My first experiences with the Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95

About one and a half weeks ago I gave myself a small birthday present and I bought the Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95. It's a relatively small lens, feels well build and looks perfectly at home on my Olympus PEN-F. Since I have it, I want to take it everywhere with me and if feels like it brings an extra dimension to my photos. It is not a perfect lens by any means, but in my opinion its flaws often are somewhat similar to those of a good vintage lens (like the Super Takumar M42 lens). Those "shortcomings" feel like part of its personality and they add extra character to the photos you make, rather then distract from their beauty. 

One of those "shortcomings" some will appreciate and others wont like, is the sometimes somewhat busy bokeh. Instead of creamy soft blurry backgrounds, they seem to have a higher contrast and sharpness. 

Another love it or hate it feature is that it flares easily. A lens hood is not included with the lens. But honestly, I don't need or want one for this lens. I love (!!!) the flares it creates. In my opinion they add a lot of atmosphere to the picture and are just perfect the way they are rendered inside the lens. Sometimes like a beautiful light haze...

... and sometimes very colourfull.

The focus at 0,95 can be incredibly hard to nail, especially with a (moving) subject close by and having to manually focus. But when you get it right, the results can be amazing.

In the centre this lens is very sharp, even wide open. So when you hit the mark, it gives beautiful results.

Talking about shooting with the aperture wide open. The corners will be pretty soft, when shooting this way. But as long as your main subject is in the middle of the picture it will put the focus even more on the subject. 

The black and whites it produces can be beautifully contrasty.

Some relatively small negatives about the lens. The first one is chromatic aberrations (purple fringing). It can be pretty bad around high contrast areas, but it often can be easily corrected. The other one is the very (too) smooth clickless aperture ring. It can very easily unintentionally be moved. So, always check the setting on the lens before making the shot.

I must say I'm very happy with my new lens and can highly recommend it. It was worth the investment and it looks like it will be on my camera for a long time to come.