My first M42 lens was the HELIOS 44-2. It's image quality was far better than the kit lens provided with the MINOLTA D5D i.e. 18-70 zoom. The M42 lens was sharper (even wide opened!) and produce warm colors while the kit lens produces washed out colors !
So I was impressed by the HELIOS 44-2 but it's focal lenght was too long for lanscape shots. So I was looking for a 35 mm M42 fast prime. But an unexpensive one.
There is not a huge choice of M42 lenses in this focal length. The more you are looking for wide angle, the less M42 proposal is interesting compared to modern zoom or kit lens. The wide choice of M42 lenses starts at 50mm.
The MIR 1B (V stands for B in cyrillic caracters) is a 37mm f/2.8 fast prime lens. I purchased my copy in mint conditions on the after market for less than 50€
It size and weight is roundly the same as the HELIOS 44-2. The build quality is excellent. It is robust and has the typical design of russian lenses like the JUPITER 9. It is a preset design.
The front element is curved. The handling is smooth for both rings. This is a beautifull vintage lens.
It was delivered with a transparent protection box. The cover of the box is used as a rear lens cap.
My copy was delivered with a blue filter but I am not able to translate what is written on it (cyrillic caracters!)
On APS-C sensor, this focal lens correspond roundly to the human natural vision due to the crop factor. So it can be usefull when you intend to shot exactly what you see.
Make your own opinion on the image quality having a look to this image quality test @35mm where the Mir 1B is compared to :
