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According provided by lens 35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8 many thanks to Alexei Yarysh.

Review 35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

My review came with a lens called '35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8' and serial number 9500835, which was released, judging by the number, in 1995 at the Arsenal plant in Kiev. During the Soviet era, the same lenses were produced under the original original name 'PKS MS Mir-67 2.8 / 35' or 'PKS MS Mir-67N 2.8 / 35'. There are also lenses with the Pentax K mount - '35mm PCS Arsat K 1: 2.8'. In this review I will use an abbreviated, more pleasant designation for me - 'Mir-67N'.

The Mir-67N lens has a Nikon F mount and can be used on any Nikon SLR camera (including the DSLR) without any adapters. How to use lenses without a CPU and autofocus is described in the 'Optics without CPU for Nikon'.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

Mir-67N is a specific lens for certain tasks in photography, the key feature of which is the ability to shift and rotate the optical axis... The lens name contains the letters'PCS'means' Perspective Correction Shift' - Perspective Bias Correction, in the Russian lens name this is denoted as'PKS'. Nowadays, such lenses are usually called simply - 'Shift Lens'.

Axis shift marks of different colors that correspond to the colored marks of the ring for axis rotation. It is not advisable to use a shift greater than the label of the axis rotation ring allows. In this case, the mark indicates that in this position of the rotation axis of the optical axis, an axis offset of not more than 7 mm can be used.

To shift the optical axis, there is a mechanism for shifting the optical unit, equipped with a special handle on the lens barrel. The handle has a very smooth movement, to move the axis from 0 to 11 mm you need to rotate it long enough. I really did not like the large waste of time on this procedure, moreover, the grip is very close to the camera mount and this makes it very difficult to rotate it. When I, in cold weather, performed an optical shift, the elements of the body near the handle scratched my index finger until it bled. To simplify this process, you need to rotate the handle to the bottom of the camera (where the tripod socket is) and in a more convenient position perform the shift with the handle (on a camera with a handle / booster for portrait photography, this trick will not work).

The handle also serves for convenient rotation of the optical axis, while the lens, as it were, rotates around the bayonet for all 360 degrees. True, on my Nikon AF cameras N8008s и Nikon D80 the handle rests on the built-in flash and prevents the lens from rotating in a circle, but at Nikon D700 there is no such inconvenience. The lens can be rotated in fixed 30-degree increments with a characteristic click. You can also use a partial rotation by a non-fixed angle. When rotated in the optical viewfinder, an unusual visual phenomenon can be observed with recomposition of the frame.

Shooting with such a lens is very, very difficult. Due to the shift of the optical axis, a different distribution of the luminous flux occurs over the camera matrix. To reduce the influence of this effect, you should close the diaphragm as much as possible. Built-in exposure meter simply refuses to work - with a different shift of the optical axis, my camera Nikon D700 gave either a colossal underexposure, or the same overexposure of the plot.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

The lens has a multilayer enlightenment. To my surprise, the lens holds well in the backlight and creates not so much glare and normally holds contrast. Mir-67N creates a very sharp image on covered diaphragms.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

The first three pictures with animation of the lens. The remaining photos are made with varying degrees of bias.

Hopefully, when I collect my thoughts, and also when a lens that additionally has the ability to tilt the optical axis (Tilt-Shift), I will prepare an article on working with such lenses. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Mir-67N is a lens without the possibility of tilting the optical axis (not Tilt-Shift), and therefore it will be impossible to make newfangled subjects in the 'miniature / toy style' with it. If you do not shift the axis, the Mir-67N works like a normal fast wide-angle lens.

In short, why can I use such a lens:

• Correct perspective distortions when shooting architecture and interior.
• Unnecessary objects that are between the photographer and the subject can be excluded from the frame.
• Fight reflections. At different angles of reflection, they will have different intensities, or they will not be at all.
• It can be used for any creative shooting, mainly enhancing or reducing geometrically distortion.
• Create panoramas from several shots without moving the camera.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

Mir-67N is soundly made. The focus ring is rubberized and rotates approximately 220 degrees, while the front lens does not rotate, and the trunk of the lens lengthens. The minimum focusing distance is 30 centimeters. The lens has a focus distance scale in meters and a depth of field scale. The diaphragm ring is also rubberized, and rotates without intermediate values.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

Also, the aperture ring simultaneously serves for presetting the F number. To do this, set the value to F / 22 and pull the aperture ring towards the mount, turning the ring in this position, release it at the aperture value at which you plan to shoot. After this manipulation, the aperture ring in its normal position will rotate from F / 2.8 to the set value. This method of aperture control is quite practical - you can set the desired value, then focus on a fully open aperture, and before releasing the shutter close it to the selected value by turning the ring by touch 'all the way'. The lens uses an aperture with 6 petals. Weighs World-67N about 550 g and uses filters with a diameter 62 mm.

35mm PCS Arsat H 1: 2.8

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

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The lens seemed uncomfortable to me because of the extremely impractical grip. Such lenses are indispensable for accurate transmission of perspective without any distortion, and in some cases they cannot be replaced with conventional wide-angle post-processing.

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