This is the second version of this shot which I shot last and which I'll show first to show what the Velostigmat II can do, w/its diffusion ring unscrewed quite a ways out of the barrel.  I've used metal tape to keep the diff ring of my lens at this exact position, I just like what the lens does at this diffusion setting.  

I've shot this SM w/both the Velostigmat II and the 305mm Kodak Portrait lens and I think the Velostigmat holds up its end magnificently, rendering a version of this shot w/a moist, 'dreamy' and very soft pallette that is at least as interesting as the Verito and many of the other big name soft focus lenses.

Here I've mated a reflector w/my Kodak safelight, placed a magnifier into the refector, and placed clear lightbulbs on the magnifier to get the effect you see here.  What turned out interesting after I set up the shot was noticing that the reflections of the lightbulb illuminating the other bulbs was being reflected from the inside of the bulbs and not bounced off the outside of the bulbs surface.

This was at the Velostigmats widest aperture which is F4.5 w/the shutter at about a third of the way from 1/50 to 1/100 of a sec.,  I really ignore what the Betax shutter has engraved on it, it's an ancient shutter, and no telling what the real shutter speeds are at these settings, so I just go up/down until I get the 'look' what I want.

The look I wanted was to approx. the same exposure I got w/the Kodak Portrait lens which is about the same focal length as the Velostigmat, and whose Universal #5 shutter is obviously listening to the tune of a different drummer versus the Betax.  

I think I've gotten the shots fairly close in terms exposure, to show the other differences between the two lenses, but ultimately, I think a comparison of how these two lenses handle this shot is a tribute to how great both these lenses are as opposed to any consideration of which lens is better or preferable.  One is better for one SM, the other better in another direction.

I don't like the Wollensak Velostigmat II w/the original diffusion setting of 1-5 which just made everything(to me), look 'murky' and freeing up the diffusion ring to where there's no stop and no limit to how much you can screw it out, makes this lens 'SING'.