MIR-1b 37mm F/2.8 - Review
The MIR-1b is a Soviet Era lens first produced In 1958 by the KMZ factory, just outside of Moscow, it is considered to be a moderate wide angle prime based on the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm 2.8. Although first produced by KMZ, the lens itself has had many different manufacturers with varying degrees of quality. Combine this with mass production for much of its life and we can see variations in many of the samples. Although mass-produced the optical formula (based off Zeiss) is of high standard for its era, for this reason the Lens was awarded the Grand Prix at Expo 58 in Brussels. The following year the lens was rewarded the 2nd degree diploma of the exhibition of achievements of the National Economy of the USSR.
Features
F/2.8 maximum Aperture
Crisp image quality
Moderate wide angle prime
Small size
Full Frame format
Ultra-wide angle prime
Tech Specs
Production Years – 1958- late 80’s
Focal Distance - 37mm
Optical Formula – 6 elements in 5 groups.
Aperture Range - f/2.8 - f/16
Minimum Focusing Distance - 0.7 m
Lens Mount – M42
Weight - 0.25 kg
Filter Thread - 49mm
Manual focus
Build Quality
All metal construction
Metal housing
Metal mounting
No dust sealing
My initial thoughts of this lens were quite impressive, another good quality all metal tank from the 70’s (my Copy), Good quality image sharpness and good color rendition. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled in certain circumstances, although sun spots or flaring is quite hard to contain without the use of a lens hood. If you’re going for an artistic flaring look, then this would be perfect.
Lens Test Sample
The MIR-1b is one of the sharper Soviet Era lenses wide open in the centre, although wide open is at F/2.8 and not F/2 like other Soviet Era lenses. Still, for an optical formula developed in the 50's paired with a 36mp high resolution sensor released some 60 years later... it's pretty impressive.
The edges are quite soft up until around F/8 and remain steady through to F/16
This MIR-1b has noticeable light fall off in the corners, as the sun was up and to the right of the image, the bottom left corner has no noticeable vignetting. I would say due to the lack of optical coating, much of the light is reflected off the front element. Post production can remove most of this.
