Soviet 50mm f/3.5 lens by KMZ — compact Tessar design for 35mm cameras, now a popular vintage glass choice.
Technical Details
The optical construction follows the classic Tessar design: a positive front element, a negative meniscus lens, followed by a cemented doublet of positive and negative elements. The lens weighs 150 grams with a length of 39mm and a filter diameter of 40.5mm. The 6-blade iris diaphragm allows for aperture values from f/3.5 to f/16. Three main variants existed: the early version with a chrome-plated brass barrel, the standard aluminum version, and the late black anodized variant. Coating was initially single-layer, and multi-layer from the 1960s onwards.
History & Development
KMZ introduced the Industar-22 in 1948 as a standard lens for the Zorki cameras, based on the German Tessar license from Carl Zeiss. By 1955, approximately 400,000 units of the initial chrome-plated version were produced. The aluminum version (1955-1978) achieved a production run of over 2 million units. The final black anodized variant (1978-1992) marked the end of the analog era at KMZ with an additional 800,000 lenses produced.
Practical Use in Film
Soviet documentary filmmakers extensively used the Industar-22 for reportage shots due to its compact and robust construction. The moderate maximum aperture of f/3.5 necessitated higher film speeds or additional lighting in available light situations. The lens produces characteristic vignetting and slight softness in the image corners at wide open aperture, which significantly decrease from f/5.6 onwards. Modern filmmakers appreciate its vintage look with warm color rendition and gentle contrast for period pieces or indie productions.
Comparison & Alternatives
Compared to the contemporary Zeiss Tessar 50mm f/2.8, the Industar-22 has one stop less light gathering capability but costs significantly less. The Jupiter-8 50mm f/2 from the same production period offers more light gathering at similar optical quality. Modern alternatives such as the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 or the Zeiss ZM Planar 50mm f/2 surpass the Soviet optics in sharpness and contrast but do not convey the characteristic post-war analog look.