Topogon copy? Orion-15 28mm F6

A review and Photo example of the Orion-15 28mm F6 made by ZOMZ, Russia.

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Table of Contents

Gallery

• Sample photo taken with the LEICA M-P typ240.

Review

1．Overview

Orion 15 is a Russian-made wide-angle lens with a focal length of 28mm.

The main specifications are as follows, and the details are listed in the table.

• Aperture value: F6
• Lens construction: 4 elements in 4 groups
• Aperture blades: 7
• Minimum focusing distance: 1m
• Leica L39/M rangefinder camera rangefinder linkage: 1m
• Hood: Dedicated? – 40.5mm can be screwed in
• Lens color variations: Silver

It is made in several manufacturing factories, but this one was made at the ZOMZ factory because of the bow-like mark.

2．Usability

Orion 15 is a lens known as a copy of ZEISS TOPOGON. The two lens configurations are almost the same, but the glass thickness is different, and it seems to have been redesigned by the Russian side.

This lens is often in circulation as an old lens, so you often see worn-out lenses with aluminum barrels. The lens I owned was also a worn-out lens with a sparse helicoid because I got it cheap.

Although it is a worn-out lens, the image quality is good and it shows dramatic images in scenes where the edges are dropped. When shooting buildings, there is no distortion and the benefit of the symmetrical lens configuration can be felt.

The minimum shooting distance follows the 1m of the Barnack type (Leica A type / Leica I type) Leica, so it is unfortunate that you cannot get close with the lens alone.

The filter diameter is 40.5mm. If you attach a filter to protect the convex front lens, there is a disadvantage that the aperture cannot be moved, just like the Rusal, which is also a Russian lens. It is better to accept this and use it without a filter, or treat it as a fixed F lens because it is dark at F6 even at full aperture.

The Orion 15 is a Russal Super-Angulon with a wider focal length of around 21mm, and it has a welcome feature of hardly producing any color cast on the Leica M typ240 digital camera, which is prone to color casts.

3．Summary

In conclusion, to sum up the Orion-15 is a dark and compact wide-angle lens.
It is designed to allow you to experience the feel of an ancient, perfectly symmetrical lens, and since it produces surprisingly normal images with digital cameras, it is a lens that you can enjoy leisurely with monochrome film.

Russian lens

The Russian L39 screw mount lenses are available in focal lengths of 20mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 58mm, and 135mm. Until the late 2010s, they were sold at fairly low prices, but in the 2020s, prices have risen along with other Leica mount compatible lenses, and they are no longer cheap enough to make you want to try them out.

• Russar MR-2 20mm
• Orion 28mm
• Jupiter-12 35mm
• Jupiter-8 50mm F2
• Jupiter-3 50mm F1.5
• Induster series Near 50mm
• Jupiter-11 135mm

It is made in several manufacturing plants, and this particular one was made at the ZOMZ factory, as can be seen from the bow-like markings.

Specification and Competitor

I compared the ORION 15 with the HEKTOR 28mm, which has the same focal length and a similar maximum aperture of 6.3.
The two lenses have in common that they are both dark and very small. The lens construction of the ORION is symmetrical, while the HEKTOR is an evolution of a triplet. It is interesting to see the differences in the methods used to achieve lenses with similar performance.

The lens configuration diagram of the orion was based on a diagram published in New Old Camera (Italy).
The lens configuration diagram of the HEKTOR was based on a diagram published in LENS.DB.
The relative positions of the lenses and the exterior are not accurate.

Items	orion	HEKTOR
focal length(mm)	28	28
Maximum aperture	6	6.3
Minimum aperture	22	25
Leaf blade	7	6
Lens configuration	4 elements in 4 groups	5 elements in 3 groups
Minimum distance(m)	1.0	1.0
Lens length(mm)	20	–
Lens max diameter(mm)	51.5	49
Filter type	40.5	34
Weight(g)	112(lens +L/M adapter)	110
Hood	none	SOOHN
Lens mount	L39	L39
Release date	?	1935-1950
Production numbers	?	11,255

Reference links

• TOPOGON-lens-Wiki
• New Old Camera’s ORION 15mm commentary, in Italian, very detailed.
• Leitz Hektor 28mm F/6.3・Lens DB
• Leica lenses around the world part 1 (Japanese book)(There is a review by Yoshifumi Kikuchi on page 170)・Ads by Amazon
• HEKTOR 28mm・Shige’s hobby
• LEICA M・Shige’s hobby
• LEICA M-P・Shige’s hobby

Update history

• 2025.4.17
• 2024.05.17
• 2024.03.03
• 2022.02.10

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