Kalimar 50mm f1.7

     Kalimar was a distributor for re-branded cameras, lenses, etc. Their products were made by Cosina, Seagull, Zenit and a few others.  Their products varied in quality.  This lens was probably made by Cosina for Kalimar and paired with their re-branded version of the Minolta X300s.  Most 50mm lenses are designed like the Contax Planar.  It is a standard design.  Because of this most 50mm lenses are excellent, including those made by third party manufacturers.  Only a few stand out as being 'bad'.  Yungnuo has managed to make a bad 50mm.  Optically it is soft at f1.7.  No surprises there.  It sharpens up nicely by f4.