At the risk of sounding like a broken record (and how long will that vinyl-based simile survive in our digital age?), I find myself once again extravagantly praising the performance of a Miranda lens. This time the lens in question is a 5cm f1.9 - the version originally supplied for the Miranda F, G, Fv and Sensomat. Unlike its 50/1.4 relatives, it's a conventional 6-element/4-group Biotar/Xenon/Planar design. In physical terms, it's an unprepossessing little lens: about as compact as, say, one of the early "auto-preset" normal Takumars. But while the lens itself may lack flamboyance, the images it produces are another matter. This is a stunning performer: sharp even wide-open, with lovely out-of-focus rendering. In fact, it's one of those f1.8-f2 lenses that renders backgrounds more like an f1.4; and for what it's worth, it seems to meter like an f1.4 lens as well, consistently requiring higher shutter speeds than I would have expected. (I've noted this behavior in other normal lenses of similar maximum aperture - the Orikkor 50/2 and the Domiron 50/2 come to mind - but I can't account for the phenomenon.) Color and contrast are excellent, and there's real subtlety in the way it captures fine detail. I had intended to try the lens, during this session, at several aperture settings; but I was so pleased with the wide-open results that I abandoned that plan. One respect in which the 1.9 does resemble its 1.4 sibling: its mysterious origins. I can't even offer a guess at the identity of the manufacturer responsible for this superb lens.