Industar 50-2 is a tiny lens that renders beautiful vintage-looking colors. It is so small, that it can fit into any pocket. It even fits into my wallet! I believe it is a fantastic addition to any travel photographer’s kit. And, did I mention the price? It costs only 10-20 euros. Here is my Industar 50-2 review.

This post contains affiliate links in the very end.

About the review

Many of my readers are here because of travel photography, so I decided to make some posts about photo gear. It is not a “classic” review about specs and sharpness (etc.). Professional reviewers have time, resources and the audience for that. Instead, I will share my thoughts about the gear and what it can add to your travel photography. All images in my review are retouched.

Why vintage lens?

Well, most of the people shoot with popular cameras and lenses, as a result, the images look similar. As soon as you use some sort of non-ordinary equipment – your photos stand out. Vintage lenses don’t have the same image quality as modern ones, they may have some optical imperfections and are optimized for the film. But the image you get has some interesting, different look.

Industar 50-2, the classic low-contrast look.

Industar 50-2 is probably the second popular Soviet lens, after Helios 44 series. The lens is low contrast, it has fluffy out-of-focus areas and large vignetting (on a full-frame). It is also surprisingly sharp in the center (for its age/price/size).

Modern lenses benefit from advanced coating technologies. They bring improved colors, reduce flare and do other things. When you take an Industar lens – you don’t have all this. You use something simple and the result strongly reminds the film era.

NOTE: In USSR they have a bit misleading naming for lenses. For Industar 50-2 the focal length is indeed 50mm, but it is F3.5!

Industar 50-2 review for travel photography

As I always tell, that travel photography is a bit of everything. Street, landscape, portraits, documentary. Basically anything, that can bring an atmosphere or a remote location.
I personally like using Industar 50-2 for a few cases:

• When I want to add an additional accent to the subject in the center
• Shooting portraits, that include a bit of environment (at F3.5 and higher)
• When I want my DSLR to be very small
• Macro photography with macro rings
• And obviously, when I want to give vintage look for pretty much anything. I like doing it for some old architecture, or portraits in some classic environment. (for low-light I prefer Helios 44-2 because it is faster

Here are some examples:

Vignetting – dark areas in the corners, it comes from the lens, but can also be added later in an editor. When Industar 50-2 is wide-open – it makes it big. And, in my opinion, Industar’s vignetting is a bit different from other lenses. It is strong at the left and right, but it is weaker on the top and bottom.

The lens makes quite ugly results when used against bright light.

I like using Industar 50-2 for macro photography with macro rings. Macro rings allow the lens focusing closer, but when they are on, you cannot focus on infinity.

If you are really into macro photography – get a proper macro lens. But if you are like me and shoot occasionally – macro rings is a good option. I bought mine for less than 10 Eur.

Vs Canon 50mm f1.8 STM

Let’s see a few examples of Industar 50-2 compared with the popular Canon 50mm 1.8 STM lens.

Here is an example, where I wouldn’t use Industar 50-2. There isn’t much difference between the images, but Canon 50mm 1.8 makes better colors, which is important for sunset. Canon also has less vignetting and, unlike Industar’s, it can be removed with one click in Lightroom (using lens profile).

Here is 100% crop. In the center, Industar 50-2 is surprisingly sharp. 

In this example, I have shot Canon 50mm f1.8 STM at f2 and Industar 50-2 at f3.5. At these apertures, there is almost similar vignetting. I think the image done with Industar looks a bit more inviting, even though ISO is higher.

Handling

You don’t want to carry extra weight when you travel and you cannot go any smaller than Industar 50-2. It weighs only 48 grams! If you are like me and carry a bunch of DSLR lenses, you wouldn’t feel any difference.

Anything can happen during a trip, I think your gear has to be ready for sudden rain or be dust resistant (if you go to a beach for example). The lens has no electronics so not much can go wrong with rain. But the sand can be a bit dangerous, it can get into the focus mechanism.

Overall, the lens is very well built. I had no issues for 2 years and I have been carrying it in my bag without any protective case. I have dropped it a couple of times, but there is no visible damage or change in image quality.

Maintenance

If you deal with vintage lenses, at some point, you have to think about maintenance. Normally, you should go to a shop, that specializes in vintage cameras, but because Industar is so cheap – you may want to just buy a new one.

I normally don’t recommend it, but the construction of the lens is simple, so you may try repairing it yourself. If you got dust between the lens elements, then it is easy to disassemble, and if you want to oil it – you can do it without disassembling.

Adapting the lens

The lens can be adapted to almost any digital camera with the use of an adapter. It is important to understand, that it would produce different images on different sensor sizes.

Note that the lens is done in two modifications M42 and M39 mount. If you want to adapt it to a DSLR – you have to use M42. More information here.

On full-frame. Full-frame cameras would make the center of the image quite sharp. All examples in this post are done with a full-frame. It would also have heavy vignetting wide open.

On APS-C. On APS-C cameras the lens is softer in the center, and the vignetting is largely removed. It gets sharper when you use apertures f5.6-f11.

On micro 4/3. Almost similar results to APS-C, but a bit less sharpness and a bit less vignetting.

There are a lot of tests on the Internet for this lens on different cameras, but I think this one brings the best overview.

Industar 50-2 Filter size

The filter size is unusually small, it is 33 mm. So, the selection of the filters is quite limited.

Affiliate links: lenses, adapters, accessories

If you liked the review and would like to purchase the lens, please consider using the link below. It doesn’t cost you extra but helps this blog to bring more and better content.
INDUSTAR 50-2 M42 ON EBAY (Except Nikon)

Industar 50-2 for CANON EF. There is no communication between the lens and the camera, so you can get the cheapest adapter. Mine costs 1 Eur.
M42 TO CANON EF ADAPTER ON EBAY

Industar 50-2 for NIKON F mount. By default, Industar 50-2 won’t focus on infinity on Nikon DSLRs. To make it work, the lens has to be modified. The modified copies can be found on eBay.
INDUSTAR 50-2 NIKON INFINITY FOUS ON EBAY
M42 TO NIKON F ADAPTER ON EBAY

Industar 50-2 for SONY E mount. Because of the short flange distance on mirrorless cameras – the adapter is slightly larger.
M42 TO SONY E MOUNT ADAPTER ON EBAY

Fuji X mount.
M42 TO FUJI X MOUNT ADAPTER ON EBAY

Micro 4/3 mount.
M42 TO MICRO 4/3 ADAPTER ON EBAY

Macro rings. Macro rings allow the lens focusing closer, but, when they are attached, you cannot focus on infinity.
CANON EF MACRO EXTENSION RINGS ON EBAY
NIKON F MACRO EXTENSION RINGS ON EBAY
SONY E MACRO EXTENSION RINGS ON EBAY
FUJI X MACRO EXTENSION RINGS ON EBAY
MICRO 4/3 MACRO EXTENSION RINGS ON EBAY

Industar 50-2, more sample images

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