Is It Worth It

[za33photo]

I was given this lens as a gift.

It is a 52mm f2.8 FSU lens that apparently belonged to a FED camera.

The lens is a bit neglected.

Both the Aperture and Focus rings work , but they are rather stiff in operation , this is probably due to hardened grease.

The Lens elements do not have any visible scratches or Fungus that I can see.

There are some dust spots inside the lens.

There is some corrosion on the outer casing , but as far as I am concerned this is cosmetic.

Questions:-

Is this lens any good.

Is it worth having this lens professionally cleaned and serviced , I do not have the skills or tools to do this myself.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

 

[Dustin McAmera]

The backward-N is an I for Industar. Industars are Tessar-type lenses. I have one on my Fed 3. It's sharp enough. Haven't used it for a while, but I seem to remember I suspected it was giving a slight yellow colour (that or my cheap colour film was) - I mostly did black-and-white with it.

If it really needs professional service to be usable, then I think it would be cheaper to buy another than get this one serviced.  I would give it the chance to ease up with use before spending any money - looking a gift horse in the mouth, then paying for its dentistry 😉

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Industar_61

[Jochen_S]

Sorry, "the answer will be in the eye of the beholder".

Do you own a suitable adapter, to go between this and your MILC? Chinese cheapos are fine. Go out, try to take evaluation shots. 

Do you own & shoot FSU made RFs? - Ditto.

Are you planning to use it on your digital M? - Maybe let it go. The RF will most likely not perfectly couple and the world seems full of 50mms. 

There must be subjects benefitting from a lens' imperfections, but are YOU shooting those that way? You described your lens as evaluateable as is, so go ahead and find out. 

I myself am usually glad to have something half decent. So far I failed to warm up with lenses "for their flaws sake", but mileages vary and it is surely another fun field of photography.

[SCL]

I had one years ago and it was ok...comparable to other similar lenses of its era. IMHO not worth paying for professional cleaning, if you can't do it yourself, and you have a camera which can use it or an adapter for a mirrorless body, you can test it out and see if you want to spend the money for a professional cleaning. Otherwise, put it up for auction.

[John Seaman]

I had one of these recently on a Fed 5B but never got any pictures from it, although some people seem to rate it highly. Mine was very stiff but I got it really light and smooth by lubricating the focusing helix - just from the outside, I didn't take it to pieces at all. I sold the camera and lens, just for a few pounds, they aren't worth a deal, so having it professionally serviced would cost many times its value. It doesn't look too difficult to open up and clean if required.

[Dustin McAmera]

The OP said he wasn't interested in DIY, but since it's been mentioned:

https://mattsclassiccameras.com/how-to/industar-61-relubing/

 

I have my I-61 in my hand now. It's just like the one pictured - a bit cleaner. Straight out of the drawer it was slightly stiff to turn the first half of the focus range (long distances), then suddenly looser. Working it back and forth, it's evened up somewhat in a few minutes. The iris blades have a touch of oil visible, but it works ok. The detents are quite harsh and jumpy. At the back, I can't see where I'd try to introduce a lube without opening it up.

I might try it on my mirrorless next time I'm out. I have already put my Industar 22 on there.

[808 Photog]

Hello all. Others have id'd your lens as the Industar N-61, which also came as the N-61 L/D multi coated assembly. For a very long run of production, both Zorki and Fed used it as their "normal" lens. All of my Zorki and Fed's came with this lens. Very good sharpness was evident in most examples, but I upgraded all of these cameras to the Jupiter-8 lens save one N-61 which has proven to be the J-8 equal.

Recent examples of the N-61 & N-61 L/D are available at the major auction site for $25-50 delivered. My only proviso is look very carefully at the lens filter ring condition. This ring  is subject to bashing about and if deformed will not engage the 40.5 mm filter / accessories. Filters are available for $10-20. They are not glass (polycarbonates) and cleaning them requires a bit of care.

I have used both my N-61 and Jupiter-8 on my Xe-1 cameras via an adapter and the results are very good.

As to your present lens, I would not put the effort into reconditioning it.   Aloha,   Bill

[za33photo]

3 hours ago, Dustin McAmera said:

The OP said he wasn't interested in DIY, but since it's been mentioned:

https://mattsclassiccameras.com/how-to/industar-61-relubing/

 

I have my I-61 in my hand now. It's just like the one pictured - a bit cleaner. Straight out of the drawer it was slightly stiff to turn the first half of the focus range (long distances), then suddenly looser. Working it back and forth, it's evened up somewhat in a few minutes. The iris blades have a touch of oil visible, but it works ok. The detents are quite harsh and jumpy. At the back, I can't see where I'd try to introduce a lube without opening it up.

I might try it on my mirrorless next time I'm out. I have already put my Industar 22 on there.

Thanks for the link , I have had a look and think that I will be able to do this 😃.

 

[chuck_foreman1]

Good Luck... in getting this working properly!

 

[glen_h]

With many old cameras and lenses, if they don't work, or don't work well (enough),

it is often cheaper to buy another one, than to try to fix the one you have.

 

As well as I know, the USSR lenses are good, but have some variability in

build quality.  You might get a very good one, or very poor.

 

And probably a good choice to go with your FED or Zorki.

Maybe with your Canon or Leica, though the rangefinder

calibration might be different.