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Soviet Mirror Lenses

Soviet mirror lenses fall into 2 different design group families. The Matusutov Tele-Objective which consists of the MTO, the MTOA the 3M(actually ZM in cryllic) and the Rubinars.

MTO Family

The MTO was originally designed for the M39 lens mount Zenit SLRs. They had a slightly different back focus than the M42 cameras and the depth of field was relied upon to make an acceptable image. This resulted in less than stellar performance. So a recalculation was made for the back focus distance on the M42 cameras which resulted in the "MTOA" series of lenses which were optimized for M42 cameras. The 3M lenses were an other recalculation to improve performance.

Rubinar Family

Research done by P.O.Rubin allowed a simpler completely different design for easier to manufacturer Mirror lenses. It also allowed the manufacture of faster mirror lenses.They are a completely different design from the MTOs.

MTO Family  of LENSES

Very little is known about this 500mm f8 mirror lens. It is labeled Leningrad which was the home of the Soviet Optical Research Institute. It  has the makers logo  of OOMZ (Opytiny Optiko-MekanicheskiyZavod (experimental Optical-Mechanical Factory)) which was part of the optical research institute . They made proof of concept and preproduction prototypes.

MTO 500 f8.0

This was the first 500mm f8 mirror lens in production in the world. Yes, the Soviets had mirror lenses in production before the japanese! The initial manufacture was KMZ which then transitioned to LZOS. These lenses can be identified by their shiny black finish and larger diameter bottoms. They came in wooden boxes with 3 filters and lens caps. A little later they came with little threaded rings to make them m42 and shortly after they accepted T mount adapters. When LZOS started manufacturing these lenses(approx 1970) they made 3 minor changes. The focusing ring had chrome highlights, the lensmount was m42, the filters were in thinner mounts and the LZOS symbol was on the ring. They were imported into the U.S. by Spiratone.

MTO 500A f8.5

This is the first re-calculated design 550mm f8.5 mirror lens after production was transfered from KMZ to LZOS. I have been unable to determine if the changed numbers represent a real change in the lens or just accurate specifications. I have one example with the Soviet best quality symbol on the lens and the case.These lenses have built in sliding lens hoods, shiny black finish and larger diameter bottoms. The large base of these lenses rotates to allow the use of these lenses in both portrait view and landscape view by just rotating the canera. They came in a leather case with 3 filters and lens caps and accepted T mount adapters.

MTO 1000 f11

This was the first 1000mm f11 mirror lens in production in the world Initial production was only a few years after the 500.The initial manufacture was KMZ which then transitioned to LZOS. The only way you can tell this lens from the MTO 1000A is that it does not have the "A" engraved on it. These lenses can be identified by their shiny black finish and larger diameter bottoms. They came in wooden boxes with 3 filters and lens caps. A little later they came with little threaded rings to make them m42 and shortly after they accepted T mount adapters. They were imported into the U.S. by Spiratone or at least appeared in Spiratone's literature.

MTO 1000A f10

This appears to be the first improved 1100mm f10.5 mirror lens after production was transfered from KMZ to LZOS. I have been unable to determine if the changed numbers represent a real change in the lens or just accurate specifications. I have one example with the Soviet best quality symbol on the lens and the case.These lenses have built in sliding lens hoods, shiny black finish and larger diameter bottoms. The large base of these lenses rotates to allow the use of these lenses in both portrait view and landscape view by just rotating the canera. They came in a leather case with 3 filters and lens caps and accepted T mount adapters.

MTO-11CA f10

This lens is a re-design of the 1000mm MTO. They did away with the bulging bottom. It comes in a leatherette case with 3 filters and lens caps.

3M-5A f8.0

This lens is a re-design of the 500mm MTO. The lens appears to have been in full production when multicoating was phased in as there are both single and multi coated versions. They did away with the bulging bottom. there is a collapsable lens hood. It comes in a round leatherette case with 4 filters and lens caps.

3M-5CA f8.0

This lens appears to be a re-design of the 3M-5A. This lens is much smaller than its' predecessor. They did away with the lens hood and made it much smaller. It comes in a round leatherette case with 4 filters and lens caps

3M-7K f5.6

This lens appears to be a 300 mm re-design. I have finally found one of the lenses. It has caused more questions than it has answered. It was made by a factory that made no other lenses. The markings and manual say that it is a Pentax K mount. However, it has a M42 mount. It comes in a leatherette case with 4 filters and lens caps

3M-6A f6.3

This lens is a re-design of the 500mm MTO with the intent of making it faster. They did away with the bulging bottom. there is a collapsable lens hood. It comes in a leatherette case with 4 filters and lens caps

Rubinar 300 f4.5

This is a new design with Macro performance. This lens was originally produced in Pentax K mount and then in M42. They are very uncommon in K mount. It comes in a square leather case with front and rear lens cape, a hood and an 87mm 4X ND filter and a yellow filter.

Rubinar 500 f5.6

These are a new design with Macro performance. This lens was originally produced in Pentax K mount and then in M42. They are very uncommon in K mount. It comes in a square leather case with front and rear lens cape, a hood and an 87mm 4X ND filter and a yellow filter.

comment:: mine was produced just after the fall of the Soviet Union and is in a really nice zippered nylon case

Rubinar 500 f8.0

These are a new design with Macro performance. This lens was originally produced in Pentax K mount and then in M42. They are very uncommon in K mount. It comes in a square leather case with front and rear lens cape, a hood and an 87mm 4X ND filter and a yellow filter.

Rubinar 1000 f10

These are a new design with Macro performance.  This lens was originally produced in Pentax K mount and then in M42. They are very uncommon in K mount. It comes in a leatherette case with 3 filters, a lens hood and lens cap