- Aero Ektar 178mm f2.5

The Aero Ektar 178mm f2.5 is a great lens, I’ve been testing it a few times since I was very lucky to get one in immaculate condition.
However when shooting landscape, and since the lens can’t be stopped down further than f16, the foreground and background suffer from not being sharp.
The lens will also benefit having a hood..

A modern lens will have more contrast and micro contrast, be sharper, than a lens from 1944.
The «lack» of contrast comes with an advantage in my opinion, it opens up a little in the shadows, giving more details, and does not blow out the highlight as easy as a lens with more contrast..
The lens excels shooting portraits, or if you want to isolate something from the background