A long time (the 1930s), in a land far away (Germany), a company called Leitz produced a rather fancy looking lens which was stuck on the front of Leica cameras and sold for large amounts of cash.
A Russian company called KMZ decided they could make the same thing with far less precision and for a lot less money, and the result was the Industar-10.
Then came the war and the Germans conveniently lost, and even more conveniently ensured that the Leitz factory fell into the area of Germany claimed by the Russians. There then followed an involuntary “transfer of technology” from Leitz to KMZ, and a revised version of the lens was produced, elegantly named the Industar-22.
Sixty years on and a parcel arrives at my condo from Ukraine.
Inside is my very own Industar-22, a little dirty and dusty, but apparently functional.
You twirl the dial at the front to change aperture, and manoeuvre the little knob at the back to focus. It’s all a little industrial and wobbly; but what else would you expect?
No time to try it out yet, other than on a passing soi dog.
Not expecting pin-sharp images; but maybe some shots with character; more testing to follow once I have cleaned it up a bit.
And how much did I pay for this sixty year old, shiny piece of nostalgia? $29.
A bargain you say? Indeed, but it was more expensive than another lens which arrived in a separate parcel from Moscow; of which more later.
Comments 🔗
2010-11-18| Ray saysI understand that a few Woolworths stores remain open.
Just a thought!