Russian Zoom lens OB-533 for M42

[exaklaus]

Few days ago, I received this lens, I never saw before.

Hopefully anyone in this forum can tell me a bit about it.
It came in a wooden box with paperwork, a M42 mount with tripod mount, that can be swapped for the M42 mount installed.
It looks nearly like new. Indeed, it has slept for decades in an archive.
Was thinking about trying it, but the handling, specially the zoom ring, is absolutly awkward.
Surely built like a tank (and it is nearly as heavy as a tank), but not nearly as comfortable as a russian tank....

Couldn't trace it on the net, so it might be a rare beast.


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[kansalliskala]

[jamaeolus]

Interesting looking monster. Long zooms from that era tend to be large and heavy. I've a Konica AR 80-200 that is just a beast. I would be quite curious to see what kind of images it produces. Though being from 1974 I wouldn't have great hope for stellar sharpness.

[kds315*]

Interesting piece indeeed! I'm sure our french member and russian lens collector Pierre will chime in soon...

[blotafton]

Cool!

[BurstMox]

OB xxx is codename for every Lens before the production. So I believe it's prototype. I never heard about it before.
I'm not at home right now, but I'll take a look later on some things, trying to find some infos.

You scanned the last document or found it on the Internet?

[BurstMox]

It definitely looks like a prototype made by GOI, they used similar marking with "..." and similar type of body (paint, lot of distance mark on the nose..).

Why paper is in German, maybe a partnership with German maker?

[exaklaus]

Thank you all for your comments and additional information.
Interesting info about that OB... naming. Makes sens, as this lenses are built so uncomfortable, that they should be still prototypes.
I have two of this lenses and one came with german and cyrillic, the other one with only cyrillic paperwork. All are original type-writer-typed sheets and the measured results from both lenses are different!
Numbers are close with 73338 and 73340 (seems, I've missed the one between, to fill the gap)


"Why paper is in German, maybe a partnership with German maker?"

Indeed! Pierre, you've nailed it

[buerokratiehasser]

Prototype? With that serial number and German certificate? Dont think so.

I think they simply sold a zoom to German victims, the question being whether East or West.

KN-1 seems not to provide hint, since it seems to be a russian industrial film.

The tube and 85-210 looks a bit like cheap 85-210 zoom but of course the package is metal.

It is 1974 and the lousy zooms are back (63 lpmm max isnt that nice and uh the transmission 75%?)

[exaklaus]

[kds315*]

[exaklaus]

Klaus, when checking my auctions, it is not really a guess to see, which lens factory had this lens in their archives....
Meyer Optik! And that resulted in a zoom easier to handle and more compact.
Guess there are others here who sport their items here for increasing Ebay sales.
My intention is to show what might be interesting.
And of course I do not keep everything that flows through my fingers.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Thankyou for showing us this very interesting lens and don't let Klaus' bitchy comment put you off doing so in future, whether it is a lens you end up selling or keeping, we appreciate seeing these rarities.

[BurstMox]

[exaklaus]

[iangreenhalgh1]

It's not mandatory and it's not Klaus's forum, it's Attila's, so Attila sets the rules, not Klaus, so carry on, all is good.

[BurstMox]

It's not mendatory, but it could have helped us to understand why sheet was in german, for exemple

[Zoom]

This lens designed and made by GOI (Leningrad).
It belongs to the "Yantar" family.
The receiver of the lens was VEB Pentacon.
It was a collaboration in the field of photographic equipment.

[Zoom]

KN-1 was the standard photographic film for measuring lenses photographic resolution.

[BurstMox]

Thanks for clarification, zoom!

[buerokratiehasser]

I stand corrected.
Nothing came out of that collaboration proposal?

[kds315*]

[Zoom]