Review of World-1B

Lens Instance Mir-1V 2.8 / 37 from this review was released in 1985 on Vologda plant. Unlike some of his brothers, the lens has yellow lens enlightenment.

Mir-1V view of the lens

Mir-1V view of the lens

TTX Mir-1V:
Focal length: 37mm
Aperture limits: F2.8-F16
Number of lenses / groups: 6 elements in 5 groups
MDF: 70cm
The weight: 240g
Number of aperture blades: 8
Mount: M42 thread
Front Filter Diameter: 49mm
Resolution according to technical specifications (center / region): 45/23 lines / mm
Light transmittance: 0,78

Dimensions of the Mir-1V and Helios-81N lens

Dimensions of the Mir-1V and Helios-81N lens

The first thing that surprises is that the lens is very small and compact, there are three control rings on the lens, therefore it looks rather strange. The focusing ring has a pronounced similarity to the nut due to the clear edges.

In 1958, Mir-1 (under M39) received the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Brussels, and in 1959 Mir-1 was awarded the II Degree Diploma of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the USSR. Honestly, I don't know how prestigious it is, but nowadays lenses do not have the same quality as receiving awards. Some charm has been lost, and it is very pleasant to use the lens that has the “Name”. The lens was copied from Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm F2.8, they say that there was even an FK (Flektogon Krasnogorsky) F2,8 37 mm lens, which later, in fact, became the MIR-1 lens.

Sample photo on Mir-1V

Sample photo on Mir-1V

Modifications:

You can find a lot of lens modifications, for example such a. They have the same optical design, but different frames and enlightenment. Basically, you can often find such instances:

World 1 thread M39 or M42 for SLR cameras.
World-1 Automatic under the SLR cameras Kiev-10, -15.
Mir-1Ts for SLR cameras Zenit-4.
Mir-1A with interchangeable shank. Using an interchangeable shank, you can hook the lens without losing infinity to Nikon or Kenon.
Mir-1V - lens variant from this review. Yellow enlightenment and a slightly different frame.
Mir-1Sh special budget option.
Mir-1-R special budget option, it’s very well written about them on the website of Sergey Elizarov in the section MIR-1.

Sample photos on World 1 B

Sample photos on World 1 B

Advantages:

  1. Like any other old Soviet lens - Mir-1B is made glass and metal, because he will serve for a very long time, but with careful handling - forever. And it’s simple, working with a well-assembled lens is much more pleasant than with cheap Chinese plastic. Now it’s very fashionable to write in the lens reviews that the lens has a metal mount. But in the old Soviet and indeed in the old manual lenses of all countries of the world - the entire body is made of metal alloy, in the extreme case it has several plastic parts.
  2. I repeat, but Mir-1V is perfect and full frame and cropped cameras and other, smaller formats. This is important because many Soviet optics enthusiasts use it on cropped digital SLR and mirrorless cameras, and after upgrading to full format, they can continue to use this lens.
  3. The lens has aperture preset ring. An irreplaceable thing for manual lenses. Pointed at aperture 2.8, and at the time of shooting, closed the aperture to the desired value. But there is one but described in the flaws.
  4. When used on Nikon DX cameras, the viewing angle will be equal to the viewing angle for the lens in 55.5mm in full frame. That is, the lens almost turns into a standard fifty dollars on the crop.
  5. Gives an interesting picture.
Bokeh is not MIR-1 V

Bokeh is not MIR-1 V

Disadvantages:

  1. Very not convenient focus ring. The ring is located near the lens mount to the camera. Also, the focus distance indicators are very poorly visible, as they are located even closer to the focus ring. And even worse, the aperture control ring is much larger and wider and is located almost in the middle of the lens. Personally, I often, instead of twisting the focus ring, twisted the aperture ring.
  2. Easy travel of the diaphragm ring. Since the focusing ring is rather inconvenient, you often touch the aperture ring and knock it down. Do not knock down the aperture preview ring only at 2.8 when the control ring and the preview ring are in the same position. Therefore, most of the photos from this review were taken precisely at 2.8.
  3. Custom front filter diameter of 49mm. All Soviet lensesthat went through my hands with a front filter diameter of 49mm were without a front cover or filter. This is a real flaw in our time. True, the lens comes in a stylish box where it can be stored without a back and front cover.
Photo on Mir-1V

Photo on Mir-1V

How to use with modern cameras?

Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.

The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.

For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.

For SLR cameras

  1. Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
  2. NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
  3. PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
  4. SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
  5. OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.

For mirrorless cameras

  1. SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
  2. OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
  3. CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
  4. CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
  5. Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
  6. Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
  7. FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
  8. FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
  9. SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
  10. PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
  11. SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
  12. LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.

If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).

 

Photo at MIR-1V

Photo at MIR-1V

Sample photos on Mir-1V made on Nikon D200 without any processing with imprinted data from EXIF and reduced size to 1600 * 1200.

About the picture:

It is rather difficult for me to judge, since the lens with my adapter works only at a distance of up to 50 cm, but still, I will draw a few conclusions. The lens really cuttingbut the picture has gentleness, which is quite a big rarity. The color rendition is neutral, the contrast of the lens is not very good. Due to the low contrast and not very saturated picture, photos turn out a bit similar to photos with monocle. Contrast and color can very easily be adjusted using a graphical editor, especially if you shoot in RAW. The lens is not very strong HA (virtually invisible). There is no distortion on my cropped matrix, just like vignetting. It may be a wide-angle lens, but it's still as much as 37mm, and I like the bokeh of the lens - see the sample photos for yourself. The lens gets very sharp at 5.6 and holds back and side light, which is important for landscape photography.

Photo at MIR-1V

Photo at MIR-1V

More nuances:

The difference between the 35mm and 37mm focal length is almost not felt. The lens is pretty hard to focus. True, the depth of field is pretty decent, and even for the F2.8 diaphragm, the depth of field is indicated. In general, it is best to focus on a wide-angle lens with the help of information about the focusing distance; it’s quite difficult to get into the zone of sharpness by eye. When focusing, the front of the lens moves only 0.5 cm forward, while the entire lens block moves. Most likely, the use of an adapter with a lens will also not allow you to focus on infinity, since the rim of the rear lens will abut against the lens of the adapter.

Example photo on MIR-1V

Example photo on MIR-1V

For owners of modern Canon cameras there is a modern similar lens - Canon EF 40mm f / 2.8 STM:

Catalog modern brand lenses 'Zenitar' и 'Helios' can look at this link.


Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.


Conclusions:

An interesting wide-angle lens with good sharpness and softness of the picture. There were many different options for the Mir-1 lens, because their quality can be very different, especially it is worth paying attention to the difference in enlightenment and frame of the case.

Update

  • Full-size examples and lens overview MIR-1V 2,8 / 37 (produced by VOMZ - Vologda Optical and Mechanical Plant, Vologda, with a new emblem) you can see here.
  • Full-size examples and lens overview MIR-1 2.8 / 37 AUTOMATIC (with a rare mount Kiev-Avtomat) you can see here.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 247, on the topic: Obzor Mir-1V

  • Oleg

    Open aperture, camera - Canon 5D, no processing.

  • Andrei

    Nice lens, but a lot depends on the instance, of course. You can shoot portraits, and macro, and landscapes, and architecture. He does not really like cloudy weather, but if you tighten the aperture, then it's fine. Gives a special warm color rendition, the pictures are vivid and atmospheric, reproduces halftones well. Interesting "ball" bokeshka. He is capricious in focusing, especially at infinity and open, you have to make takes, but the more you use it, the easier it is to work with it.

  • А

    Good day. Is the price of yak at a time relevant in 2021? Dyakuyu.

  • ba3lur

    ... as always informative ... at the expense of the size of the lid, I do not have this problem in China on ali everything has a set of 2 covers for the filter adapter and hood cost less than 400r

    • Baskion

      A link would

  • Oleg

    With Canon 5D, jpg, no processing. I like it for close-ups (long-range ones still can't be removed, the mirror touches)

  • Akaki

    Such a Trouble - the front part of the lens is loose, that is, when you turn the aperture, the front part of the lens scrolls with it, can you do something about it?

  • R'RёS,R ° F "RёR№

    I bought MIR-1v just a few days ago. I tried it on Canon 30. The impressions are ambiguous. I will definitely not recommend to fans of ringing sharpness. Rather, the field of application is portrait photography. The lens twists the background in an interesting way. For landscape photography - working apertures from 8.0. Inconvenient focusing ring - very close to the camera. The construction is iron, reliable. However, there are slightly noticeable backlash. The picture is soft. The backlight holds well. A lot of people write about the absence of blackening of the ends of the lenses - I did not notice any problems with contrast. The general conclusion is a soft portrait lens. as then ”can definitely be recommended.

    • Dima

      I’ll reveal a terrible secret, landscapes are a priori shot at 8. It doesn’t matter at least a cool elka canon at least the World. You read a lot of specialists who, at a width of 3.5, complain about bad angles in the landscape ...

      • Viktre

        I will also reveal a terrible secret - on normal lenses and at 2.8, the angles are sharp, not to mention 3.5.

  • Sergei

    The lens is very good, but only with a hood. Without a hood, it catches "birds with one stone" and sharply loses contrast. In practice I use it all the time with Canon 5D at full frame.

    • ba3lur

      ... I heard that on ff Canon the mirror catches the rear lens

    • Ed

      Yo, @Sergei. What's the serial number of your Mir1B? Doesn't it hit the mirror of 5D?

  • Stanislas

    I found a place where you can buy Mir 1 white and Mir 1B in both versions of black cases. Could you advise which version is better to order online without checking before buying?

    • B. R. P.

      Without verification - none. If I'm not mistaken, you have already purchased an I-50 with mold on the lenses.

      • Stanislas

        There was a lot with Helios 77m4 and Industar in addition. All attention was on Gelik :)

        With regards to World 1B. You can often see a comment that is inconvenient to focus on. Does the new case solve this problem? For some reason it seems to me that just the same “wavy” ring on the old one is groped faster.

        • Ilyas

          In theory, it should be more convenient, since the focus ring is wider, but it is still located close to the camera body :(

  • Vlad

    Hello, I came across such a lens, the inscription in Latin MIR, and the serial number N860001, I have a passport. So he's the first? Does it have any collectible value?)

    • Arkady Shapoval

      the minimum

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