Era-6 50mm f/1.5

KMZ · Kiev Automat + M42 · 1971 · Six-element anastigmat, six elements in five groups

via machine translation — corrections welcome

Also known as: Era-6 50mm f/1.5 · Era-6 1.5/50 · Era-6 1,5/50 · Era 6 50mm f1.5 · Era-6 50mm · Era 6 50mm · Era-6M · Era 6M · Era-6A · Era-6 Automat · Era 6 Automat · Era-6 Avtomat · Эра-6 · Эра-6М · Эра-6А · Эра-6-автомат

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
Era-6M (Эра-6М), M42	M42	1971	000179, 000208 and 014008: Era-6M copies photographed on Abramov's page. None begins with a plausible two-digit year, so the usual Soviet reading of the year from the first two digits does not work on them	Small batches at KMZ (zenitcamera); no figure in the sources
Era-6A (Эра-6А), KMZ 'A' adapter ring	KMZ 'A' adapter ring (interchangeable mount)	—	—	—
Era-6 Automat (Эра-6-автомат), Kiev-10 / Kiev-15 bayonet	Kiev Automat	—	—	—

The sources disagree on the figures. Field of view: 48° (zenitcamera, LensTip) against 45° (Abramov, who gives 48° as other data). Resolution to the technical specification, centre and edge: 45/22 lines/mm (zenitcamera) against 45/24 (Abramov, who gives 45/22 as other data). Closest focus: 0.4 or 0.5 m (zenitcamera, without saying which barrel has which), 0.3 m (Abramov and LensTip), 0.5 m (Allphotolenses). The structured closest-focus field is left empty for that reason. Weight: 430 g and 370 g for different barrels (zenitcamera), 365 g without caps (Lavrov's measurement), 430 g (LensTip). Focal length: 50 mm, or 49.5 mm as zenitcamera gives it exactly.
Zenitcamera and Abramov both say there are reports of a bayonet version of the lens for the Zenit-7. Neither describes or illustrates one, so it has no variant row.
Zenitcamera gives further optical data for the Era-6M: 39.81 mm back focal distance, 49.85 mm from the first to the last surface, clear apertures of 38.06 mm front and 30.50 mm rear, light transmission 0.83, and a colour index of 12-0-2. It gives no design date and no designer.
Abramov's page also shows a photograph of a lens engraved ЭРА-6 1,5/50, without M or A, serial 710004 and KMZ's prism logo. The image file is named for the Automat, but the page has no caption for it and the photograph does not show the mount. Its serial begins 71, which would fit the 1971 start, but the photograph is not counted as proof of the Automat version.
Allphotolenses gives the Era-6 six aperture blades, 0.5 m, 58 mm filters, 365 g and 53.5 mm, and lists it in M42 and Pentax K. No other source consulted mentions a K-mount Era-6, and that entry has no variant row.

How to tell them apart (expand)

A 50mm f/1.5 with six elements in five groups; the engraving is ЭРА-6 with M or A after it, 1,5/50, and the serial
Not the Era-18 50mm f/1.2, an Arsenal Automat prototype, nor the Era-12 or the Helios-81 2/50 that was the Kiev-15's usual standard lens
Most copies on the market are the KMZ M42 Era-6M. Before paying an Automat price, look at the rear for the Kiev bayonet and check the barrel for an aperture ring

Era-6M (Эра-6М), M42:

Front ring engraved ЭРА-6М 1,5/50 with KMZ's prism logo and the serial; the M is part of the name
M42 × 1 thread at the rear, 45.5 mm flange distance; 58 mm filter thread at the front
A jumping (automatic) diaphragm with a lever on the barrel that switches the drive off for stop-down use. Zenitcamera says the M refers to this kind of diaphragm, with a switchable drive
Its own aperture ring, 1.5 to 16, which Kiev Automat lenses do not have
KMZ made several barrels that differ in size, in the styling of the rings and in the diaphragm-mode lever: 72, 60 and 56 mm long, 70, 68 and 65 mm across, 430 g and 370 g, by zenitcamera

Era-6A (Эра-6А), KMZ 'A' adapter ring:

Named Era-6A rather than Era-6M; the rear takes KMZ's 'A' adapter ring instead of a fixed M42 thread. No source shows a photograph of one, so its engraving is not documented

Era-6 Automat (Эра-6-автомат), Kiev-10 / Kiev-15 bayonet:

Arsenal's Automat bayonet at the rear, the mount of the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15, which nothing else takes
No aperture ring: on the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15 the body sets the stop, so an Era-6 with only a focusing ring is this version
No source shows a photograph of a confirmed Automat copy, so its engraving is not documented. An Era-6 engraved without M or A is not proof of the Automat on its own

Era-6M (Эра-6М), M42: Zenitcamera describes the Era-6M as a fast interchangeable standard lens for reflex cameras, made at KMZ in small batches. It cites specification BL3.873.191, KMZ's 1971 description of the Era-6M for Zenit-type cameras and KMZ's 1979 technical description. It shows a lens from the experimental batch, its photograph taken from the 1971 KMZ products catalogue, and a production lens made in 1980, its photograph taken from Alex Lavrov's article in Foto-Kurier (no. 6 (37), 2002). Lavrov measured a production lens, as zenitcamera quotes him: 53.5 mm long at infinity, growing to 59.5 mm at closest focus, 65 mm across, and 365 g without caps (380 g with them).
Era-6A (Эра-6А), KMZ 'A' adapter ring: Zenitcamera says that, besides the M42 Era-6M, Krasnogorsk made a version for its 'A' adapter ring, the Era-6A, for reflex cameras; Abramov repeats it. Neither says which mount rings were supplied, shows a photograph of one, or gives dates or figures of its own for this version.
Era-6 Automat (Эра-6-автомат), Kiev-10 / Kiev-15 bayonet: Abramov calls the Era-6-автомат one of the two standard lenses of the Kiev-15, the other being the Helios-81 2/50. Zenitcamera puts it more cautiously: examples are known of an Era-6-автомат with the bayonet of the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15, made by the Arsenal works in Kyiv. Neither gives dates, numbers or a serial. Abramov credits his text to zenitcamera, so the two are not independent. The Kiev-15 TEE instruction book, in the translation on Butkus's site, lists only the Helios-81 in the kit, and only the Jupiter-9, Jupiter-11 and Mir-1 Automat lenses as accessories. Osborne (cjo.info) counts five Automat lenses and leaves out any f/1.5.

Specifications

Formula: Six-element anastigmat, six elements in five groups
Construction: 6 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range: f/1.5–f/16
Filter: 58 mm (0.75 mm pitch), M58 × 0.75 screw-in, or 60 mm slip-on
Years manufactured: 1971
Country: Russia (Era-6M and Era-6A, KMZ, Krasnogorsk); Ukraine (Era-6 Automat, Arsenal, Kyiv)

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

Optical formula — Six-element anastigmat, six elements in five groups

The Era-6M optical diagram on zenitcamera's page

History

The Era-6 is a 50mm f/1.5 with six elements in five groups. It is listed among the standard lenses of Arsenal’s Kiev-15, but most of its history belongs to KMZ. The Krasnogorsk works made it from 1971 in small batches as a fast interchangeable lens for the Zenit. The usual version is the Era-6M in M42 thread, with a jumping diaphragm and a lever that switches the drive off. KMZ also made a version for its ‘A’ adapter ring, the Era-6A, though no photograph of one is published. Zenitcamera, which draws on KMZ’s 1971 description of the lens and its 1979 technical description, shows a lens from the experimental batch, its photograph taken from KMZ’s 1971 catalogue, as well as a production lens of 1980. It records several barrels, between 56 and 72 mm long and 370 to 430 g in weight.

The Kiev connection is the Era-6-автомат, a version in the Automat bayonet of the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15. Like the other Automat lenses, it would have had no aperture ring, because those bodies set the stop themselves. Abramov names it, with the Helios-81, as one of the Kiev-15’s standard lenses. Zenitcamera is more careful: it says only that examples are known, made by the Arsenal works in Kyiv. Other sources leave it out. The Kiev-15 TEE instruction book lists only the Helios-81 in the kit and the Jupiter-9, Jupiter-11 and Mir-1 as Automat accessories, and Osborne counts five Automat lenses, none of them an f/1.5. None of these sources gives a production figure or a serial for an Automat Era-6, or a photograph that clearly shows one. The version is recorded, but very little is documented about it.

For a buyer, the practical point is the mount. An Era-6 offered as a Kiev lens should have the Automat bayonet at the rear and no aperture ring. A lens engraved ЭРА-6М with an aperture ring and a 42 mm thread is the KMZ Zenit lens, whatever the title says. Zenitcamera says the M42 lens was made only in small batches, and the Automat is documented even more thinly. With the lever at automatic, check that the diaphragm stays open and stops down when the pin at the rear is pressed, and that it stops down directly when the drive is switched off. Lavrov found the production lens 65 mm across and 365 g, so it is heavy for a 50mm. The focal length is 49.5 mm by zenitcamera’s figure, and closest focus is 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5 m depending on the source and the barrel.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Era-6 50mm f/1.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Era-6M 50/1.5 fast Soviet M42 Rare lens — €3,200.00 · eBay · likely era-6M-M42

Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.