We discuss the phenomenology of gravitational lensing in the purely metric $fleft(chiright)$ gravity, an $f(R)$ gravity where the action of the gravitational field depends on the source mass. We focus on the strong lensing regime in galaxy-galaxy lens systems and in clusters of galaxies. Using an approximate metric solution accurate to second order of the velocity field $v/c$, we show how, in the $fleft(chiright)=chi^{3/2}$ gravity, the same light deflection can be produced by point-like lenses with masses smaller than in General Relativity; this mass difference increases with increasing impact parameter and decreasing lens mass. However, for sufficiently massive point-like lenses and small impact parameters, $fleft(chiright)=chi^{3/2}$ and GR yield indistinguishable light deflection angles: this regime occurs both in observed galaxy-galaxy lens systems and in the central regions of galaxy clusters. In the former systems, the GR and $fleft(chiright)$ masses are compatible with the mass of standard stellar populations and little or no dark matter, whereas, on the scales of the core of galaxy clusters, the presence of substantial dark matter is required both in General Relativity, and in our approximate $fleft(chiright)=chi^{3/2}$ point-like lens solution. We thus conclude that our approximate metric solution of $fleft(chiright)=chi^{3/2}$ is unable to describe the observed phenomenology of the strong lensing regime without the aid of dark matter.
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