Industar 22 vs 50

[Dez]

What is the difference between the Industar 22 and its later version the Industar 50? Apart from a small change in front element size, and a thicker aperture ring on the 50, I cannot tell the difference.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[wlewisiii]

I hadn't even noticed that much difference ... 😉

William

 

[rlouzan]

The Industar-50 is older

 

[Mablo]

There's also a similar Industar-10 model. I think that I've seen a collapsible FED-50 too, not sure though..

 

[wolves3012]

The Industar 50 is newer and is meant to have a higher resolving power I think. I have both and haven't noticed any difference in normal use - but I haven't tried them "head-to-head"

 

[ErnestoJL]

I have both and noticed no differences between them, other than one being collapsible and the other ugly and rigid. Both are good lenses.
Think they are same formula (updated Tessar) only different layout.

Ernesto

 

[pauls52]

The collapsible 22 and collapsible 50 are almost identical in appearance as noted by the OP. I don't recall any "proof" that one is better than the other although the claim that the 50 has higher resolution is repeated often enough. I think a Russian Chart I have downloaded suggests that the 22 has 32 l/mm resolution in the centre and 20 on the edges and the 50 has figures of 38/22.

No lens is marked Industar 10 but I understand that post war Fed lenses have been referred to by this name (manufactured by KMZ?).

Industar 22s were mainly produced by KMZ but a few early ones by KOMZ as well. Looking at a database of serial numbers, my take is that KMZ introduced the collapsible 50 in 1958 as a standard option (against whatever the fixed mount was - J8?, can't remember off hand) for the Zorki 5 (and perhaps as a 22 replacement on lates 2Ss and even S). Note that 50s appearing on earlier cameras are probably not original. It seems to me that after the Zorki 5, KMZ no longer offered a collapsible 50 as a standard option . From about 1957 to the early 70s, LZOS at Lytkarino produced the collapsible 50 as an accessory lens for all Russian LTM cameras.

The main cosmetic differences between all the 22s and 50s (except fot the very earliest ones) are the factory logos, small differences in engravings, serial no ranges between KMZ and LZOS and the knurling on the front housing to match knobs on camera bodies ie diamond cross hatch, square cross hatch or straight lines. All LZOS had straight lines.
Paul

 

[xayraa33]

I also have both and I can never see the difference.

 

[wolves3012]

The collapsible 22 and collapsible 50 are almost identical in appearance as noted by the OP. I don't recall any "proof" that one is better than the other although the claim that the 50 has higher resolution is repeated often enough. I think a Russian Chart I have downloaded suggests that the 22 has 32 l/mm resolution in the centre and 20 on the edges and the 50 has figures of 38/22.

No lens is marked Industar 10 but I understand that post war Fed lenses have been referred to by this name (manufactured by KMZ?).

Industar 22s were mainly produced by KMZ but a few early ones by KOMZ as well. Looking at a database of serial numbers, my take is that KMZ introduced the collapsible 50 in 1958 as a standard option (against whatever the fixed mount was - J8?, can't remember off hand) for the Zorki 5 (and perhaps as a 22 replacement on lates 2Ss and even S). Note that 50s appearing on earlier cameras are probably not original. It seems to me that after the Zorki 5, KMZ no longer offered a collapsible 50 as a standard option . From about 1957 to the early 70s, LZOS at Lytkarino produced the collapsible 50 as an accessory lens for all Russian LTM cameras.

The main cosmetic differences between all the 22s and 50s (except fot the very earliest ones) are the factory logos, small differences in engravings, serial no ranges between KMZ and LZOS and the knurling on the front housing to match knobs on camera bodies ie diamond cross hatch, square cross hatch or straight lines. All LZOS had straight lines.
Paul

Interesting information there. I have one I-22 that has straight-line milling on the front edge - that would make it an LZOS then? The standard option on a Zorki 5 might have been a rigid Industar 50 - most seem to come with one or other variant of the I-50 anyway.

 

[pauls52]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. KMZ made collapsible 22s with all 3 types of millings, depending on the milling of the knobs on the body eg diamond for Zorki 1s, square for the majority of Zorki S (or C) and straight for Zorki 3 series and the very earliest Zorki Ss. KMZ seems to have made collapsible 50s with only square cross hatching. That fits in with the Zorki 5 introduction and square pattern milling on its rewind knob. I was about to claim that the LZOS collapsible 50s all had straight milling but as with all things Russian, there is always at least one exception and I just found it in my database.

I personally have not seen any LZOS 22s but the insignia will tell you. The ray through a prism is KMZ, LZOS has a triangle over a circle with a C in the centre.

You are correct about the rigid 50 on the Zorki 5. My understanding is that initially you could buy the camera with either lens but from about 1959, Zorki only seemed to offer their cameras with rigid lenses and if you wanted a collapsible lens, you had to buy a LZOS manufactured one as an accessory item. The true role of LZOS is abit of a guess based on statistical observation but still consistent with the commonly held wisdom that "KMZ outsourced lens production to other factories because of capacity issues."