Lubitel 2 and Lubitel 166B

[Neil Purling]

Do you find there are a far higher proportion of poorly performing examples of the Lubitel 166B compared to the earlier Lubitel II?
I know I need to use my Lubitels with a short, rigid cable release.
Trying to trip the shutter tab is a guaranteed source of camera-shake it seems.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Never had a II but I had a new 166U direct from the importer in the early 90s.

The 166U is very poorly made, the shutter needs to be treated with care, it is not very robust. Lenses vary greatly, the one I had was crap, but looking at toher pictures from other copies, it's clear some are good, some bad and some indifferent.

Even back then people were saying the original II was much better quality than the 166U and I don't doubt it as the 166U was made at the end of the Soviet era when they were bankrupt and you can tell...