Which FSU 50mm lens is the sharpest?

R

ray_g

Guest
I have used the J8, I-50 collapsible, and the I-61 L/Z which looks multicoated to me.

The J8's bokeh is the smoothest, but I think the I61 is pretty darn sharp. Never got to try the helios 103.

Here's a (large) sample of the I61 wide open on the RD1:

464565112_e917107ecd_b.jpg
 
I believe it's a I-61 L/D, instead of the L/Z.

That's a nice picture! As another proud owner of a I-61 L/D, I have found this lens to be sharp and accurate. Plus, this lens imparts a nice, aged look to it that I like very much. I feel that digital images are too sterile.
 
I second the 1-61 LD

Two tests
1st = FF
2nd = 100% crop

1st FF
74317429.UKA4uCGo.jpg


2nd 100% crop
74317430.wCocuHFO.jpg


Picks up some small words on Green Meijer spaghetti box... Very Readable
 
I would also vote for the Industar-61 L/D. It always surprises me. I also think the earlier J-8's can be very sharp. I have one silver J-8 tabbed and one without a tab, and I would be hard-pressed to choose between them. But I think the Ind-61 L/D edges them out. Here's a sample of the Ind-61 L/D:
 

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Yes the I-61 L/D does make excellent images, but I don't find it any sharper than the Jupiter-8. However, the I-61 L/D has more snap and contrast, making its pictures appear to be sharper.

The non-"L" Industar-61 is good too. Same comment for the I-50 though this lens is really really ugly :D These Tessar types are indeed hard to beat.

The Helios-103 is also excellent, but it doesn't come in LTM 39.

BTW, Ray, that painting looks filipiniana. Who was it by? :)
 
I own a J-8, a J-3 and a I-61 L/D. In my little experience, it seems that the sharpest is the J-3, but it could not forget that the performance can vary from one example to another. My J-3 seems to be almost "perfect", when the J-8 is much smoother and the I-61 is slightly blurred (and clearly out of focus scale: infinity at 20 m mark)
After reshimming works, i will try to post high magnification pics to explain the performance difference between the FSU lens family
 
These were taken with a Canon IVsb2 + Industar I-61. The sharpness and tonality just blew me away. $25 for the lens. What a deal !
 

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ZorkiKat said:
BTW, Ray, that painting looks filipiniana. Who was it by? :)
Click to expand...

Jay, Manny Baldemor visited here a couple of years ago, and we were fortunate enough to have him paint this for us.
 
it depends so much on the particular lens(due to spotty quality control) this question is impossible to answe fully.
 
Under a 56x power microscope, The Helios 103 usually beat other lenses by a very small margin to J-8, J-50, I-61, and a little bigger margin to a I-26m and sometimes I-22 for edge sharpness. The Helios 103 is equal to some very sharp Japanese normal lenses(Canon FD 50/1.8, Olympus Zuiko 50/1.8,..).

I also used a Russian "Student" microscope to view the negatives.:D One roll of Russian Tasma B/W film for all the lenses , only changed cameras.
 
Theory says the H103 late glass 6 element in four groups should be better of axis that the other FSU lens including the 1.5 sonnar clone. All the H103 seem to need more black paint, internally.

Noel
 
Ad hoc comparisons are very tough given sample and variations, the effects of age, focusing errors etc. All I can say is that I have many I-61 lenses (BTW with or without the “L” they are all the same lens and glass) and I have not found it to be particularly outstanding. On the other hand I find the I-50 great in solid and collapsible mount – I have one collapsible example that is just luminous. I would tend to agree with the favorable comments about the Helios 103 but I still end up using the J-3 or J-8 more frequently as I like the Sonnar “look” (i.e. their particular set of aberrations just says “classic Lens” to me). You pay your money and you make your choices as they say.
 
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