Russar+ F/5,6-20mm Lomography

[Fotohuis]

Lomography has in special offer a new Russar+ F/5,6-20mm LTM with a LTM-M adapter. Has somebody of the R.F.F. tried this wide angle lens and what are the weak and strong points of this lens.

Second hand this lens is also expensive because it is a rare product. I suppose the material of this original lens is aluminium but the Lomography Russar+ seems to be of better material.

 

[Monochrom]

Check Marco Cavina´s site:

http://www.marcocavina.com/articoli_fotografici/Soviet_and_wide_lenses_on_Leica_M/00_p.htm

You might find very interesting/useful info on this lens from the motherland.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Interesting, I was checking on original one this week.
One hundred of pictures with it:
http://rangefinder.ru/glr/showgallery.php?device=39
Old one is on bad side on English speaking net. For been soft.
Or the dark side a lot of talk about fake ones. Both sides likes VF comparing to anything else.

 

[Monochrom]

Wow ko.fe. nice site!!! thx

BTW: i´ve used a lot an orion-15 on my m9 if this russar is something like the O-15 you will be very happy with it!

 

[ForestCap]

Check Marco Cavina´s site:

http://www.marcocavina.com/articoli_fotografici/Soviet_and_wide_lenses_on_Leica_M/00_p.htm

You might find very interesting/useful info on this lens from the motherland.

Nice and informative page for all the wide angles! Thanks for posting.

 

[zuiko85]

I must be missing something. Doesn't Stephen have the CV 21mm f4 for $420? Even if you add a CV vf the set up would cost less than the $650 lomo wants and you would have a lens and vf.

 

[Fotohuis]

It is a LTM lens, not VM bayonet. So on my FSU RFs a nice attraction (however the price from Lomography is hopeless, Eur. 300 , half price, would be more realistic).

Thanks for the links so far. 😉

 

[Roger Hicks]

Had one of the originals. Didn't like it. Hopelessly soft, especially at the edges. That has also been the experience of the three other people I have known personally who have owned them. On the other hand, I have read several web reports praising it. The possibilities are (a) I and all my friends had bad copies (b) there may be good copies (c) some people aren't too critical.

Cheers,

R.

 

[agfa100]

Stick with the VC 21 a much better lens.
wbill

 

[Roger Hicks]

Stick with the VC 21 a much better lens.
wbill

Seconded. And screw-mount versions are neither hard to find nor expensive. What are they worth, second-hand? The only reason I keep mine is that it's smaller and lighter than my 21/2.8. Kobalux and worth so little I can't be arsed to sell it.

Cheers,

R.

 

[zuiko85]

It is a LTM lens, not VM bayonet. So on my FSU RFs a nice attraction (however the price from Lomography is hopeless, Eur. 300 , half price, would be more realistic).

Thanks for the links so far. 😉

Since you mentioned it came with a M mount adapter I naturally thought your platform is a M mount camera.

 

[Fotohuis]

I have already a 21mm Elmarit for my Leica M7 so I do not need any other lens for this. However for my FED-3, Zorki-6's or Kiev-4AM would be a W.A. lens to complete with my Jupiter-12 35mm LTM lens. An Orion 28mm is maybe a better choice then because I saw good examples for this lens however F/6 only. And I am not sure the LTM C.V. 21mm won't have focus problems with the FED-Zorki Zeiss standard.
Further on a few nice refurbished FED-3 "50 October revolution" and two Zorki-6's refurbished cams with new curtains, spools even a complete RF change on the FED still under Eur. 80 for those cameras I won't fit a more or less crazy price for Eur. 600 Russar+ which is maybe when I read between the lines a quality which is a bit crappy.

In my 50mm lens test I-50; I-61; J-8 against my Summicron F/2,0-50mm you can see if you have a good piece of 50mm FSU lens the quality is not really less then a 100x more expensive Leica lens. However around 20-21mm a good W.A. lens is complicate to produce.

 

[Wulfthari]

Anybody have experience with the new ones?

 

[Fotohuis]

Anybody have experience with the new ones?

I doubt that this lens for Eur. 600,- is already a bestseller. Maybe around X-Mas Lomography will give for a few days a regular 30% discount. But even Eur. 420,- is pretty high ...... When I could sell the LTM-M adapter for Eur. 50,- it is maybe coming a little bit in range.