INDUSTAR 300mm- Has anyone used for portraits

[Albrecht Namatdurer]

Am thinking about acquiring an Industar 300mm - or larger , for occassional portrait shots.

Can anyone shed any light on the suitability of same.

That well known auction site mentions that they are not for portrait use,can anyone vouch for that?

Given taht the Russian made m42's Ive been using on the Pentax 35mm are more than OK, I'm assuming that the build quality might be average or better.

Would dearly love to see sample shots etc

[Gene McCluney]

I believe the Industar large format lenses are Tessar formula, hence would be contrasty and sharp, not what most people want for portraits.

[Dan Fromm]

Um, Gene, there are tessars and there are tessars. My I-51 (210/4.5) was soft from f/4.5 to f/22, the smallest aperture I tried. According to the GOI catalog, the I-37 (300/4.5) resolves around 30 lp/mm centrally and 15 lp/mm in the corners at f/4.5.

[monkeymon]

I think the 300mm is the largest industar there is, it's a good lens. I have one and have all so shot the 210mm version. Both seem very good, and would suit portraits very well. The best thing about these lenses is off course the price!

Dunno if sample photos tell much, this was shot with the 210mm at f4.5:

http://www.taidejakonsti.fi/muutos/TEMP/siltah_snadi.jpg

And here's 300mm, the older 13n version, at something like f22 i think..

http://www.taidejakonsti.fi/muutos/TEMP/tie_snadi.jpg