Find and Fix Rare Soviet Lenses - Moscow Optical Workshop

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Russian lenses are some of my favorite optics. They are super quirky and have a character that nothing else comes close to. Here's how I spent way too much time and money building a set.
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• Kuleshov Effect / Effe...
Kuleshov Effect
Soundtrack: "On The Run" by Steve Poloni - Artlist.io
"Golden Days" by Paper Planes - Artlist.io
"Dificulties" by Kyle Preston - Artlist.io
"Body On Fire (Instrumental Version)" by D Fine Us - Artlist.io
"Puddles" by Stanley Gurvich - Artlist.io

[@Ramon_Preciado]

definetly didn't expect that intro! Jajaja There is a joy of not only finding a lens, but also a little piece of history. Thanks!!

[@creative_camera_lens]

Yes, red P is the quality mark of those years. I take this opportunity to say that the "00" Helios series I have for sale is somewhat.

[@SatanSupimpa]

Me watching the intro: "Yeah, our lenses"

[@lo-wokliya1267]

Intro indeed made me laugh, Kuleshov effect ehhehe

[@MichaelKaykov]

Love my Red P Helios 44 🎉

[@mikeno62]

Interesting way some of the Russian lenses renders the pictures, older lenses have in many cases much more "life" in a way than many new and crystal clear and "boring" lenses. The intro was really great with a lots of good details :-)

[@timekeepermedia5142]

Welp, looks like this video has opened another vintage lens rabbit hole for me to dive into..hopefully i can source some great glass to send to him soon! awesome video

[@nitinb9202]

Your idea works, on some lenses that have a M / A switch, set at M you get the non click effect as you change aperture.

[@IndianKD]

very nice! thank you! waiting for servised Soviet lenses review and nice shots, maybe in comparison with modern high-tech high prices "cool" cinema lenses, if it possible.

[@lo-wokliya1267]

Agree!

[@MartinTenghagen]

What a great story. Fantastic to get to see and hear this story

[@Luis15937]

Hi tito, greetings from Brasil! I would like to add some details on your historical observations: First of all, discussing historical data like this, it is always important to include our sources to avoid perpetuating price gouging myths and other ill intended information. I too, in my research, found the same observations you did about selecting factory runs for specific groups. But these were always presented as second hand knowledge. Some one heard it from someone, and so one. However, I found this does not have historical accuracy. In a quick Wikipedia read, i found that yes, it was common to have quotas of products directed to party and union members, but these doesn't seem that were based on factory runs, only production quotas. If you look at the numbers, it also doesn't add up. Over 1000 prototypes at least? It doesn't make sense. There's also conflicting information about the Cyrillic P (Π), some sources seem to indicate that it's disappearance didn't meant the coating wasn't used, but it just wasn't relevant to advertise it anymore. I would love to know if Ilya Volkov have confirmed these statements, as these imply an unnecessary price gouging practice. Thanks for the video!

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

Hey Luís, None of the myths are confirmed, as you said, most of it is secondhand and it's just part of internet legends, which I find that make the story more interesting - even if only be for storytelling purposes. I definitely overpaid on these lenses, and I say so in the video. Could probably have gotten away with a much cheaper set. Ilya confirmed through experience that some of the early version lenses have different constructions than their later counterparts (mentioned in the video), but not that 0XX serials are better. The coatings are visibly different (no later lenses have such purple coatings, which doesn't mean they're worse, just that they're different). :)

[@kingofkilps]

Ohhh I have been waiting for this.

[@timlinssen]

Loool that intro!!!

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

I was so hardcore on the fence about it! hahaha

[@jullianvaladares2705]

What len(s), camera combination did you use to film that part in the park? 0:26 It was very nicely shot and beautifully color graded as well! I need to get some vintage telephoto lenses (some Soviet ones)!

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

Thank you Jullian! That's all on the A7s2 and the first couple shots are on the Helios 40, at f/2 instead of wide open. For color I used the Phantom LUTs by Joel Famularo, super easy stuff. :)

[@remyarcher4641]

Love your work! Where can i find your soviet lenses buyers guide? 😊

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

Right here: anamorphic.e-junkie.com/product/1744858/

[@SouthPhilly28th]

This is the list of vintage lenses that I now own: Helios 44-2, Helios 40-2, Zenitar 16mm, Tair-11a, Mir-1B, Mir-10A, Mir-20M, Helios 77-4 and the Jupiter 9. What is the cost to have these lenses upgraded for film use?

[@ScottBarbellaLandy]

Hi mate! Love the videos and that opening to this one was a blast to watch. Just a quick question - what is best about the coatings on soviet lenses that have the red "P" symbol? I know you said the coatings were different - I'm assuming different being more aesthetically pleasing in some way - is it similar to the Contax-Zeiss having the same coatings as the B-Speeds (made with lead that yields gorgeous specular highlights etc)? Thank you

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

Thanks Scott! The red P means this blue/purple coating, which translates very clearly into the flares that are vivid blue and uniform, while later coatings had different colors and performances. I can't say these are better, but if you like collecting things, the red P is a pretty fun thing to go for. hahaha

[@ScottBarbellaLandy]

Anamorphic on a Budget Thank you 🙏🏽🥳

[@lo-wokliya1267]

Tito I just love mate

[@CosaPelosaAlceoFX]

great !!!! ;) ;)

[@josemanueldeulierte501]

Hi Tito could you sent the link with the info about those lenses. We would appreciate definitely. Cheers mate

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

Can you elaborate on what kind of info? :)

[@vansonfilm]

Where did you get those silver iris & focus rings?

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

When I serviced the lenses with Ilya, he made those from scratch.

[@bryanoliveira9513]

as you built this kit of red p lenses, did you notice that all the coatings were the same? i did a lens test today and noticed that my helios 40 was like SUPER blue. The image that came out of it was waaayy warmer than my other red p lens. i guess maybe this fact relates: when you look in the lens and see reflective coatings, should they all look blue and purple? or would other colors of coatings be mixed in there? what is your experience?

[@AnamorphicOnABudget]

All of mine are the same rich blue/purple except the Jupiter 9, which I suspect has been tampered with to get the red P status (like a DIY hackjob someone did), but performance is the same. Mine all deliver super warm images.

[@bryanoliveira9513]

@@AnamorphicOnABudget gotcha. That makes sense. I think the Mir 1 in my hands was also a hack job. Ohhh the lens hunt

[@DynastyUK]

How is Contact with Ilya now what with the war in Ukraine? Is he reachable and does he still take in work?

[@lo-wokliya1267]

Hey buddy, I've moved to Kazakhstan and now focused on Lomo Rehousing project for cine lenses

[@DynastyUK]

@@lo-wokliya1267 Glad you're safe man!

[@lo-wokliya1267]

@@DynastyUK thanks man! Safe and working! Kazakhstan is nice

[@mrotaveria]

#DucklingLivesMatter

[@patriziodalessandro1693]

Hello. Found this video today only (sorry!) and could not refrain from commenting on two major facts. With reference to the page you show at 4:11, I suggest you do not pay too much attention to people who have reputedly an extremely fervid immagination but no historical sense at all, because you will be spreading their BS around. Did you really believe what you read? Reserved for "member of the communist party"...do you have any idea how many were the members of the communist party at the end of the 50s in Russia (i.e. had a card demonstrating that they were members of the communist pary)? Or maybe he meant members of the Politbureau? Oh, yes: I can imagine Kruschev going around with a Start camera + Helios-44 with a serial starting with 00 strapped on his neck...After all, the Start camera and its funny bayonet system was designed specifically for professionals. My suggestion is to dig deeper on your own. For example, a very simple visit of the official Zenit Camera page will reveal the decoding of the serial number of Krasnogorsk's factory. The page is in Russian, but Google Translate does a decent job - if you have some difficulties in looking it up I will try to write the link here, KZbin permitting... I will translate here a few lines for the lazy ones, Shocking news: I though all double zeros were reserved to KGB spies with a licence to kill, but no - they are all pilot test series. And there is no difference between 00 and 000... The numbers after the zeros were for quality control. I am sure that at this point everybody already started to think "Ships, how much extra did I pay for that ring with the triple zero marking - maybe even a fake ring?" and fell from their chairs. (Now you should start to ponder if the gentleman I was talking about here above is really an idiot or is actually a foxy con man who is trying to convince idiots to pay triple prices for nothing). I really pity you all, but I admit having bought a few lenses with a variable number of zeros - consciously and for a reasonable price. Of course it depends, but I hope you are all not yet completely out of your mind and willing to pay 650€ (+shipment) to a crazy seller who is listing a ZK 135mm f/4 (aka Jupiter-11) just because of one ring where is written Zorki instead of Jupiter... I assure you it is still possible to pay a reasonable price if you are a "ring collectionist" Going back to serial numbers, in the 60s for example Helios-44 was marked by MMZ with Ynnnnnnnn, where Y is last digit of the year when the lens was produced, so 5012345 is not a lens produced in 1950 (Minsk mechanical factory did not even exist in 1950), but in 1965. A similar thing happened again later when MMZ started to produce some Helios 44-2. If you find such a lens with the MMZ logo and serial 5012345, it means it was produced in 1975. Later the numbering of serial production followed the standard OST 3-3293-84 (even before 1984!) with the first two digits indicating the last two digits of the year when the lens was produced YYnnnnnnnn. By the way serial numbers did not necessarily start with 1 and increased progessively, but there could be gaps between consecutive production batches, so you can not say that the numbers of pieces produced in a certain year corresponds to the highest serial number known for that year. The Russian cousin of Doctor Frankenstein (WD40? heating? what about using a mallet? He could have saved some time and reduced your bill...) actually warned you. It would have been better and cheaper to buy another pilot series lens in better conditions and throw away the crappy one (or resell it!?). Now that the front lens with that fantastic red P coating (wasn't it lilac? or maybe yellowish? I advise you run some research on this subject as well: compare with the red T of CZJ, for example) and the rear lens were both replaced (with what?!?!?), you have a worthless monster which will make people doubt if even the front ring is real or is a forgery... It is true that, as years passed, Russian quality controls became more lax - you probably heard about the story of the Kiev Arsenal factory where the Moscow inspectors destroyed and scrapped 10,000 pieces (about two months of production) of Kiev-4 cameras. I hope you did not attribute better features to earlier lenses because of the legend that Santa Claus visited the Russian troops in Dresden on the night of 25 December 1945 and left as a gift for them a huge mountain of optical glass (already machined!!) which was quickly transported to the USSR without a scratch and used to assembly lenses. Without considering that Carl Zeiss and Schott were in the center of Dresden and a target for the allied air bombers (the city of Dresden was almost razed), most probably the only optical glass the Russian could have found not in shards was that for military use (binoculars, tank optical systems, etc.). Since the CZJ engineers that were not picked up by the US troops (who arrived before the Russian) and transported to West Germany, were tasked by the Russians to rebuild the CZJ factory in Jena, the production of many of the first Russian copies of German cameras and lenses was made initially in Germany. Then some of the German technicians were moved to the USSR and tasked to set up the local production and train the local workers. When finally the German engineers retired to pension, as they say in Russian, всем пиздетц!

[@fredr.]

Interesting but too bad that the amount of negativity and narcissism discard any important point you been trying to make. 🤷

[@patriziodalessandro1693]

@@fredr. In a few words, if you wanted to tell something interesting to those listening to your video, you could have simply run a google search before