The Meyer Primoplans are interesting lenses with five elements in four groups. The most well-known is the 58mm f1.9, and the resurrected Meyer company is currently producing a 75mm f1.9 lens, copying the old 80mm f1.9 that is very rare and costs an arm and a leg. However there was also a 25mm Primoplan with an aperture of f1.5 that was produced in C-mount for 16mm movie cameras, which has the same unique bokeh as its bigger brothers. I got one on an old Bolex movie camera that I bought for a different C-mount lens, and did not really try it out for a long while. The main problem is that is has a very limited image circle, more suited for MFT than any larger format. However I got a tip about the possibility of removing the front lens hood, and that increases the image circle quite a bit, and though it still doesn’t cover crop frame, it makes it a much more interesting proposition, especially since the I quite like the bokeh, and the aberrations around the edge that were never intended to be included in a 16mm frame. I still find it hard to compose without an adequate frame, but am getting better at estimating how it should be positioned for an eventual crop to 2:3. Here are some first tries.
