Petzval Lens 58mm Review

The lens is made of brass, which is quite prone to scratching, reminiscent of the classic look of Petzval lenses, with nearly 200 years of tradition. The metal wears over time - oxides and scratches appear on it. I must honestly admit that I didn't always carry it in the dedicated case, so I might partially be responsible for its current state. However, this lens ages like fine wine. Internally, all mechanisms and moving parts work flawlessly. The worn coating adds a certain retro charm to it.

Focus is adjusted using a knob, which is not particularly precise and requires a certain feel in the fingers.

The camera does not have a classic aperture with blades - instead, metal plates with holes of specific diameters are used, which are inserted into the appropriate place. At first contact, this might seem unintuitive, but this solution has its advantages, which I will discuss later. One must be careful not to lose these plates because purchasing them again or making them yourself can be somewhat troublesome.

The only ring on the lens is the bokeh control ring, scaled from 1 to 7. Position "1" signifies classic bokeh, while "7" represents the swirling blur effect. This ring works like a power adjustment, though in my opinion, it turns a bit too loosely, which during photography can lead to accidental shifting. This requires constant monitoring of its position.

The lens is quite heavy, but with such an extravagant, metal construction, it couldn't be otherwise.

We achieve swirly bokeh by properly positioning the subject in the foreground and ensuring that the background is at an appropriate distance. Ideally, the background should be a mosaic of lights and shadows – it could be a street illuminated by neon lights, trees letting through rays of light, or other similar compositions.

To achieve the swirling bokeh effect, we need an element that is set in motion. In the photo on the left, these are the tree branches located in the center of the frame. The subject in the foreground is not affected by this effect, but thanks to the shallow depth of field, it is clearly distinguished against the background. A slightly low-angle perspective ensures that only one element of the photo falls within the area of focus.

When composing this shot, I made sure that the swirl effect was strongly emphasized, and the face and umbrella were placed as close as possible to the strong point of the frame.

These lenses are highly specialized, and in my opinion, they do not focus to infinity. Theoretically, you can set the focus, but the image still remains very blurry. Perhaps using a high aperture value could slightly improve the situation, but it is still definitely the least sharp lens I own.

While shooting, I often switch between it and a sharp prime lens, like a Nikkor. The shallow depth of field requires great precision – even small movements forward or backward, both by the photographer and the subject, can cause many photos, although successful in terms of composition, to be discarded due to lack of sharpness. This requires skill and full control over the frame.

Personally, I often check the focus using Live View. Only after zooming in on the image can it be set precisely, but this is temporary – every subsequent movement forward or backward means having to readjust. Focusing solely on sharpness, it is easy to forget about framing and the overall layout of the scene.

Undoubtedly, the biggest drawback of the Petzval lens is its low sharpness. On the right, I have posted a picture of a sharp face along with the entire silhouette. Achieving such an effect is difficult – the further away the object is, the more challenging the focusing becomes. However, here I managed to do it even from a considerable distance and in motion! So, is it possible? It is! And for such an effect – in my opinion – it is worth it.

The second thing I noticed – and I absolutely do not consider this a drawback, but something worth keeping in mind – is the contrast. These lenses do not offer as high contrast as mid-budget prime lenses. I do not know any objective measure by which I could precisely describe this, but subjectively, I feel that the image compared to my portrait primes is slightly less contrasty. This is, of course, not a problem, but I feel obliged to mention it.

One of my favorite, if not the favorite photo I've ever taken, was made thanks to this lens and my well-worn Nikon F-501 — an analog SLR that's nearly my peer. I can't explain it logically, but most photos taken with analog cameras seem a bit sharper compared to digital ones. Maybe it's about the texture of the image itself or the fact that without a magnifying glass, it's harder to notice small blurriness.

If your analog has the same mount as your digital body, everything will work flawlessly. That's precisely why it's worth sticking to one system. Most of my lenses get along with both old analogs and modern digitals.

The presented photo is a demonstration of Petzval's maximum capabilities — the swirly bokeh level set to the highest value, and the aperture to the lowest available. Do you like it?

The impressions from such a setup are exceptionally positive. Petzval and analog is a duo that just works.