This lens was a real challenge. If you watch the video I put together for this lens you would think that I just pulled it out of a sack, popped it on my camera and started making beautiful images. That would be a bit factually incorrect.

This lens which I will admit I’ve grown to love was given to me with a bag of other camera gadgets and goodies by some fellow photographers a few months ago. I’ve been slowly going through said bag slowly, taking a look at each lens or widget trying to determine if it should go in the back of the closet or, in the camera case. So far all of the lenses and most of the cameras have ended up in the case. I think thats due to my inherit camera junky addiction for all things photography.

 Petri 55mm Lens Video

Anyway, I’m getting on a tangent here. You came for a lens review of the Petri 55mm 1.8 not, listen to me blather on about some sick fetish for gear. So, on with the review!

Like I was saying this lens had a bit of a problem when I first started testing it out. I took it out for a series of image tests running through every stop to see how well it performed. The mechanics were very sound but, the image – well the image was pretty bad. At first I went looking for dreaded lens fungus with a flashlight but, after some poking around I decided that wasn’t going to be the problem. Next, I thought well – lets try the “sit it in the sun for a day or two” trick. I’d always heard that was like some magic tonic for a camera lens. Nope, still looked like utter crap.

So, finally I decided it was haze. This lens was pretty old and most likely some lubricant had gotten on one of the elements causing typical gauzy results in strong light.

I spent two evenings cleaning this lens. Real pain. But, I cleared it up! Of course I never managed to get the aperture spring to seat right again so, I’m forced to really pay attention to the ring since it will now move freely if bumped. Otherwise, it looks pretty darn good!

Now for the real review

Petri was sort of a Japaneses second-tier camera manufacturer that opened its doors in 1907. It stayed in business from 1907 until around 1980. Its main demise was a dis-interest if modernizing its cameras which eventually put them out of business. This happened for a good part by its dedication to the M42 or screw-mount lens which lacked any electronic contacts. Pretty much making it obsolete when things like auto-focus and other body controlled technologies came about.

Being thats the case the Petri 55mm is a screw-mount M42 lens by default. So, you will need an adapter to fit it on any modern digital camera. The most adaptable option of course is the Pentax line since they have the most backwards compatible line of cameras. In many cases the M42 was actually called a Pentax mount. You will have the most trouble with Nikon cameras since they have the most distance between the mount and the sensor. I’ve been tempted to buy an adapter which has a small element and give my Nikon a go at it but, have yet to see how it performs in the field.

Initial observations:

• Solid metal construction
• Distance scale
• Clean solid ring movement at focus and with aperture (well, aperture took a hit on mine but, thats not the lenses fault)
• M42 screw-mount, will require an adapter
• Lens barrel has clear markings
• Low-light friendly F1.8 aperture
• My copy had a manual or auto-aperture switch

After clearing up my haze problem I’ve taken this lens out on a few photo scouts to try it out. I’ve also re-shot my test images to see how they fair.

Make note, this lens like many M42′s has a aperture switch. This can be a problem with many modern cameras because the pin that controls this function will stick out too far and not allow you to seat it on a adapter. There are many ways people have gotten around this. Some will shove a piece of q-tip tube in the depressed pin slot to hold it shut. Others have tried glue and, others have taken the back of and just removed the pin all together. I’ve used this last option with success on another lens.

I use Rainbowimaging M42 adapters, available on Amazon.com

RainbowImaging M42 Lens to Nikon CameraAdapter with Infinity Focus, for Nikon D3x, D3, D3h, D700, D300s, D300, D200, D7000, D90, D80, D5000, D3100, D3000, D70s, D70, D60, D50.

RainbowImaging M42 42MM lens to Sony E Mount NEX NEX-3 NEX-5 Camera Adapter, (RainbowImaging Adapter)

Normally a 55mm is better suited to portrait work not landscape since it (for me anyway) falls in that weird not-close-enough but not-wide-enough category. But, since I needed to test it out and, I was going to be in heavy canopy and this lens was meant for low-light I felt it would be a good chance to see how it performed.

I took several exposures in the dense underbrush then, a few along the rivers edge to see how dappled light affected the now scrubbed elements.

General image impressions:

• At higher f-stop images were pretty crisp
• At the lowest range of stops things got pretty soft. This should be expected, especially when you get down to 1.8
• Response to low-light was very good
• Contrast was good

Just like it says on the tin this is a portrait lens, hence the 55mm length. If produces a very soft image at 1.8 which makes this lens a great fit if thats the look you’re going for. It also responded very well for me in low-light even at 200 ISO. Its particular range can make it problematic for nature and landscape work or, at least is does for me in many cases. But, honestly with the low-light results I plan to try using this lens in more situations. I’ve grown fond of it actually.

Final conclusion, if you can find a good deal on this lens and, like to work with old lenses like I do this is a pretty decent choice.

I’ve found some deals on eBay for Petri Lenses so that might be a good place to check out.