Russian/Soviet RF Lenses: more regarding quality

[todd frederick]

I recently obtained a Kiev 60 but have not had a chance to use it properly except for unfilmed practice. This has an Arsat 80mm f/2.8 lens which seems to be very solid and clean. Using ground glass over the film plane I checked focus and such and the image seems quite fine. Perhaps I'll take it out in the next day or so and share some results, however, it's not a rangefinder camera.

 

The only problem I ever had with a Contax type camera was with a real German made Contax on which the shutter blades fell apart though I was able to repair them. My Kiev 4a seems very solid but has unusually wide film spacing.

[JDMvW]

I have not forgot the formats larger than 35mm. My main interest is in post-war SLRs from the DDR, so I had to have a Pentacon 6. I try to actually use these things, so I wanted a wide-angle lens. A Flektagon is what I probably should have got, but I decided to try a Mir-26B 45mm f/3.5. It looks well-made, but it is pretty soft. It's OK on the 6x6cm format, but I have an Pentacon 6>EOS adapter that lets me use this on my Canon EOS APS-sized sensor cameras, and even the center "sweet spot" on the Mir is too soft to be acceptable. The Zeiss lenses on the Canon, on the other hand, run from OK (the 80mm and 120mm) to superb (the 180mm). Just as a point of interest, the adapter also takes advantage of the larger format coverage of the P6 lenses to add a shift feature. Now if I could just figure out what I need a ca. 300mm shift lens for ;)

[peter]

I presently own one FSU lens; the 85mm f2 which is a delight to use - I must post some pikkies soon. Looking at the pictures here, I am simply blown away by the quality of the photo of the Telstra Tower in Sydney - simply beautiful rendition. I think I must lay my hands on one of these 35mm wide angle lenses. They also look very very cool: - being a non retro focus lens they have that huge "backside". Or better yet maybe one of the 20mm lenses (which unfortunately are scarce and which attract huge prices because of the quality of their images.)

[todd frederick]

Peter, there are a couple of the 35mm Jupiter-12 lenses on eBay, one black and one chrome. The only photo I've taken with it is the shed and windows above. I will use that much more. Gotta be careful to protect that back element.

 

JDM, Thanks for the advice about the Mir 26-B. I was thinking of getting one for the Kiev 60, but don't want a soft lens. I already have a Holga! ;>)

[carbon_dragon]

I've bought 3 russian rangefinder bodies -- two leica copies, and one contax copy, as well as about 5 lenses of various types. It's really a crapshoot as to what you get (maybe you would get better odds from a more reputable, more expensive dealer). Some have worked fine, some have been very bad indeed. One body didn't have enough clearance in the leica copy to actually load film. Most of the lenses had some oil on the blades of the diaphram. But the designs are mostly based on Contax lenses, so if you get a good one, it is likely to work well (or if you can get them adequately fixed). Really the problem is quality control.