[BigMackCam]

I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so figured I'd go with the "Non-Pentax" area, as the lens isn't available in K-mount...

So, here's an odd one...

I just bought this lens for my collection out of sheer curiosity, and it's on its way from Russia. It's a Lomography Zenit 2.5/32 in Nikon F-mount, that I'll use with an adapter on my A7 MkII. The body material (or finish, at least) appears to be brass, and it has a rotating / removable aperture disc - somewhat like their Daguerreotype and Petzval models, and I'm guessing it's from that same model series.

I can't find any information about it on the Lomography website, nor indeed anywhere else... The only mention of a 32mm Lomography lens is the 2.8/32 Minitar-1 Art (which I also own).

Does anyone know of this lens? Is it, or has it ever been, a production model? Or perhaps it's a pre-production unit for a forthcoming - or perhaps shelved - release?

Any information would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance

Attached Images

 

[stevebrot]

Never heard of it, though with all those leading zeros, it must be incredibly special.


Steve

[BigMackCam]

Never heard of it, though with all those leading zeros, it must be incredibly special.

Ha! Yeah, each zero is very important... obviously

The thing is, with a serial no. of "00000270", there's got to be at least 269 more of these floating around... but where?! I can't find any record or mention of it at all

[stevebrot]

Ha! Yeah, each zero is very important... obviously

The thing is, with a serial no. of "00000270", there's got to be at least 269 more of these floating around... but where?! I can't find any record or mention of it at all

They are in the possession of important Russian investors and certain U.S. politicians.


Steve

(...please do not punish me for political indiscretion...)

[Mikesul]

Brass is pretty but I do not understand the fondness for lomagraphy.

[BigMackCam]

Brass is pretty but I do not understand the fondness for lomagraphy.

I don't have any fondness for the brand, Mike... I do, however, see value in some of the lenses they're producing in conjunction with the Russian Krasnagorsk plant and other manufacturers - like the re-makes of the Jupiter-3, Russar, and re-interpretations of the Petzval, Daguerreotype etc.

I have the Russar+ and it's essentially a brand new Russar with better coatings. I hear the Jupiter 3 re-make was equally good, and if I could find a used copy in mint condition (or if they were to do another production run), I'd probably buy it.

Not everything they do is rooted in over-priced toy cameras and shoot-from-the-hip snapshots

[mee]

Perhaps it was a limited edition run off a kickstarter campaign?

[BigMackCam]

Perhaps it was a limited edition run off a kickstarter campaign?

I thought that was a possibility too, so I checked Kickstarter and found projects for the Petzval, Daguerreotype Achromat and Neptune Art system - but nothing for this lens...

[mee]

I thought that was a possibility too, so I checked Kickstarter and found projects for the Petzval, Daguerreotype Achromat and Neptune Art system - but nothing for this lens...

Were you logged into kickstarter at the time? Some (a fairly large number) seem to be hidden until you log in. I went searching there too before posting and noticed that (but I don't have an account).

Otherwise you do seem to have somewhat of a rarity on your hands... despite it being number 270.

[BigMackCam]

Were you logged into kickstarter at the time? Some (a fairly large number) seem to be hidden until you log in. I went searching there too before posting and noticed that (but I don't have an account).

I see just 18 projects relating to "lomography" regardless of whether I'm logged in or not...

Otherwise you do seem to have somewhat of a rarity on your hands... despite it being number 270.

I'm beginning to wonder if it was developed before Lomography used crowd funding, and possibly shelved before release.

I'm quite interested to see if it has any rendering quirks... Without some character like that, it doesn't seem like a particularly desirable lens. 32mm at max f/2.5 isn't anything special, so you'd hope there's something about the rendering that's attractive. Or perhaps not, and maybe that's why there's no mention of it anywhere

[mee]

I see just 18 projects relating to "lomography" regardless of whether I'm logged in or not...

Some of the projects have side or bonus items though but you can't see them all unless logged in..

I'm beginning to wonder if it was developed before Lomography used crowd funding, and possibly shelved before release.

I'm quite interested to see if it has any rendering quirks... Without some character like that, it doesn't seem like a particularly desirable lens. 32mm at max f/2.5 isn't anything special, so you'd hope there's something about the rendering that's attractive. Or perhaps not, and maybe that's why there's no mention of it anywhere

I'm not a fan of lomography so I wouldn't know.. just trying to help. I'm guessing that is just like Pentax with 43 or 31mm lenses... it is probably a more accurate but slightly unusual naming to attract buyers and set yourself apart.... pinky high marketing. A lot of 35mm lenses are likely not exactly 35mm or to whatever that Field of View correlates in degrees.

[BigMackCam]

I'm not a fan of lomography so I wouldn't know.. just trying to help. I'm guessing that is just like Pentax with 43 or 31mm lenses... it is probably a more accurate but slightly unusual naming to attract buyers and set yourself apart....

And I appreciate your help!

It's not the "Lomography" bit that interests me, but the "Zenit" part... The Krasnagorsk-manufactured, Zenit co-branded lenses are more-or-less valid for inclusion in my collection, even though they're modern lenses...

[TwoUptons]

And I appreciate your help!

It's not the "Lomography" bit that interests me, but the "Zenit" part... The Krasnagorsk-manufactured, Zenit co-branded lenses are more-or-less valid for inclusion in my collection, even though they're modern lenses...

Did you ever find it? It looks really familiar, like I’ve seen it recently...

-Eric

[BigMackCam]

Did you ever find it? It looks really familiar, like I’ve seen it recently...

-Eric

I didn't, Eric. And I've tried... My, how I've tried. If you happen to remember if or where you saw it, I'd be eternally grateful for any information you can offer.

It's actually a lovely lens. Massively flawed optically, by design (of course), but produces very "arty" images (in a similar vein to other Lomography lenses). In terms of build quality and finish, it's just beautiful - a big, beautifully-finished hunk of brass (which I'm now convinced is lacquer-coated). Even if I never used it for my photography (though I think I will... occasionally...), it'd make a wonderful paperweight or coffee-table conversation-starter