The Lomography New Petzval 55mm f/1.7 MKII ($449.90 and up) is the latest in the company's series of modern lenses based on vintage, 19th century optical designs. It's made for mirrorless models—you can't pair it with any SLR—but maintains the steampunk aesthetics established by the company's first New Petzval release. Its images carry a distinct look, with swirly backgrounds and pleasantly soft flare. It's a lovely tool for portrait and artistic photographers working with mirrorless systems.

All Manual, All Metal

The New Petzval's name calls out its recency, but it feels like a vintage lens. The housing is metal—brass or aluminum, depending on which version you get—and the manual focus ring turns smoothly, with a good amount of resistance, for pleasing and precise control.

Lomography offers the lens in three finishes. I received the black aluminum edition for review, the least expensive version. For $50 more—$499.90—you can go for a for a C-3PO look and get the lens in brass. The priciest version of the lens is another brass edition, but one that's been painted black, for $549.90. Black paint will wear over time, giving each copy of the lens its own unique patina.

Regardless of your choice of finish, you can get the 55mm f/1.7 MKII in Canon RF, Nikon Z, or Sony E mounts. It measures 3.4 by 2.9 inches (HD), weighs 14.5 ounces, and supports 67mm front filters. You can't pair it with an SLR, although Lomography offers other Petzval designs that do, including the New Petzval 58mm Bokeh Control and the just-announced 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII.

All controls are mechanical. The aluminum version of the lens has traditional rings to adjust focus, aperture, and bokeh intensity. The brass versions swap out the aperture ring for what's best described as a lever and knob—I wasn't able to try it myself, but it looks straightforward enough.

Dual Aperture

The 55mm f/1.7 MKII is the first Petzval lens from Lomography with its own internal aperture. It's a clickless design, a plus for making adjustments while rolling video. The diaphragm is made up of eight blades, which close down to form a circular shape at narrower apertures—desirable for smoothly defocused backgrounds.

But it doesn't drop support for Waterhouse aperture plates. With earlier Petzval lenses you had to drop in a metal plate to change the f-stop. Because the 55mm f/1.7 MKII has an internal aperture, Lomography doesn't include circular Waterhouse stops. Instead you get several fun shapes, including the snowflake that I couldn't help but use during the holiday season, along with a heart, a star, and a sun.

Using one of these plates adds distinct shape to highlights in the bokeh, the defocused area of an image. A dust protection plate is included as well, and you should leave it installed when using the internal diaphragm. That's it as far as weather protection goes, though—the lens doesn't offer seals to prevent dust and splashes from getting into your camera system.

Petzval Optics

There's also a Bokeh Control ring, with seven marked settings of adjustment. Twisting it moves the front optical group forward, increasing the swirling effect that gives a Petzval lens its distinct look.

The optical design, inspired by the work of 1840s mathematician Joseph Petzval, uses two main optical groups—rather simple by modern standards. Moving the forward group further away from the rear introduces some field curvature and astigmatism, amplifying the swirl.

It also allows the lens to focus a little bit closer, though you're not going to net macro shots with this one. Focus is available to about two feet (0.6-meter), so you won't have any trouble snapping candid portraits, or even close-up shots in nature. But if you're trying to get an artsy shot of your latte or an elaborate pastry, expect to take a step back rather than leaning in for it.

You shouldn't expect modern, clinically sharp performance, either. I paired the lens with a high-resolution camera, the 60MP Sony a7R IV, and certainly was not getting as much clarity as I would would with a new, autofocus lens.

But that's not the point. The rendering, which is quite crisp at the center, gives way to swirly blur. You'll get some very pretty, soft flare when photographing into the light. And there's the distinctive twisting background—liking the look is a must for liking the lens. You'll notice that it also adds a very strong cat's eye effect to highlights, increasing as you move toward the periphery.

A Modern Vintage Lens

Photographers fatigued or uninspired by the optical perfection offered by modern lenses, thankfully, have options. Mirrorless cameras can easily take just about any old lens, as long as you can find the right adapter. And, as long as you're happy with lenses from the 1950s or so onward, there are loads of choices available.

But it's not as easy to find 19th century glass at a specialty dealer, let alone a thrift shop. The Lomography New Petzval 55mm f/1.7 MKII is the best version of the lens the company has delivered to date—the very welcome addition of an internal aperture alone is worth choosing it over first two versions, which were offered for SLR systems.

You will need a mirrorless camera, and to get the full effect of the swirled look a full-frame model will do better than APS-C. If you're still happily using your SLR, but are intrigued by the concept, Lomo is taking Kickstarter orders for the 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII, with an expected on-sale date in June, or you can opt for one the first two Petzval releases, both still on sale.

Rival Lensbaby also offers its own take on the design, the Twist 60, for $280. It's not as strikingly designed, and doesn't offer the funky drop-in aperture plate system or bokeh control adjustment, but is a more sensible choice if you want to spend less and get a similar look. If you're suffering from Petzval fatigue, but still want a lens with very old-school aesthetics, the Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64 goes even further back in time with 1830s-inspired optics.