I have three Russian lenses:
- LZOS MC Jupiter-9 85/2
- KMZ MC Zenitar 16/2.8 Fisheye
- KMZ Helios 44M 58/2
All three of these lenses have standout optical qualities and I am not planning on selling them at any point. Both the J-9 and the Helios have well-deserved reputations for great bokeh. The Helios also has excellent center sharpness at all apertures. The Zenitar has performance that rivals the best of its Japanese competition.
A lot has been said about the build quality or lack of it of Russian lenses. I bought the J-9 and Zen new from rugift.com (not recommended) and the Helios used from an eBay seller. I can summarize my impressions regarding build in a few bullet points:
- All three of my lenses have a "robust" construction
- Finish details are rough in places
- I have seen better Japanese lenses
- I have seen worse Japanese lenses
- My Helios has a very stiff focus ring due to old grease, but that is a fairly minor issue.
Beyond build quality is the issue of quality control in manufacture. The my first Zenitar copy was hopelessly flawed. None of the controls (focus, aperture ring, aperture mechanism) worked and the lens mount had a flaw that ruined my favorite film body on initial mount. I got a replacement lens that works quite well and is quite dependable. While my second Zenitar is much better than the first, it still had an issue with attaining infinity focus. This is easy to fix, but not what you expect in a new lens with a nicely signed inspection certificate from the factory.
Do I like my Russian glass? Emphatically YES!
Having said that, I would temper my enthusiasm by suggesting that the buyer should be aware of potential for flaws and take care not to spend too much unless there is an option for easy return or physical inspection before purchase.
Steve