Wonderful video! I've got an Insustrar 61 L/D which is tack sharp. It makes one wonder why anyone would ever need more than four elements in a 50mm lens.
Truly some of the genius's within the USSR, although be it, a darker painted version, of the Dresden Industry that produced some of the finest camera lenses of the Century. Many user's know little to nothing of either the German or the Russian manufacture of these incredible items, preferring to mount them to four-thirds digital bodies, since all the modern pro-line, auto-focus lenses cost a small fortune, and can't take the same beating like the Russian and Ukraine samples so often do. The Industar 50-2 is a prime that goes the distance, creating tack sharp photo's, and surely some of the best color photo's recreation ever possible, without costing you a few weeks wages. Thanks for the video content.
I was shocked using the Industar 50 for the first time! After using helios lenses I was amazed at the tack sharpness of this lens, I have the m42 version which is even smaller than the m39 one as it doesn't have that ugly extension tube bit slapped on it, another thing in comparison to the helios lenses is the colours really pop on it, good and contrasty, it's an amazing travel lens due to its size shame about the slow aperture though
The I-50 is a very nice lens indeed, and sharper than the Helios 44 and 44-2. That's not to say it's a better lens as such though; in my view the character of the Helios makes up for a slight lack of sharpness. Colour rendition of the I-50 is very nice indeed. As for the slow aperture, it would be nice if it was faster, I agree, but used within its limitations it's unbeatable - especially as it's so cheap! Many thanks for watching.
Absolutely love your channel and watch your videos many times over. Enjoy your knowledge and experience with lenses and cameras especially the old Soviet rangefinders. I have to blame you for inspiring me to very recently purchase a few of them. Zorki 1c, Zorki 3m, FED 2 and Kiev 2a. I like the build quality, the esthetic look and holding, shooting film with using these cameras. I wish I could put the lenses from these old cameras on my Nikon crop DSLR.
Glad you're enjoying the channel! There's something nice about the old FSU gear - its no-nonsense approach and simplicity are very compelling. Nikon DSLRs can be difficult to adapt older lenses to, but the first crop of mirrorless cameras can now be had very cheaply indeed - food for thought perhaps?
My latest bargain is an Industar L61 53mm f2.8 from a FED 3b. Close to perfect condition - prices are climbing 5 years after this video, so it cost £25 but still a great lens.
Super video again think I will pick up a 26..love the idea of 10blades on the aperture.. I am not sure however if an Elmar lens is a Tessar formula... think I read somewhere that that thought is flawed... I have an i22 collapsible lens . and love it.... Jokingly call it an Elmarov..... Cheers...
Very nice presentation and photos. also the video was very good. I have a few of these in my photo junk drawer that are not in good shape, but after watching this I will dig them out and give them a go...
My Industar-61 L/D 55/f2.8 arrived today and just had a test run with it. It's black and suits A7 quite well. Small and compact. Mounting it on A7 with monochrome mode gives a special vibe than my other Sony lenses. Maybe because it's less contrasty in black-and-white? Also I find it's somewhat less sharp compared with the Sony 35/f1.8 at the same aperture. (well, this is what I have) And the barrel distortion sometimes can be noticeable. Nevertheless the photos are not bad at all. Gonna wait for a good day to have some fun with it. (yeah it rains today and the light is really bad)
As you've found already, the little Industar is not technically a match for your modern sony lens - generally speaking modern lenses will always outperform vintage lenses, and the Industar can trace its design back about 70 years or so! I like them for the character and look they can give to images - a very different look to modern lenses - and I don't worry too much about details like distortion and so on. I hope you enjoy the Industar!
@@zenography7923 The old look on photos is quite charming. In cloudy days it is like a milky white covers everything, soft and blur like an old dream. At noon it also performs quite impressive under straight sunlight. Especially given the small size, it's pretty convenient to carry it around all the time. Great tiny lense. Thank you very much for the recommendation!
I was browsing eBay for these, and I came across a warning: "This is a RF lens, on a SLR or DSLR this will only work as a macro lens" - I assume it's because the flange-to-image plane is too short for a simple adapter to work (same as trying to use a Mirrorless system lens on a DSLR). Is this true? I actually have a FED 5, I was thinking of getting a M39 to K-Mount adapter and trying the lens on my Pentax DSLRs. These do seem a lot cheaper than M42 lenses (including the Helios lenses). There do seem to be the same Industar 61, 26 and 50 lenses in M42, though - I assume these would be suitable for DSLRs.
You're right about the flange distance - that's why rangefinder and slr lenses/bodies are incompatible. M42 and M39 (NOT L39, which are rangefinder lenses) should be fine on your dslr, assuming it has a long enough flange distance to accommodate the lenses.
@@zenography7923 I think pretty much all of the Jupiters and similar lenses with 39mm threads on Ebay are rangefinder lenses, though.. I think the "M" actually means "Metric" - when taking about screw threads one would say, for instance, M3x0.5 - 3mm outer diameter, 0.5mm pitch. The M42 thread on SLR lenses is, I think, M42x1. Not sure what the pitch is on the Leica thread, but I think people often refer to it as M39 because they're metric. It's a little disappointing - I really wanted to try that lens on my FED5 - I even ordered a M39 to M42 adapter for it. Maybe I'll try to pick up an old mirrorless body if I can find one that doesn't cost too much.
This is one of the few videos I could find featuring the cheapest Industar-50 (not the 50-2 or other variants). I got mine with a non-working Zorki-6. The lens is in pretty rough shape. The focus ring is gummed up with old dry grease. I am a bit nervous to take it apart and try fix it, especially considering the absolutely tiny screws in the side. Do you know of any videos of disassembling & cleaning this particular lens that I can use as a guide (edit: I found one th-cam.com/video/of5sS21IlSY/w-d-xo.html)? I tried using a 50-2 guide but the lens body is quite different and lacks the outermost shell of the (I assume the original) 50. Thanks again for the videos. Always fascinating!
Thanks, glad you're enjoying the videos! I must admit I haven't taken an Industar 50 apart so can't offer specific advice, but these are not complex lenses and shouldn't be too difficult as long as you're patient and careful. Three tips: 1) use a tray of some sort to keep small parts in - they get lost very easily otherwise. 2) don't fully remove the tiny screws (grub screws) around the edge of the lens. They provide a friction grip and only need to be loosened. 3) keep a magnet handy to help remove small parts and prevent their loss - if you drop them onto a carpet they will immediately disappear! Good luck.
Enjoyable and informative as ever. I've had some interesting results with an 61 on a Fed 3, but rather less good on a Fed 4 - that particular lens may be iffy though. I do get what you mean about the problems facing into strong light though. Have you ever used a Jupiter 11 by the way? I'd be interested to see a review of that.
Hi there, thanks for tuning in. I learned photography using a Fed 4 and Industar 61 - owned them from new and got some very nice images with them. Of course, these cameras and lenses are by no means new any more, so I guess we can expect the odd fault or flaw here and there 40-50 years on. They definitely need a lens hood for shooting into any kind of light - or just use the old trick of shading with your hand. I do have a J11 that I haven't used very much, I'll do a video on this when time permits! Thanks for watching.
Thanks for your great advice. My Fed 4 has now arrived - it's in great condition and is built like a T34! Also, a Zorki 4 is winging its way to me too. It will be interesting to compare their performance. Just a quick lenses question, if that's ok? Do Industar and Jupiter lenses fit directly onto a screw mount Leica? Or do you need an adaptor? After watching your videos I'm thinking a Leica IIIf could be in my future. The Russian lenses make it financially feasible. And thanks again for Zenography.
Yes the Industar and Jupiter lenses will mount on most Leica tread mount cameras. I have a FED 50mm f/3.5 mounted on a Leica IIc. They are happy together.
Enjoyed the video. I was wondering if you could tell me what lens cover will fit the I 50 lens. I never seem to get the proper size and have several 'naked' lenses I'd like to cover. I have found them to be very sharp and give a nice bokeh but they are so small it is hard for me to work with (worth the effort though) Thanks again, enjoy your channel
Hi John, not sure where you'd find lens caps for these, except on a certain well known auction site! I have on occasion improvised using bottle caps, or any other suitable circular thing!
Hi there, just had a quick look on ebay Australia; couldn't see any cheap ones in Oz itself (perhaps the cameras weren't exported there in volume?) but there are several Ukranian and Russian sellers who will sell you one from $25, with free postage, so you might want to check those out? Thanks for watching.
@@zenography7923 that's because we've got nothing here in Australia, absolutely nothing. Everything of interest has to be brought in from O/S at a price accordingly and almost always shipping costs nearly double the landed price and takes an age to arrive. Add to that our lousy government's ridiculous policy to add a goods and services tax to SECOND HAND GOODS (!) from private sellers!.....and to add insult to injury it's calculated with the postage in the seller's currency!!! So seeing that the Australian dollar isn't worth a zac anywhere else in the world, what seems cheap ends up a second mortgage...Dont ever move here unless your only hobby and interest is watching sport on TV...!!
I am amazed at how much optical junk is available on the market today, nowhere near the sharpness and contrast performance of the "old" CARL ZEISS Tessar f2.8 50 mm. Perhaps it would be better to let the customer decide whether he wants to spend his money on sharp lenses or whether he prefers the "fantastically" coated but blurred lenses. Thank you for the beautiful pictures shot with lenses made in USSR.
I've occasionally bought from Russian sellers and have found them reliable and honest, neither worse nor better than sellers in any other country. I don't think there's any reason to worry unduly.
Ordered the 61 it's coming from Ukr ..really looking forward to it ..and probably going to buy the other lenses you show in your video
Thank you for your time and effort you put into your videos for us. Always interesting and informative. 👍👍
Many thanks, glad my humble efforts are appreciated! As always, thanks for watching.
Very underated channel. And Great work mate.
Thank you for the beautiful pictures, shot with the lenses of our ancestors. They warm our hearts and show what positive values history left us.
Thanks Andreas, very kind. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Wonderful video! I've got an Insustrar 61 L/D which is tack sharp. It makes one wonder why anyone would ever need more than four elements in a 50mm lens.
I know what you mean, the 61 is a great lens with a very nice character - definitely no more than 4 elements needed here! Thanks for watching.
Truly some of the genius's within the USSR, although be it, a darker painted version, of the Dresden Industry that produced some of the finest camera lenses of the Century. Many user's know little to nothing of either the German or the Russian manufacture of these incredible items, preferring to mount them to four-thirds digital bodies, since all the modern pro-line, auto-focus lenses cost a small fortune, and can't take the same beating like the Russian and Ukraine samples so often do. The Industar 50-2 is a prime that goes the distance, creating tack sharp photo's, and surely some of the best color photo's recreation ever possible, without costing you a few weeks wages. Thanks for the video content.
lovely presentation.Just imagine if these little lenses with character could talk what they might reveal.
I was shocked using the Industar 50 for the first time! After using helios lenses I was amazed at the tack sharpness of this lens, I have the m42 version which is even smaller than the m39 one as it doesn't have that ugly extension tube bit slapped on it, another thing in comparison to the helios lenses is the colours really pop on it, good and contrasty, it's an amazing travel lens due to its size shame about the slow aperture though
The I-50 is a very nice lens indeed, and sharper than the Helios 44 and 44-2. That's not to say it's a better lens as such though; in my view the character of the Helios makes up for a slight lack of sharpness. Colour rendition of the I-50 is very nice indeed. As for the slow aperture, it would be nice if it was faster, I agree, but used within its limitations it's unbeatable - especially as it's so cheap! Many thanks for watching.
Absolutely love your channel and watch your videos many times over. Enjoy your knowledge and experience with lenses and cameras especially the old Soviet rangefinders. I have to blame you for inspiring me to very recently purchase a few of them. Zorki 1c, Zorki 3m, FED 2 and Kiev 2a. I like the build quality, the esthetic look and holding, shooting film with using these cameras. I wish I could put the lenses from these old cameras on my Nikon crop DSLR.
Glad you're enjoying the channel! There's something nice about the old FSU gear - its no-nonsense approach and simplicity are very compelling. Nikon DSLRs can be difficult to adapt older lenses to, but the first crop of mirrorless cameras can now be had very cheaply indeed - food for thought perhaps?
Thanks, i realy love this lenses on my A7ii so good.
i got one 50mm 3.5 with my old Zorkij 6 ! and I totally have to test it soon!
You should give it a go - they're pretty nice lenses with their own special character!
My latest bargain is an Industar L61 53mm f2.8 from a FED 3b. Close to perfect condition - prices are climbing 5 years after this video, so it cost £25 but still a great lens.
Super video again think I will pick up a 26..love the idea of 10blades on the aperture..
I am not sure however if an Elmar lens is a Tessar formula... think I read somewhere that that thought is flawed...
I have an i22 collapsible lens . and love it....
Jokingly call it an Elmarov..... Cheers...
Elmarov indeed!
I bought an industar 50 (m42) and an adaptor for my Canon M10 for the princely sum of £15 on ebay ... it's a cracking little lens.
Very nice presentation and photos. also the video was very good. I have a few of these in my photo junk drawer that are not in good shape, but after watching this I will dig them out and give them a go...
Dig them out, use them and enjoy them! Far too nice to sit in a drawer unused. Many thanks for watching, and glad you enjoyed the video.
Thanks amigo.
No problem, thanks for watching!
Thanks for the informative video. I like this music too! :)
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
My Industar-61 L/D 55/f2.8 arrived today and just had a test run with it. It's black and suits A7 quite well. Small and compact. Mounting it on A7 with monochrome mode gives a special vibe than my other Sony lenses. Maybe because it's less contrasty in black-and-white? Also I find it's somewhat less sharp compared with the Sony 35/f1.8 at the same aperture. (well, this is what I have) And the barrel distortion sometimes can be noticeable. Nevertheless the photos are not bad at all. Gonna wait for a good day to have some fun with it. (yeah it rains today and the light is really bad)
As you've found already, the little Industar is not technically a match for your modern sony lens - generally speaking modern lenses will always outperform vintage lenses, and the Industar can trace its design back about 70 years or so! I like them for the character and look they can give to images - a very different look to modern lenses - and I don't worry too much about details like distortion and so on. I hope you enjoy the Industar!
@@zenography7923 The old look on photos is quite charming. In cloudy days it is like a milky white covers everything, soft and blur like an old dream. At noon it also performs quite impressive under straight sunlight. Especially given the small size, it's pretty convenient to carry it around all the time. Great tiny lense. Thank you very much for the recommendation!
I50 is the best here i think. It must have less coating than the others that’s why it is slower , and with less coating it makes me feel the light.
I was browsing eBay for these, and I came across a warning: "This is a RF lens, on a SLR or DSLR this will only work as a macro lens" - I assume it's because the flange-to-image plane is too short for a simple adapter to work (same as trying to use a Mirrorless system lens on a DSLR). Is this true? I actually have a FED 5, I was thinking of getting a M39 to K-Mount adapter and trying the lens on my Pentax DSLRs. These do seem a lot cheaper than M42 lenses (including the Helios lenses). There do seem to be the same Industar 61, 26 and 50 lenses in M42, though - I assume these would be suitable for DSLRs.
You're right about the flange distance - that's why rangefinder and slr lenses/bodies are incompatible. M42 and M39 (NOT L39, which are rangefinder lenses) should be fine on your dslr, assuming it has a long enough flange distance to accommodate the lenses.
@@zenography7923 I think pretty much all of the Jupiters and similar lenses with 39mm threads on Ebay are rangefinder lenses, though.. I think the "M" actually means "Metric" - when taking about screw threads one would say, for instance, M3x0.5 - 3mm outer diameter, 0.5mm pitch. The M42 thread on SLR lenses is, I think, M42x1. Not sure what the pitch is on the Leica thread, but I think people often refer to it as M39 because they're metric. It's a little disappointing - I really wanted to try that lens on my FED5 - I even ordered a M39 to M42 adapter for it. Maybe I'll try to pick up an old mirrorless body if I can find one that doesn't cost too much.
These lenses would lend themselves well to video-projects in which people seek to replicate an old timey cinema look.
Absolutely, I've often though that myself!
This is one of the few videos I could find featuring the cheapest Industar-50 (not the 50-2 or other variants). I got mine with a non-working Zorki-6.
The lens is in pretty rough shape. The focus ring is gummed up with old dry grease. I am a bit nervous to take it apart and try fix it, especially considering the absolutely tiny screws in the side.
Do you know of any videos of disassembling & cleaning this particular lens that I can use as a guide (edit: I found one th-cam.com/video/of5sS21IlSY/w-d-xo.html)? I tried using a 50-2 guide but the lens body is quite different and lacks the outermost shell of the (I assume the original) 50.
Thanks again for the videos. Always fascinating!
Thanks, glad you're enjoying the videos! I must admit I haven't taken an Industar 50 apart so can't offer specific advice, but these are not complex lenses and shouldn't be too difficult as long as you're patient and careful. Three tips: 1) use a tray of some sort to keep small parts in - they get lost very easily otherwise. 2) don't fully remove the tiny screws (grub screws) around the edge of the lens. They provide a friction grip and only need to be loosened. 3) keep a magnet handy to help remove small parts and prevent their loss - if you drop them onto a carpet they will immediately disappear! Good luck.
Enjoyable and informative as ever. I've had some interesting results with an 61 on a Fed 3, but rather less good on a Fed 4 - that particular lens may be iffy though. I do get what you mean about the problems facing into strong light though. Have you ever used a Jupiter 11 by the way? I'd be interested to see a review of that.
Hi there, thanks for tuning in. I learned photography using a Fed 4 and Industar 61 - owned them from new and got some very nice images with them. Of course, these cameras and lenses are by no means new any more, so I guess we can expect the odd fault or flaw here and there 40-50 years on. They definitely need a lens hood for shooting into any kind of light - or just use the old trick of shading with your hand. I do have a J11 that I haven't used very much, I'll do a video on this when time permits! Thanks for watching.
What is the thread diameter of the lens hood or filter for Industar 50?
This thread:
www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22522
will answer your question!
Thanks for your great advice. My Fed 4 has now arrived - it's in great condition and is built like a T34! Also, a Zorki 4 is winging its way to me too. It will be interesting to compare their performance. Just a quick lenses question, if that's ok? Do Industar and Jupiter lenses fit directly onto a screw mount Leica? Or do you need an adaptor? After watching your videos I'm thinking a Leica IIIf could be in my future. The Russian lenses make it financially feasible. And thanks again for Zenography.
Yes the Industar and Jupiter lenses will mount on most Leica tread mount cameras. I have a FED 50mm f/3.5 mounted on a Leica IIc. They are happy together.
Enjoyed the video. I was wondering if you could tell me what lens cover will fit the I 50 lens. I never seem to get the proper size and have several 'naked' lenses I'd like to cover. I have found them to be very sharp and give a nice bokeh but they are so small it is hard for me to work with (worth the effort though) Thanks again, enjoy your channel
Hi John, not sure where you'd find lens caps for these, except on a certain well known auction site! I have on occasion improvised using bottle caps, or any other suitable circular thing!
Looking on eBay from Australia, I cannot find these cheap, if anyone has tips on what to search for I’d appreciate it :-)
Hi there, just had a quick look on ebay Australia; couldn't see any cheap ones in Oz itself (perhaps the cameras weren't exported there in volume?) but there are several Ukranian and Russian sellers who will sell you one from $25, with free postage, so you might want to check those out? Thanks for watching.
Zenography thanks love the channel and what you do :-)
@@zenography7923 that's because we've got nothing here in Australia, absolutely nothing. Everything of interest has to be brought in from O/S at a price accordingly and almost always shipping costs nearly double the landed price and takes an age to arrive. Add to that our lousy government's ridiculous policy to add a goods and services tax to SECOND HAND GOODS (!) from private sellers!.....and to add insult to injury it's calculated with the postage in the seller's currency!!! So seeing that the Australian dollar isn't worth a zac anywhere else in the world, what seems cheap ends up a second mortgage...Dont ever move here unless your only hobby and interest is watching sport on TV...!!
There is an Industar 61 LZ... the body is black all over maybe plastic I don't really know.....
I have one. The LZ is a semi macro version with a M42 mount, great lens 👍🏻
Индусы хорошие объективы!
I am amazed at how much optical junk is available on the market today, nowhere near the sharpness and contrast performance of the "old" CARL ZEISS Tessar f2.8 50 mm. Perhaps it would be better to let the customer decide whether he wants to spend his money on sharp lenses or whether he prefers the "fantastically" coated but blurred lenses. Thank you for the beautiful pictures shot with lenses made in USSR.
That CZJ Tessar is quite something isn't it? Thanks for tuning in!
I just bought a m39 Mount but all the lenses are in Russia. I was told not to order lenses from Russia so I’m torn.
I've occasionally bought from Russian sellers and have found them reliable and honest, neither worse nor better than sellers in any other country. I don't think there's any reason to worry unduly.
Mine are coming from Ukraine..just order from that jungle page
Amazon
Industar 50 - is a russian lens, all other lenses are Ukrainian, made in Kharkiv FED.
This lenses were made in USSR