Meyer Optik Görlitz Biotar 58mm f/1.5 II Review

The Meyer Optik Görlitz Biotar 58mm f/1.5 II is a modern reissue of the classic Biotar design, a lens originally renowned for its soap-bubble bokeh and soft wide-open rendering. At $1,199, it sits in the premium manual-focus prime category alongside vintage-inspired glass from Lomography, Kamlan, and similar boutique makers. The Biotar formula trades clinical sharpness for character, making it a niche choice for portraiture, street, and experimental photography where mood matters more than technical perfection.

This is not a workhorse lens for documentary or commercial shooters who need autofocus and edge-to-edge sharpness. Instead, it caters to creators who value the distinctive swirly bokeh and warm tonality that defined mid-century German optics. The f/1.5 maximum aperture offers solid low-light capability and shallow depth of field, though it won't match the speed or corner performance of modern f/1.4 or f/1.2 designs. Build quality and mount compatibility will vary depending on the version, but the Biotar II generally features all-metal construction and manual aperture control.