I found this lens at a secondhand shop in Tokyo. The first thing I did was to focus an image on my shirt to get a rough idea of the flange distance. Most fast x-ray lenses have very short flange distances, meaning that when mounted on even a short-flange mirrorless camera they cannot focus beyond a few centimeters. It looked short but doable. I decided to take the chance.
The flange is indeed short. When held directly against the camera body it focused just past infinity. Once a thin ring was added (a necessity for mounting) the maximum focal distance was about five meters. I spent some hours filing out the baffles from an M65 helicoid so that I could fit the rear part all the way down to the body ring.
The lens does not disappoint. In contrast to most x-ray lenses, which tend to be quite hazy, it is both sharp and contrasty, with a liquid bokeh that I like very much. The other lenses in the XI line are not suited to any kind of general photography, but this one shines.
