The GL OPTICS rehoused Rubin 1 37-80mm FF Zoom rebreathes life into the world’s 1st Soviet zoom lens.
The Rubin 1 has 14 elements in 11 groups, and was the kit lens that came with the Zenit 6 camera. It has a T stop of 3.1.
Key features
- Front size: 136mm
- Parfocal designed
- Improved Close focus to 3 feet
- PL Mount interchangeable
- Weight 8lbs
- New round iris
- Inner focus design
The Zenit Camera lines top model of this family, was the Zenit-6 which came with with the first Soviet photographic zoom lens, the Rubin-1. It eloquently played the role of an expensive toy in the Soviet movie ‘Zigzag of Success (1968). The main character, the photographer Oreshnikov, looks at it in a store window with a price sticker showing 400 roubles (he is dreaming about a journalistic career). His attempt to win the money in a lottery becomes the center of the entire movie.
This camera family was one of the most ambitious projects of the whole camera making of USSR in that era.
The Rubin 1 was Loosely based on the Voigtländer Zoomar, originally designed by Dr. Frank G. Back as a motion picture lens, the Zoomar was widely considered to be the first successful zoom lens for 35mm. Both lenses have 14-elements in 11 groups, but the position of the individual elements is not the same. The Zoomar also has a slightly wider range of 36mm to 82mm, as well as the original method for zoom mechanics differs significantly.
Price & availability
The GL OPTICS rehoused Rubin 1 37-80mm FF Zoom lens is available to order for $7,500 USD.
