Industar 61 L/D models

[fidget]

My "new" industar 61 L/D has just arrived with a "new" FED5 (as in 1993) attached to protect the back of the lens. I have a couple of older 61L/Ds which are marked as having a focal length of 53mm, but this one is 55mm. As neither of these looks like the "nominal" focal length of 50mm, I wondered if there are two variants out there?

I hope that the build quality of the lens is better than the FED5!
<Even though it is clearly new, it is everything I expected, thin top cover, made from a mould finished with a rough file by its looks: rewind knob and meter aperture calculator ring not quite aligned correctly: when cranked the film advance feels like one of those pepper corn mills that you might use on your pizza. Not like any of my other FEDs. Having said that, the meter checks out very well and the overall red body covering gives the outfit a most vivid appearance. It's brash and lumpy and sort of....well....attractive. (oh no, do I need help?). A camera to be noticed, I think!> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-new-FED...563268618QQcategoryZ15234QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[darkkavenger]

As far as I know there are three variants of I-61 ... I think I specified this in a previous post. Ah yes I found it. check this topic:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8606&page=1&pp=20&highlight=I-61+2.8/52

 

[fidget]

Thanks darkavenger,

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

So, the model I mention would add I-61 2.8/53 L/D to this list?

I wonder if they are really all the same glass in different packages? Perhaps it was a marketing thing.

 

[darkkavenger]

I don't think that there was a thing such as "marketing" in the former Soviet Union... I would rather consider these variations as design improvements 🙂

I owned an I-61 2.8/52 and an I-61 2.8/55 L/D and didn't notice big differences 🙂 Sometimes the indicated focal is also a "generic" round number, it can vary as some fellow RFF members noticed in several other posts 🙂

 

[fidget]

Hmm, I guess that the important thing is how we like the images that they produce, still it's interesting that if they are design variations, this would make them different lenses, which seems unlikely. Given the tendency for the FSU camera manufacturers to "stick" to a design, I would think that you are spot on when you suggest that the focal length is simply rounded up from 53 to 55.

 

[DaveP]

According to Princelle, they are the same glass.........