Pekka Buttler, 12/2024
Specifications
The table below summarizes the lens’ key specifications (measurements based on pictured lens):
| Brand: | Volna/Волна | Lens name | 3 2.8/80 (MC) |
| Focal length(s) 1 | 80 mm | Angle-of-view 2 | 53 ° (on medium format) ≈30 ° (on ‘full frame’) |
| Maximum Aperture | f/2.8 | In Production | 1981/823–1993 (all variants) |
| Lens mount (this lens] | Pentacon Six | Other lens mounts: | Kiev 88 |
| Length 4 | 42,8 mm (from flange) 52,9 mm (entire length) | Diameter 5 | 75,4 mm |
| Filter ring diameter | 58 mm | Weight | 357 grams |
| Lens element count | 6 | Lens group count | 5 |
| Aperture blades (S/R/C) 6 | 6 S | Focus throw | 280 ° |
| Minimum focusing distance | 60 cms | Maximum magnification | 1:5,3 |
| Has manual aperture ring | YES | Has Manual focus ring | YES |
| Aperture mechanism type | Automatic | Aperture click stops 7 | 2.8•4•5.6•8•11•16-22 |
Further notes:
• The Volna/Волна-3 is a medium format (film) lens, meaning that its image circle is designed to cover at least 54×54 mm (what is typically referred to as 6-by-6).
• The Volna/Волна-3 was produced for two mounts: the Pentacon Six mount, and the Kiev-88 mount. Unlike many earlier lenses for these two mounts, the Volna/Волна-3 does not use an initial (the cyrillic letters Б/B) to differentiate between the two mounts (except for the prototype and earliest samples that go by the name Волна-3B).
• Just to complicate matters, Soviet manufacturers sometimes combined latin and cyrillic letters on the name ring.
• The Volna/Волна-3 design was introduced to replace the VEGA-12 [data sheet] as standard lens for the two Soviet medium format systems (which used the Kiev-88 and Pentacon Six mounts).
• The prototype series of the Volna/Волна-3 was manufactured in 1978 (without multicoating) and the lens went into serial production (with multicoating) for Kiev-88 mount cameras in 1981/1982.
• The first samples for the Pentacon Six mount that I have found have serial numbers starting 85, indicating that they were manufactured in 1985.
• Why there was a 3-4 year delay between introducing the Volna/Волна-3 for the Kiev-88 and Pentacon Six systems is unclear to me. A likely explanation however is that there was still considerable stock of the Vega-12Б lens that had to be pushed at consumers first.
• The Volna-3 is at times (especially on eBay and other online marketplaces) referred to as a “Biotar copy” which is utter *rap. The Biotar was a 6 elements in 4 groups design (the Volna-3 is a 6/5 design), and there never was a Biotar to cover medium format.
• Interestingly, there are few medium format 80/2.8 lenses that use a 6/5 formula and the only one I could find that has a similar lens schematic is a Japanese lens that was developed after the Volna-3. It might therefore be that the Volna-3 is an original Soviet design.
• The Volna-name does not refer to a brand, design bureau or indeed a factory. Instead, the name Volna (which means ‘wave’) indicates that it is a member of a late-soviet-era family of standard focal length lenses. See more in the JAPB articles on Soviet lenses and the Soviet lens ‘business’
• Given that the lens was manufactured for two Kiev medium format systems, all samples of this lens were manufactured by the Arsenal plant (as the logo proudly proclaims).
• Optically the lenses for Pentacon Six and Kiev-88 mounts are identical. Due to the differences in mounts and flange focal distances, the rear-ends of Pentacon Six and Kiev-88 variants look slightly different, this even extends to aperture rings being slightly different.
• The Volna/Волна-3 offers a rather short minimum focusing distance. While definitely not a macro lens, this does make this a more versatile standard lens.
• The Volna/Волна-3 stayed in production until 1993 – way past the fall of the Soviet Union and the rebirth of the state of Ukraine.
• Since 1994 the same lens has been available (only slightly redesigned), first as the Arsat B/C8 80 mm f/2.8 and lately as the Arax 80 mm f/2.8 (see here). Since 1993 production numbers have been so small that I expect manufacture to not deserve the term ‘mass production’.
Versions
Notwithstanding two versions existing for Pentacon Six and Kiev-88, it seems the outward appearance (and assumedly the optical design) stayed unchanged until 1993 when rubber focusing rings started making an appearance.
(Later Arsat and Arax lenses are not covered here.)
Adapting
If you’ve come into possession of this lens, your sample will either have a Pentacon 6 mount, or a Kiev-88 mount. Here I will discuss adapting the lens in Pentacon 6 mount, but the same principles apply to a lens with the Kiev-88 mount.
To use this lens natively, you will need a Pentacon 6 mount film body. In practical terms this means either a Praktisix or Pentacon Six medium format film camera or a Kiev 60/6C medium format film camera. While neither of these families of bodies were manufactured in their millions, they remain readily available, and even serviceable.
Thanks to the generous image circle Pentacon 6 lenses offer, and thanks to the copious flange focal distance (74,1 mm) of the Pentacon 6 system, this lens can be adapted to every full frame (and smaller) SLR, dSLR and mirrorless camera assuming a suitable adapter can be found or manufactured. Moreover, Pentacon 6 lenses are so uncomplicated that a simple ‘dumb adapter’ will do the job perfectly.
Thanks to the generous image circle, Pentacon 6 lenses have also long been a strong candidate to be used on smaller formats (full frame and smaller) in conjunction with tilt/shift adapters. Alternatively, one can choose to daisy-chain adapters (e.g. Pentacon 6->Canon EF; Canon EF –> mirrorless) which not only broadens the range of available adapters, but also allows using speed boosters for those photographers that use smaller than full-frame sensors.
Finally, regarding larger than full frame, there are also options. Digital medium format is perfectly usable (assuming adapter availability) and many 6×4,5 film formats are likewise theoretical possibilities, but gaining functional adapters may necessitate some DIY.
Footnotes
- Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’. ↩︎
- Picture angle is given in degrees (based on manufacturers’ specs) and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
> 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
< 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens ↩︎ - While trustworthy sources give 1982 as the start of production (with 1978 being the date of prototype manufacture), I’ve encountered production samples dated 1981. ↩︎
- Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity. ↩︎
- Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers. ↩︎
- S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures. ↩︎
- Numbers equal aperture values on aperture ring; • intermediate click; – no intermediate click. ↩︎
- Arsat B lenses are for Kiev-88 mount; Arsat C lenses are for Pentacon Six mount; Arsat H lenses are for Nikon F mount. ↩︎