As my love affair with soviet-era lenses continues, it seems that I am not alone in my appreciation of vintage glass and prices of such lenses have recently rocketed, as the practice of attaching old lenses to new cameras becomes more commonplace. Certain Helios models are referred to in eBay listings as having “swirly bokeh” or being “lomo” or a “bokeh monster”. Jupiter lenses are cited as being ideal for ‘street’ work and almost all find favour with enthusiasts looking for the cinema look as used by Denis Villeneuve in
Dune and Zac Snyder in some of his films.
As the lenses become more hard to find or become too expensive for my meagre pocket, I decided to look sideways, rather than further afield for other soviet lenses which might hold some appeal. Some years ago, I bought an Industar 50 pancake lens, more out of curiosity, as it was cheap and looked suitably antique. It was a L39 fit, as favoured by Leica, a brand slavishly emulated by Russian manufacturers. Although it was a squat lens, it has excellent resolution and clarity and a lovely wide field of view. I took it with me to the
Scottish highlands in 2017, mostly due to its portability, as I hadn’t really used it much and it rewarded me with some of the best photographs I have ever taken. Lush and deeply tonal, the lens left my iPhone camera standing.
Given my faith in Industar as a brand, I did a little research to see what else there was to the company and discovered that Industar lenses were often paired with entry level Fed cameras. A surf on eBay revealed a number of small lenses, all quite cheap. Optimistically, I bid on a couple and as is usually the case, lost out almost immediately. Then, I found an Industar 55mm lens on an old Fed camera, for the same price as a lens. As the camera was not functional, the price was a paltry £15. Before I waded in, I did a quick search for info about the lens and discovered it was a Industar 61 L/D F28 and based on a Zeiss-Tessar design. Reviews were generally very positive to extremely good and one source suggested the lens was made with radioactive lanthanum glass. This part alone sealed the deal for me, as the slightly exotic nature was a big draw. Although radioactive, it is not in anyway harmful and only a trace coating on the elements.
As the lens was designed to fit on a rangefinder body, like the FED-1 it came with, it would need a special adaptor before I could use it. My Industar 50, itself an L39 thread, sits nicely on the universal adaptor I have on my Samsung NX1000, so I hoped the 61 would too. When the camera arrived, I was amazed at the weight of the body and the size of it. Solidly built, it feels like a piece of military hardware and must have been difficult to shoot with. The lens is short and light by comparison and feels quite cheap, being made with plastic and aluminium parts. Unfortunately, try as I might, I couldn’t get it to mount on the NX, as the flange distance was much shorter than the 50.
Back to eBay and a purchase of an adaptor for L39 to NX direct mount, which cost the same as the camera and lens! But on the plus side, it fitted my large Jupiter 11 silver lens (another L39 fit) wonderfully and although this worked on the universal mount, the Industar 50 pancake would not focus properly on the new adaptor!
The Industar 61 sat well on the adaptor and focussing was perfect, from about a metre to infinity. It still feels a little cheap, as opposed to the solid metal body of the pancake 50, but it resolves well and the colour and tone are at least equal to its sibling. I’ll need to take it into the field to try it properly, but a couple of quick shots were quite satisfying.
Firstly a quick landscape straight out of the camera and below, the Lightroom edited version, to balance tone and colour.
Again, another quick handheld shot, through the window as the sun was lowering. Edited version below.
Finally, a detail of the wood pigeons on the first shot, taken with the silver Jupiter 11.
All soviet lenses tend to have a greenish cast to the glass and handle foliage really well, I will be taking both Industar and possibly the Jupiter to the Mediterranean this summer, to see how they fare in the field.
