We have threads/clubs for lenses like M, K, Zeiss so I was thinking why not have a special thread for old Soviet and new Russian lenses?
In this posting I would like to start with a close to 50 years old lens based on Carl Zeiss Flektogon optical diagram. Mir-1 is a 37mm f/2.8 lens and was designed to better the Zeiss Flektogon which according Wikipedia the first element in this lens was a disperser meniscus to reduce vignette effects when photographing with an open diaphragm. Obviously the lens was a big success as it won the Grand Prix award at the 1958 Expo in Brussels, which should have been very odd for a communist country to receive considering the Cold War.
I acquired this lens from eBay for $20USD which is about 10 times cheaper than what you would pay for a second hand Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f/2.8.
As you can see the lens has seen a lot of use, but the glass is in mint condition.
So here are some of the photos taken with Mir-1 which shows the character of this lens.
Most of these photos are taken handheld. For some of them I used whatever I can find to stabilize the camera.
Mir-1 goes to Sydney:
Landing was rough.
Sydney Centre Point Tower
Monorail at Darling Harbor. Mir-1 is so prone to flare that it causes headache to some people.
Maritime Museum
And the cherry of the cake the stitched pano. I used one of the poles (like the white poles on the right) to stabilize the camera
My observations are:
1. It is a lens with a very interesting character.
2. It has problems with flare, which a small hood would easily fix.
3. The lens is sharp enough even wide open and much better than a modern Mir-1B.
My conclusion is that it is definitely a keeper.
Thanks.