Industar 50-2 50mm f/3.5 Heritage

Overview

The Industar 50-2 50mm f/3.5 is the humble workhorse of Soviet photography. Based on the pre-war Zeiss Tessar design, this tiny, affordable lens was fitted to millions of Soviet cameras. It's not fast or fancy, but its simple 4-element design produces surprisingly good results. The pancake size makes it a favorite for adapted mirrorless use.

Verdict: The ultimate budget lens. For $20, you get a surprisingly capable 50mm. Perfect for experimenting with vintage glass.

Optical Character

Bokeh

The lens has a bit of a swirly and fussy bokeh that adds a vintage look to the images.

Color

The colors and contrast are similar to what you'd expect from an average vintage lens.

Sharpness wide open

Sharpness wide open is not great but becomes more usable when stopped down to f/4.

Flare resistance

There is no proper vignetting on full frame, but the light fall-off around the corners is more noticeable.

Contrast

The contrast is similar to an average vintage lens.

Vignetting

Vignetting on APS-C/Super35 is almost unnoticeable, but more pronounced on full frame.

Community Insights

What people love

Tiny pancake size
Surprisingly sharp
Very affordable
Clean rendering

What people dislike

f/3.5 slow
No bokeh
Not exciting

Pro Tips

Perfect carry-anywhere lens
Great for landscapes
The sharpness surprises

Sources (3)

vintagelensesforvideo-

https://www.vintagelensesforvideo.com/industar-50-2-review/

unknown-

https://rezedaphoto.com/blog/en/soviet-vintage-lens-industar-50-2-review-and-photos/

Lens Heritage 2nd JSONsecondary

The Industar 50-2 50mm f/3.5 is the humble workhorse of Soviet photography. Based on the pre-war Zeiss Tessar design, this tiny, affordable lens was fitted to millions of Soviet cameras. It's not fast or fancy, but its simple 4-element design produces surprisingly good results. The pancake size makes it a favorite for adapted mirrorless use.

Community consensus