After years of coveting this lens, I finally decided to go for it when I found one for substantially less than usual. It is not beautiful, but mechanically OK and in good shape optically. I’ve had a couple of weeks to play with it, and I am impressed with it. I can’t put my finger on it, but it seems to have a quality that makes the images stand out. It is not that it is extremely contrasty or sharp, though both are respectable, and the bokeh is unique, but there is something in the images that really appeals to me. This lens is a modified double gauss: seven elements in five groups, with at least two thoriated elements. For those who would like to experiment with a lens that is somewhat similar, the early versions of the Mamiya Sekor 55mm f1.4 (also Auto Sears and a couple of other names) render similarly. I have a page on the Auto Sears that compares them directly. There are differences, but the similarity is striking.
