Indi-22 any good?

Sure would be, great affordable lens.

They also made a rigid I-22, that would be neat!

Don't forget the I-10 (FED-50) which looks more the part of a Elmar.

I really like the I-10, easy to find Coated, and in good optical condition.
 
I've used a couple of Industar-22 lenses on my IIf with very good results. Both nice examples from Fedka in NYC. Mostly for shooting landscapes in my case. Very compact.

Filters are easy to find, both the FSU slip-on 36mm and the clamp-on Leica A36 types. Sometimes I use an FSU plastic slip-on hood.
 
Nothing wrong with the I-22 if it's in good condition, quite a competent lens. I have several, one of which more-or-less lives on the front of a Leica IIIC and works well on it. The FED-equivalent I-10 has a slightly shorter barrel and pretty much the same performance.
 
I'd hope a $300 lens beats a $30 lens. ;) Condition is more important - a clean Industar may very well beat a slightly rough Elmar.

Take a look at some of the photos on Flickr taken with the lens. There are plenty there which demonstrate the quality of the lens (as well as the quality control variation, unfortunate beat up condition of some peoples lenses, etc).
 
Exactly. You can buy two or three I-22s or Feds, have $100 bucks in them, and hopefully get one good one. Then sell off the other two, or throw them away, because they don't sell that easily. Or pay more from the guy in Russia, and get a tested one. It's a gamble, and depends on if you want to spend all that time. I tested about 3, and never found one near as good as my one Elmar. Test here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113110
 
Ironically, my first I-10 (Fed50) was a late coated example and worked great.

Condition is everything, but at 15-20$ a pop, find a dealer on eBay and buy as many of their stock as you can, save on combined shipping! Not a bad route, get 4 or 5 to pick through, return or sell the rest. I'm sure Fedka would give you a 5$ return on a complete lens, if not adorama.
 
B-9 said:
Ironically, my first I-10 (Fed50) was a late coated example and worked great.

Condition is everything, but at 15-20$ a pop, find a dealer on eBay and buy as many of their stock as you can, save on combined shipping! Not a bad route, get 4 or 5 to pick through, return or sell the rest. I'm sure Fedka would give you a 5$ return on a complete lens, if not adorama.
Click to expand...

I think I bought that FED 50 from you a couple years ago. It still works just fine and lives on my IIIc.

The bad ones make decent platforms for hacking other lenses into LTM. I got a hideous I-50 from B-9 (thrown in for free with the FED) that I later used to hack a Nikon L35AF lens into Leica compatibility. Anybody who's got lousy examples lying around, let me know - always useful to have some donors available for projects.
 
I used to have I-50, 22 and 10.
I-22 was the best in collapsible version. I have I-50 rigid as well, very sharp, but I-22 has something else in images. I-10 was the weakest.
Sold I-22 it after realizing what it needs shimming for M4-2. It was spot on FSU bodies and not so bad on IIf. I'd rather get Elmar 50 3.5 for LTM Leica.
 
Collapsible I-22 & I-50 from Kazan(KOMZ) have 10 aperture blades instead of 8 seen on KMZ & LZOS's regular I-22 and I-50. If you are after 95%-round-bokeh try to hunt down one from Kazan. Regardless of that, they are all good lenses if there is no quality issue.
 
Sample photo from my I-22 on Fed 2. I haven't tried it on my IIIF.
6_r75_outside_shed_800px.jpg
 
mcfingon said:
I just tried the I-22 on my IIIF body and found it doesn't focus accurately at 1 meter.
Click to expand...

Hi, how did you find it out (if not by checking test shots)?

Can't the focus tab be turned to the left-most position when mounted on a IIIf?

I've never used a Leica and I'm just curious.I ask so because it seems many people find it out only when they see the results of the test shots. It'll be good to learn a method to identify the miss focus so a roll of film can be saved.
 
To test rangefinders, I measure 1 meter from the film plane and place a focus target. If the rangefinder and lens combination doesn't show that it is correctly focused at that distance, there is a problem either with the indicated distance on the lens or the rangefinder setup. On the Fed 2, the I-22 showed correct focus at 1 meter, and photo tests have verified that. The same lens put on the IIIF showed a RF focus distance of 1.1 meters approx, so it would be out of focus unless well stopped down. I may do some film tests later, but it seems likely to be a problem close-up, with decreasing amounts of error at longer distances.
 
mcfingon said:
To test rangefinders, I measure 1 meter from the film plane and place a focus target. If the rangefinder and lens combination doesn't show that it is correctly focused at that distance, there is a problem either with the indicated distance on the lens or the rangefinder setup. On the Fed 2, the I-22 showed correct focus at 1 meter, and photo tests have verified that. The same lens put on the IIIF showed a RF focus distance of 1.1 meters approx, so it would be out of focus unless well stopped down. I may do some film tests later, but it seems likely to be a problem close-up, with decreasing amounts of error at longer distances.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I corrected the minor focusing discrepancy of my FED 50 on my IIIc by placing a shim made from a single sheet of paper between the lens and the mounting flange. Coincidentally, this also placed the focusing tab in a more useful orientation (infinity at 11 o'clock).
 
That's a good work-around 02Pilot. I'll see what difference it makes using my FSU lenses on Leica bodies. My favorite is the J3 on the IIIF.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom