Mir 3V

Editor's note: The information in this catalog is derived from the actual measurement of early physical samples (6900257) and relevant literature. Due to the differences among different batches of Soviet lenses, the physical samples shall prevail.

Introduction:

Mir 3V (Мир-3В) is a 65mm f/3.5 medium-format wide-angle lens designed for use with Salyut, Salyut-C and Kiev 88 cameras. It features a modified mount based on the Hasselblad 1600F mount, which is similar in appearance but not mechanically compatible.

Technical specifications:

• Structure: Six elements in five groups-ZEISS Flektogon

• Focal length: 65mm

•Angle of View:66°

• Relative aperture: 1:3.5

• Aperture ratio limit: 1:3.5—1:22

• Minimum focusing distance: 0.4—0.8m (depending on the version)

• Aperture adjustment: Preset aperture

• Mount: В(V-mount)

• Filter thread: M88*0.75

• Resolution: Center: 40lp/mm, Edge: 14lp/mm

• Weight: 600g

Development history:

This is a very rare lens. During the development process of the Мир 3В, the positions of the focusing ring and aperture ring, as well as the minimum focusing distance, have all changed. In the known early version (6900257), it has a series of unique features: the aperture is composed of two layers of 12 blades each, staggered with each other. The material of the blades is brass. When the aperture is reduced to f/22, the aperture opening forms a perfect circle. The later versions are simplified to a single layer of 6 blades. It is worth noting that the Arsenal factory not only produced the civilian version of the Мир 3В, but also produced a special version with the code Мир 3С for the Soviet unmanned lunar exploration project. This model is considered to be related to the Soviet Zond program.

Imaging characteristics:

Киев88 МИР3В Kodak Gold200

The early versions were equipped with 24 brass aperture blades, which would create dense circular or oval-shaped bokeh highlights out of focus. The swirling bokeh characteristics can be observed in the photos, but they are softer compared to the Гелиос 44-2.

Киев88 МИР3В Kodak Gold200

At the widest aperture (f/3.5), the center resolution performs excellently. The actual measurement shows that it can reach 40 lp/mm, which can distinguish the texture details in the in - focus area. When the aperture is wide open, the edge image quality will rapidly drop to 14 lp/mm. It will be greatly improved when the aperture is stopped down to/ f8 - f/11.

The histogram based on this negative does not represent its absolute performance.

This shot shows the characteristic of medium to high contrast in this photo. The pixel distribution in the histogram is continuous without abrupt breaks. The two ends of the histogram show that the details of highlights and shadows are retained, and the color reproduction is accurate without obvious color cast.

All the above judgments are based on Kodak Gold 200 film and Frontier scanning, and do not represent absolute performance.

References:

1."MIR-3 lens review and history:Tragedy & Greatness"

2."Объектив Мир-3Б 3,5/65 обзор"