Picked up a cheap Industar 22

[photobizzz]

Picked up a cheap Industar 22 from alex-photo, thought it would be worth a try. I have browsed the gallery here for photographs when the Industar 22 was used and they were suprisingly sharp!

Anyone care to comment on the build quality/performance compared to the Elmar or Summar?

Heck, for $29, shipping included I just couldnt pass it up.

 

[santino]

well, that lens has good reputation. I like it a lot, it's really sharp and has better resolution than the J8. It's slow but the Tessar design isn't fast anyways. have fun.

 

[dougdarter]

Hi,

I have several FSU lenses, all Industars. a 50mm f2.8 Elmar clone, a 50mm f2.8, and a 50mm 53mm f2.8, L61.

They are all surprisingly good performers, and all are coated. The sharpest is the L61, which is exceedingly sharp wide open, the others get sharp around f4.

In terms of value for money, they are difficult to beat, and IQ, if you get a good 'un, is certainly up to Summar standard, and with the light behind you, can possibly rival the Elmar. The L61 is as sharp as an early Summicron, and has a better coating than the others.

Build quality?? Equal to Leica?? Not a chance, but given the price, more than adequate. I would guestimate that they weigh around half the weight of an early 'M' chrome Summicron.

 

[rich815]

AWESOMELY sharp lens. Build quality stinks though. I have two. I got one for $10 out of the former USSR but when it arrived it was oily and felt like grains of sand in the barrel. Seller sent me another for free. That one was much better.

Some of my shots using it:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Industar&w=38698047@N00

I get a kick out of putting a $10 lens on my MP.....

 

[xayraa33]

the I-22 , I-10 and the collapsable I- 50 are some of the best built FSU lenses with chrome on brass construction and no aluminium.
They are the nearest the Soviets came to making a lens that is close to the old Leitz lens type of build.

 

[rich815]

I apologize, the bottom half of those photos in my link (the ones of my son getting his check-up) were with the industar-61.