The Industar-61 is one nice lens.....

[rich815]

I bought an Industar-61 55/2,8 lens from a Ukraine buyer on eBay for $12 USD. To be honest I bought it because it looked like a cool lens with its black and chrome look and I figured for $12 USD what the heck. Since then I've read elsewhere that if you get a good one it can perform quite well. I decided to slap it on my Leica this last weekend and put a roll of Kodak T400CN through that I had laying around. Got the negs back and scanned them. It's not just a good lens, it's a fantastic lens!

See here:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=292528

(click on smaller images for full size 600 pixels wide views)

BTW, these were hand-held at 1/30th. Any softness is due to my shake. See the first two, they are sharp as a tack.

- Richard

[AlexC]

Agreed, excellent lens for the price. I just picked one up for a whopping $7 USD! I think I paid more for the shipping (which was surprisingly quick at just over a week from the Ukraine).

[Iskra 2]

it's a fantastic lens!
- Richard

Many more good reviews for the FSU stuff and the Ebabe bids and prices will be on the way up. :bang: I need to finish some more purchases quick. :) I'm going to use my Zorki 4 as a lens cap for a soon to be acquired Leica lens. :D

Nice pics!

[ray_g]

Amazing, Richard. Did you take these wide open?

[rich815]

Amazing, Richard. Did you take these wide open?

Yes, forgot to mention that. It was a small, windowless examination room with only ceiling flourescent lights.

[sockeyed]

Great series and a nice looking lens indeed. My only complaint about the I-61 is the ergonomics - the focusing ring is akwardly close to the camera body. Unbelievable value for the money, though!

[sockeyed]

I should mention that I have the black and chrome 'Panda' version too, and in my tests it performed better than the acclaimed later I-61L/D.

A nice addition is the vented 39mm thread-in lens hoods commonly available on eBay for just over $10.

[RML]

I found the I-61 L/D too sharp for my liking. Went for a J8 instead and never regretted it. But that's just my opinion. :)

[mikule]

I second that, the Industrar 61 is a great lens. Although admittedly I've only used that and my Jupiter 12 so far and havn't really noticed a great difference in quallity.
I have two (I-61) at the moment, so I'm thinking about re-lubing one of them seeing as I have a spare, and they're next to nothing to purchase.
If anyone else is interested, all my pics thus far in my gallery were taking with my I-61 and FED 5B :)

[silverliner]

mikule! You should relube them right away! I did mine and now they are buttery SMOOTH!!!!

[varjag]

Mmm.. it must be that Leica glow at work :)

But seriously, good shots and excellent perormance Richard. I quite like the 2nd from the end.

[nomade]

Great photos there...

[reagan]

Okay, this ain't right. You guys can see the pictures and I'm not allowed in....."Invalid presentation id."

O sure, "Don't let the fat kid play!"

I'll try again later.

[tenebrae]

I got a an "Invalid presentation id" as well...

Relubing your Industar is really a good idea, btw!. Did my FED-4's Industar yesterday evening, and the difference is amazing. Instead of un-screwing the lens from the camera body when focusing, it just runs smoothly in any direction now.

[Roman]

"Invalid presentation id"

...same here!

Roman

[Chuck A]

Same here.

[John Robertson]

Same again 8-((

[kiev4a]

I found the I-61 L/D too sharp for my liking. Went for a J8 instead and never regretted it. But that's just my opinion. :)

You are mistaking contrast for sharpness . The LD is one of the most contrasty lenses available. Like you, it's too contrasty for my taste.

[MrRanger]

You are mistaking contrast for sharpness . The LD is one of the most contrasty lenses available. Like you, it's too contrasty for my taste.


Hmmmm! It appears on closer examination that the Industar I-61 that came on my Fed 3 - the lens has a yellow coating. Is this the LD? I'm hoping to run some film through it this weekend.

Mike :D

[varjag]

L/D lenses are explicitly marked so. Like, "Industar-61 L/D" on the front rim (in cyrillics of course).

[John Robertson]

My Industar 26m has a red cyrilic letter "L" on it, so I assume it is also Lanthanum glass.

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I use both the J8 and the I61 L/D with my Bessa R. I truly enjoy the I61 the sharpness doesn't bother me one bit. I find it most enjoyable when I am shooting cars. The specular highlights from this lens are a treat.

I like the j8 as well, but for different reasons. I feel I get the best result from this lens on my FED 3. Shot a couple of rolls with the J8 and the Bessa using Kodak's BW 400cn and felt that the contrast and sharpness were just fine.

[darkkavenger]

The Industar-61 2.8/52 that originally fits my FED-3 type b is an excellent sharp lens, and has never been disappointing me! And yesterday, while I went to one of my favourite shops here in Prague to get a leather case to carry my Pentacon Six (about 2 kgs, for this wonderful MF SLR camera), I saw a FED-5B lying in one of the shelves... my eyes brightened and while repeating in my mind "Industar 61 L/D, Industar 61 L/D" I asked the guy to handle it to me ... so after checking the whole camera that worked perfectly, and was OF COURSE fitted with a serviced Industar 61 L/D (the 2.8/55) in perfect shape, I asked for the price ... and well for 400 czech crowns ... I got it :D

I love this city, hope I'll never ever leave Prague! :)

[darkkavenger]

Hmmmm! It appears on closer examination that the Industar I-61 that came on my Fed 3 - the lens has a yellow coating. Is this the LD? I'm hoping to run some film through it this weekend.

Mike :D


I don't think it is specific to the L/D version, I-61 lenses are amber-coated, while others are rather purple-coated (J9, J12, J13 etc...) though I've seen once an amber-coated J-13, at Alfred Klomp's camera page, I think.

For instance, both my I-61 2.8/52 and my I-61 L/D 2.8/55 are amber-coated :D

[iggers]

What is the difference between the I-61 s.8/52 and the I-61 2.8/55 L/D that was referred to? I thought the I-61 lenses were all 52mm.

[iggers]

D'oh. I own a 2.8/55 L/D. I don't think I've used it. Is there much difference betwee the versions?

[MrRanger]

...I thought the I-61 lenses were all 52mm.

Mine is a 2.8/53


Mike :D

[darkkavenger]

There are, to my knowledge, three different I-61 lenses :

I-61 2.8/52
I-61 2.8/53
I-61 2.8/55 L/D

[darkkavenger]

Do not forget this interesting reference : http://homepage.mac.com/mattdenton/photo/cameras/industar_61_ld.html