[SunnyG.]

Does anyone know anything about this lens? Googled it! Got nothing on it!

[BROO]

Googled it! Got nothing on it!

LensTip.com - lens review, lenses reviews, lens specification - LensTip.com
Must be something wrong with your search engine.

[BigMackCam]

Does anyone know anything about this lens? Googled it! Got nothing on it!

I've heard of it, but never seen one for sale. I'll make an educated guess that, like its mid-80s 85mm f/1.4 K-mount stable-mate, it was made in very small numbers (or perhaps just a prototype). It'll be highly collectable and overpriced (for what it is optically) as a result... But if I found one for sale at a justifiable price, I'd buy it immediately, just to own it

[SunnyG.]

LensTip.com - lens review, lenses reviews, lens specification - LensTip.com
Must be something wrong with your search engine.

That place doesn't even have half the info about the lens. 0 diaphragm blades?

---------- Post added 07-08-18 at 04:19 PM ----------

I've heard of it, but never seen one for sale. I'll make an educated guess that, like its mid-80s 85mm f/1.4 K-mount stable-mate, it was made in very small numbers (or perhaps just a prototype). It'll be highly collectable and overpriced (for what it is optically) as a result... But if I found one for sale at a justifiable price, I'd buy it immediately, just to own it

I imagine it must have been a prototype! Cuz if it was real or was produced we would atleast have seen some info on it! Right? If I had to pay a lot of money for a Lens like that, I would have rather bought a Carl Zeiss, and be done with it. It atleast has some re sale value!

[BigMackCam]

That place doesn't even have half the info about the lens. 0 diaphragm blades?

No-where that I've found has much information on it.

A good place to start is allphotolenses.com, though it's not entirely comprehensive and reliable. The site it's based on, lens-club.ru, is often better, but still not perfect - and you need to use Google Translate.

This might be the lens you're thinking of (there's still barely any info about it though):

Google Translate

[BigMackCam]

I imagine it must have been a prototype! Cuz if it was real or was produced we would atleast have seen some info on it! Right?

Not necessarily. There are several Soviet lenses that were only made in small numbers that have slipped into obscurity. The less common a lens is, the less information you tend to find about it. The rarer pieces I own have very little available information online...

If I had to pay a lot of money for a Lens like that, I would have rather bought a Carl Zeiss, and be done with it. It atleast has some re sale value!

If you were a dedicated collector of Soviet lenses, you'd have a very different outlook, I suspect... The rarer models have historical and rarity value to a collector (over and above their optical performance), and are quite sought after. Just look at the number of people watching rare model listings on eBay for confirmation of this. Whilst ever there's more than one such collector out there - and there are plenty, I can assure you - there's generally very good resale value.

If there's one problem with selling rarer Soviet lenses, it isn't in the re-sale value (at least, not if you buy carefully), but the liquidity of the market. There are far more people using and collecting Zeiss. Buying and selling rare Soviet lenses can take patience and time.

As a final comment, I'll say that many Soviet lenses are actually rather good optically. Perhaps not by today's pixel-peeping standards, but in terms of overall rendering. Some of them render beautifully, and most are at least quite decent. A few are terrible, yet still of equal importance to a collector

EDIT: Three of the lenses now on my list haven't been for sale on eBay in over two years (I know, because I look at all the available Soviet lenses every two or three days), but recently two of the three were listed as part of a camera and three lens set. Sadly, the price for the set is way beyond what I'm prepared to pay. And one of the lenses is optically identical to the M39 and M42 models I own. The other isn't a particularly fast prime, but it's as rare as hens teeth. I've contact the seller to see if he'd consider selling the two lenses I'm interested in separately, but I doubt that he will. There'll be a collector with deeper pockets than mine who's prepared to buy the whole set, and pay handsomely for it (if not quite the price the seller is suggesting)...

[stevebrot]

That place doesn't even have half the info about the lens. 0 diaphragm blades?

Welcome to the world of Soviet and Russian lenses/cameras.

I imagine it must have been a prototype! Cuz if it was real or was produced we would atleast have seen some info on it! Right?

No. There are a lot of Soviet lenses that were virtually unknown in the West, but fairly common on the other side of the Iron Curtain. K-mount Zenitars might seem like a novelty, but given that there were several K-mount Zenit cameras, there are Soviet and Russian-made K-mount lenses. For example, sovietcams.com has a photo of a Zenit APk that features an MC Zenitar-K 50mm f/1.8 (Cyrillic markings). There is also a Zenit 122K with an MC Zenitar-K2s 50mm f/2.0 that is similarly unusual, but not enough to result in a note by that site's curators.

Your lens is listed on the Wikipedia as well as the zenitcamera.com enthusiast site (with specs):

ZENITcamera:

(I suggest Google translate if one's Russian is not so good. Sorry, no blade count, but I suspect eight or less.)


Steve

[BROO]

That place doesn't even have half the info about the lens. 0 diaphragm blades?

It has more than half of nothing!
Good luck mate.

[IgorZ]

Here is some information about the lens : ZENITcamera:

It was a prototype lens.

[stevebrot]

Here is some information about the lens : ZENITcamera:

It was a prototype lens.

Interesting. How do we know it is not the MC Zenitar-K 50mm f/1.4 I provided the link to above (also at zenitcamera.com)? Perhaps because the lens the OP was wondering about was K-mount and not M-42? (Edit: I did not scroll down as far as the prototype MC Zenitar-K2 50mm f/1.4. Still though, why must it not be the production version?) FWIW, the production version seems to be identical in specification if not as rough in appearance.


Steve

[IgorZ]

Interesting. How do we know it is not the MC Zenitar-K 50mm f/1.4 I provided the link to above (also at zenitcamera.com)? Perhaps because the lens the OP was wondering about was K-mount and not M-42? (Edit: I did not scroll down as far as the prototype MC Zenitar-K2 50mm f/1.4. Still though, why must it not be the production version?) FWIW, the production version seems to be identical in specification if not as rough in appearance.


Steve

Hmm. I checked lens-club.ru and there it says it was a prototype... But let me double check whether I got the version right...

---------- Post added 07-08-18 at 08:38 PM ----------

Interesting. How do we know it is not the MC Zenitar-K 50mm f/1.4 I provided the link to above (also at zenitcamera.com)? Perhaps because the lens the OP was wondering about was K-mount and not M-42? (Edit: I did not scroll down as far as the prototype MC Zenitar-K2 50mm f/1.4. Still though, why must it not be the production version?) FWIW, the production version seems to be identical in specification if not as rough in appearance.


Steve

Sorry, I was looking at the zenitar MA 50mm f1.4, but the link they provided was to the page I cited earlier...

???????? ???????-1,4/50-?? 50 mm f/ 1.4 ??????????????, MTF, ??????, ??????, ????? :: Lens-Club.ru

[stevebrot]

Sorry, I was looking at the zenitar MA 50mm f1.4, but the link they provided was to the page I cited earlier...

There is a prototype on the first page you provided and I believe it was probably the basis for the production model in the link I provided, based on dates if nothing else. The OP provided a very specific name and Goggle was good enough to send me right to the 1990s lens catalog page at zenitcamera.com. The prototype was in development in the late 1980s and went into production in 1989.


Steve

[SunnyG.]

Not necessarily. There are several Soviet lenses that were only made in small numbers that have slipped into obscurity. The less common a lens is, the less information you tend to find about it. The rarer pieces I own have very little available information online...



If you were a dedicated collector of Soviet lenses, you'd have a very different outlook, I suspect... The rarer models have historical and rarity value to a collector (over and above their optical performance), and are quite sought after. Just look at the number of people watching rare model listings on eBay for confirmation of this. Whilst ever there's more than one such collector out there - and there are plenty, I can assure you - there's generally very good resale value.

If there's one problem with selling rarer Soviet lenses, it isn't in the re-sale value (at least, not if you buy carefully), but the liquidity of the market. There are far more people using and collecting Zeiss. Buying and selling rare Soviet lenses can take patience and time.

As a final comment, I'll say that many Soviet lenses are actually rather good optically. Perhaps not by today's pixel-peeping standards, but in terms of overall rendering. Some of them render beautifully, and most are at least quite decent. A few are terrible, yet still of equal importance to a collector

EDIT: Three of the lenses now on my list haven't been for sale on eBay in over two years (I know, because I look at all the available Soviet lenses every two or three days), but recently two of the three were listed as part of a camera and three lens set. Sadly, the price for the set is way beyond what I'm prepared to pay. And one of the lenses is optically identical to the M39 and M42 models I own. The other isn't a particularly fast prime, but it's as rare as hens teeth. I've contact the seller to see if he'd consider selling the two lenses I'm interested in separately, but I doubt that he will. There'll be a collector with deeper pockets than mine who's prepared to buy the whole set, and pay handsomely for it (if not quite the price the seller is suggesting)...

Yes I do love Russian lenses! Perfect for budget photographers! Excellent optical and built quality!

---------- Post added 07-09-18 at 12:00 AM ----------

Not necessarily. There are several Soviet lenses that were only made in small numbers that have slipped into obscurity. The less common a lens is, the less information you tend to find about it. The rarer pieces I own have very little available information online...



If you were a dedicated collector of Soviet lenses, you'd have a very different outlook, I suspect... The rarer models have historical and rarity value to a collector (over and above their optical performance), and are quite sought after. Just look at the number of people watching rare model listings on eBay for confirmation of this. Whilst ever there's more than one such collector out there - and there are plenty, I can assure you - there's generally very good resale value.

If there's one problem with selling rarer Soviet lenses, it isn't in the re-sale value (at least, not if you buy carefully), but the liquidity of the market. There are far more people using and collecting Zeiss. Buying and selling rare Soviet lenses can take patience and time.

As a final comment, I'll say that many Soviet lenses are actually rather good optically. Perhaps not by today's pixel-peeping standards, but in terms of overall rendering. Some of them render beautifully, and most are at least quite decent. A few are terrible, yet still of equal importance to a collector

EDIT: Three of the lenses now on my list haven't been for sale on eBay in over two years (I know, because I look at all the available Soviet lenses every two or three days), but recently two of the three were listed as part of a camera and three lens set. Sadly, the price for the set is way beyond what I'm prepared to pay. And one of the lenses is optically identical to the M39 and M42 models I own. The other isn't a particularly fast prime, but it's as rare as hens teeth. I've contact the seller to see if he'd consider selling the two lenses I'm interested in separately, but I doubt that he will. There'll be a collector with deeper pockets than mine who's prepared to buy the whole set, and pay handsomely for it (if not quite the price the seller is suggesting)...

Which lenses are you talking about? I mean the ones you want to buy!

---------- Post added 07-09-18 at 12:04 AM ----------

Welcome to the world of Soviet and Russian lenses/cameras.



No. There are a lot of Soviet lenses that were virtually unknown in the West, but fairly common on the other side of the Iron Curtain. K-mount Zenitars might seem like a novelty, but given that there were several K-mount Zenit cameras, there are Soviet and Russian-made K-mount lenses. For example, sovietcams.com has a photo of a Zenit APk that features an MC Zenitar-K 50mm f/1.8 (Cyrillic markings). There is also a Zenit 122K with an MC Zenitar-K2s 50mm f/2.0 that is similarly unusual, but not enough to result in a note by that site's curators.

Your lens is listed on the Wikipedia as well as the zenitcamera.com enthusiast site (with specs):

ZENITcamera:

(I suggest Google translate if one's Russian is not so good. Sorry, no blade count, but I suspect eight or less.)


Steve

It seems I have a lot to learn about the Soviet lenses! The problem is, there is zero info about the lesser known lenses on the internet! The only way to know about these would be from the Russians themselves!

---------- Post added 07-09-18 at 12:07 AM ----------

Hmm. I checked lens-club.ru and there it says it was a prototype... But let me double check whether I got the version right...

---------- Post added 07-08-18 at 08:38 PM ----------


Sorry, I was looking at the zenitar MA 50mm f1.4, but the link they provided was to the page I cited earlier...

???????? ???????-1,4/50-?? 50 mm f/ 1.4 ??????????????, MTF, ??????, ??????, ????? :: Lens-Club.ru

Kinda confused! How many variations of 50mm f1.4 lenses did they make!

---------- Post added 07-09-18 at 12:08 AM ----------

There is a prototype on the first page you provided and I believe it was probably the basis for the production model in the link I provided, based on dates if nothing else. The OP provided a very specific name and Goggle was good enough to send me right to the 1990s lens catalog page at zenitcamera.com. The prototype was in development in the late 1980s and went into production in 1989.


Steve

Maybe that lens wasn't really well off optically! That's why it never came to the west!

[BigMackCam]

Which lenses are you talking about? I mean the ones you want to buy!

If I told you, I'd have to kill you

Needless to say, the camera and lenses are overpriced, but even so there are 20 people watching the eBay listing (me and 19 others )...

[IgorZ]

There is a prototype on the first page you provided and I believe it was probably the basis for the production model in the link I provided, based on dates if nothing else. The OP provided a very specific name and Goggle was good enough to send me right to the 1990s lens catalog page at zenitcamera.com. The prototype was in development in the late 1980s and went into production in 1989.


Steve

interestingly enough, lens-club.ru has only one zenitar 50mm f1.4 lens, the one I listed above.