[Voe]

Voe, are you the one who posted those great shots with the Russian 135mm? I've been trying to remember who did that... Not to hijack the thread, but maybe you can post them again here, they were really pretty good and made me want that lens.

Hi jsherman,

Yes. I was the one posted the photos from the Jupiter-37A and these are some of the photos:



















I like the bokeh of the Jupiter-37A as much as I like the one from my 77mm Limited though they are different.

[Voe]

What about Mir-24M 35mm/f2.0?

I have read that it is a porr man's version of DA35. It is also relatively fast.

Right now, I can only find a Mir-24N (Nikon mount) costing $60 Buy-it-now in eBay. There is no Mir-24M (M42 mount) available at the moment.

I found that all russian lenses wider than 50mm suffer from very bad resolution.
I would advise you to look somewhere else for a wide angle lens.

[Voe]

Thanks for adding that one. It would be a better fit instead of the Industar 6142. Is it a macro?

If you mean Industar-61 50mm 2.8 it is more of a close focus lens than a macro. But optically it is a great lens which shares the same optical design as the Volna-9 which is the only USSR 1:2 macro lens (they never made 1:1).

[KungPOW]

If you mean Industar-61 50mm 2.8 it is more of a close focus lens than a macro. But optically it is a great lens which shares the same optical design as the Volna-9 which is the only USSR 1:2 macro lens (they never made 1:1).

Voe,

Yes it should have been Industar 61 L/Z (whith my writing, my notes looked like 6142). I found a comparison of the Volna-9 to the 61 L/Z, and yes the do seem like the same lens.

I think if they are the only "macro" lenses made in the USSR, then I think I will keep either one as the DA35 macro equivelent. I think matching the macro feature is more importent then matching the focal length.

Beautiful shots with the Jupiter 37A. I would never have guesed that they came from that lens. Have you ever compaired it to the Pentax 135 3.5? I am really impressed with the colours. Wow.

Thanks for your input.

[georgweb]

Yeah I got some in the cabinet, so here goes:

Russian lenses are said to be mechanically so so, but optically quite good, should you get a decent copy - which is the next problem with them. Nevertheless, they're all built like a tank, and some even smell like it! OTOH, preset apertures can be a pain sometimes, but that's just a part of the love story ;-)

They've got a lot of funky logos on them, from different manufacturers. The best is Lytkarino (letter C in a triangle) and KMZ (dove prism). It is also said that the latin letter lenses are for export and therefore probably better copies than the ones with cyrillic letters. I definitely like the cyrillic letters much more for style reasons .-)

Onto the lenses:

Mir 1B: Mir lenses are said to stand out, this one does not. Built out of a lot of rings, and they are rattling, so maybe victim #1 of mechanical built spread :-(

The Industar 3.5/50 is a Tessar (greek: four, 4-lenses) design, single coated (looks uncoated). Its tinyness stands out. Would be great to have a lens shade for it, but its got something like an M33 inner thread, really exotic, as well as the tiny ring for the aperture. You can build a lens cap by cutting a film box.

The M42 Industar MC LZ61 is a Tessar also, but multicoated and macro (well 30cm). It's got a star-shaped aperture from say f4 to f8. This gives for real funky bokeh at times. You don't need a lens shade cause it's a typical macro lens with deeply recessed glass inside the barrel.

Helios 44M6 MC 2/58: Zeiss Biotar design. Buy one! Buy another one if you're not happy :-) The versions 5 upwards are said to have advanced coatings. Distinct colors on film and for sure a good portrait lens.

Jupiter 9: mentioned before, real good lens (registered on this forum in the lens database). Sonnar design.

Jupiter MC 37A: 3.5/135mm Sonnar design. Good lens. Basically the same as CZJ MC 3.5/135.

MC Jupiter 21M 4/200: Nice lens, 1KG :-( Only 'auto' lens on this list.

Tair-3 MC 4.5/300: Looks and weighs like a Bazooka or something, but has a tripod plate and is the best long lens I have for use with a teleconverter.

From this list, I'd pick the Helios44 and the Jup9 to go to the next round. You can find pics from all lenses on my flickr (browse through the tags to find them).

From Russia with love,
Georg (the other)
Pic: Jup37A on K100D

[KungPOW]

Georg,

Thanks for the detailed info. Very apreciated.

So far this is where I am:

FA 77 ---> Jupiter 9 2.0/86 (+8mm)
FA 43 ---> Industar 50-2 3.5/50 (+7mm) Although the FA43 is not a pancake.
(I still might go with a Helios 77 1.8/50 just to be closer to the FA43)
FA 31 ---> MIR-1B(1V) 2.8/37 (+6mm) It is just the best fit with regard to length.

This will give me a set of 3 Russian lenses with focal length diferences as close to the FA Ltd series as I can find. The average length is +7mm over the Ltd's, but the diferences between the lenses is almost the same.

I did go ahead and order a Helios 44-2. It dosen't fit into the series, but it looks like a lens that is worth having for its own merits.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

[platinum]

a question: but all russian lens are without autofocus?

[georgweb]

KungPOW, you are welcome :-)

Like dancheng said, there is the MIR24-M (2/35mm) to consider, said to be a performer (and like dancheng said, only Nikon mount available on the market - but you can put Nikon mount right into Pentax, but that's another story).

Here's the most complete link with tech.data and lens schemes,
Krasnogorsky Zavod -- -- --
Thereof the Mir-24M
Krasnogorsky Zavod -- -- -- -24
It says its near distance is O,3m, so no real macro.
Commercial link:
M42 Lenses. Pentax(Zenit) screw mount M42 lenses. M42 Zenitar, Peleng, Rubinar, Mir, Jupiter Lenses (don't know if I'd buy there, better get some first hand info before)

Voe, your pictures look fantastic! Really awesome color reproduction and the nice Sonnar bokeh (tight or loose, always so smooth). Well done!
Georg

PS autofocus? No, no AF behind the iron curtain :-)

[LeFanch]

Commercial link:
M42 Lenses. Pentax(Zenit) screw mount M42 lenses. M42 Zenitar, Peleng, Rubinar, Mir, Jupiter Lenses (don't know if I'd buy there, better get some first hand info before)

Hi,
I bought my Rubinar there 2 years ago. Absolutely no problem.
I received several mails from them to inform me about when they sent it, when I should receive it,... Pretty good communication.
French customs stopped the parcel for some time though, total 8 weeks from order til reception...

[KungPOW]

a question: but all russian lens are without autofocus?

Yes, and they are all manual aperture (preset), all m42 screwmount, not expected to be multi-coated, and will only only work in manual mode.

I'd be disapointed if they do not smell like machine oil.

I might even use them on a manual film camera.

Georg,

Thanks for the links. I like how some of the lenses have the builders drawings included.

I have ordered 4 lenses this morning from a variety of sellers in the Ukraine and Russia. I've got my fingers crossed. Now, I just need to wait and hope the postal system works!

[Voe]

I have ordered 4 lenses this morning from a variety of sellers in the Ukraine and Russia. I've got my fingers crossed. Now, I just need to wait and hope the postal system works!

My experience is that usually takes up to 20-30 days.

[dancheng]

Like dancheng said, there is the MIR24-M (2/35mm) to consider, said to be a performer (and like dancheng said, only Nikon mount available on the market - but you can put Nikon mount right into Pentax, but that's another story).

There is one Mir-24M on sale in eBay right now. Search "Mir 24M" will get you there.
It is priced as Buy-It-Now for $149.
Good luck!

[Miserere]

I'm really liking my Jupiter-9 a lot, it's one of those lenses that brings out the inner artist.

I know exactly what you mean. Here is a photo, from a series of 5, that highlights both my wife and this lens (click on the pic to see the whole series).

[jsherman999]

I know exactly what you mean. Here is a photo, from a series of 5, that highlights both my wife and this lens (click on the pic to see the whole series).

Every once in a while I see a post that illustrates to me how far I still have to go with my photography. This is one of those. Nice, Mis.

[KungPOW]

I know exactly what you mean. Here is a photo, from a series of 5, that highlights both my wife and this lens (click on the pic to see the whole series).

Such a beautiful photo series!

Thank you for sharing! Seeing a great photo shot with the Jupiter-9 just makes the wait a little harder!

So far all four sellers have confirmed my order. I wonder what part of the postal system is faster, Russia or Canada? Just 3 to 4 more weeks!