Frost is direct about the tradeoff: you're giving up looks for usability.
One thing Frost covers that didn't make it into his earlier review is the aperture plates. The lens ships with a set of plates that reshape the bokeh into various forms, stars and other patterns, though they do cut into your effective aperture, which is why each plate has its equivalent f-number printed on it. Inserting them requires unscrewing an inner bolt at the rear mount, which is a small but specific step you'll want to be aware of. The plates look best when the bokeh control ring is set to its smoothest setting, though the shapes still warp toward the edges of the frame.
Optically, this is not a lens for pixel-peeping or flat product shots. The plane of focus is deliberately uneven, which is the whole point. At f/1.7, sharpness in the focused area is reasonable, and Frost notes that cityscape images shot wide open can look genuinely striking because of this. Stop down to f/5.6 and central sharpness improves, though the characteristic field curvature remains. Close-up shooting at f/1.7 gets soft, and f/2.8 is a more practical minimum for that kind of work. Vignetting at f/1.7 is heavy, and shooting near bright light sources produces flare and contrast loss that you'll need to plan around. These aren't flaws so much as the personality of the lens, but they're real constraints.
The video also covers focus breathing, flare behavior, and new footage Frost shot specifically for this revisit, none of which you'll want to skip if you're seriously considering the lens. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
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