The nicest of the Jupiter-8's?

[mabelsound]

I'm looking to try out a few of the Soviet 50's--a black I-61 L/D is on its way to me, and at the moment Yuri has an NOS Jupiter-8-1 for sale. I know that quality can vary wildly with these, but is there a generally accepted "best" J8, in terms of build quality? The silver? The old black? The "new" black 8-1?

[QUAsit]

The best Jupiter-8 (or 9 or 12 or 3 or 11) is that lens sample which was claimed `the best` by you.

[mabelsound]

The best Jupiter-8 (or 9 or 12 or 3 or 11) is that lens sample which was claimed `the best` by you.

.....erm....I'm not sure what you mean...I've never owned a J8 and am just looking for some guidelines. I mean, it would be nice to get a bunch and test them, but I'd rather just find somebody with experience with them and ask. Thus, this thread!

[NathanJD]

I love my J8 - it's one of the black ones with green writing i think that's the later model. It's from the late 70's and it's really smooth to focus without the aid of relubing. From what i've been given to understand as with most FSU equipment any type of body or lens is a lottery and you may be lucky or otherwise with whatever equipment you choose.

Best of luck with it and i hope you have fun with whatever one you choose. i've just recieved an Industar 61 'panda' and have it securely atteched to my Bessa while i work through a cheap roll of colour film. can't wait to see what comes out ;)

[januaryman]

The ones from the 1950's probably have the best rep, but they also probably need a CLA to loosen the bear grease lube that has probably stiffened or even solidified into concrete over time. I have one from the 60's and when it arrived from the Ukraine it needed a CLA from Fedka. Now it's lovely (http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=36584127%40N00&q=jupiter+8&m=text).

[Peter_Jones]

I have 2 J8s - a black one with white writing, and a later black one with some green writing.

The earlier one I had to strip and lube, the later one (bought from RFF member Sweathog - cheers) does not need stripping and looks untampered with. Both work fine.

[hans voralberg]

I got 5 for $20, I swap things around and make a really good one :P

[40oz]

They can all be good, but when you buy the old discards from two continents away, you take your chances. J-8's aren't a real problem lens like the J-3's, as there is little motivation to sell a poorly re-assembled example. The more valuable Jupiter-3's and -9's are more likely to show up on ebay in poor shape.

[Richbuckle]

I've got 4 in LTM: two from the 60s and two black ones. If mine are anything to go by, I don't think you take a real risk with J-8s. They're all really good for black and white, but only good for a certain look on colour (my experience, anyway). Things to look out for are: With the old silver coloured ones, it probably will need a relube. This really isn't tough to do with the silver ones, and I've found the grub screws to be much more resilient than the later ones. One definite advantage of the silver ones is that only the focusing ring turns, whereas with the black ones it's the whole lens. This can mean too much play against the camera for my taste, and I had to fix this on both of the silver ones.

I have a feeling that the coating on the black ones is a bit more refined - but it's only a feeling. The silver ones are better ergonomically IMHO and look cooler on a black camera; although, you hardly get that 'stealth' effect that some rf shooters go for.

Do watch out for the rear element being loose. Give the lens a little shake and see if anything rattles. If so, it's very easy to tighten, but I had a whole roll of 36 that wasn't totally sharp after a long journey vibrated this loose. Nice lenses to work with: easy to get at all the elements and there's little you can do to instantly turn it into a paperweight.

Cheers,

Richard.

[CLE-RF]

.....erm....I'm not sure what you mean...I've never owned a J8 and am just looking for some guidelines. I mean, it would be nice to get a bunch and test them, but I'd rather just find somebody with experience with them and ask. Thus, this thread!

I think the meaning is you need to ensure yourself the lens is okay. Some Jupiters are stellar, others can be a pain in the back (it seems, I have yet to encounter one of the last category).

Just today did I take shots of my confirmed well-focusing 1953 Jupiter-8 to put it on sale. Might even sell here, but shipping overseas is relatively expensive from Holland I'm afraid.

[david.elliott]

They're all really good for black and white, but only good for a certain look on colour (my experience, anyway).


Could you please expand on that comment? Thanks.

[NathanJD]

take a look at MY GALLERY (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=24101) - all the colour images were taken with my Jupiter 8 onto Kodak Gold film (standard supermarket purchase) in Greek summer time.

That's the 'look' you'll get on colour film.

[blazejs]

I have experience with 3 Jupiters 8. All chrome. One from 1964 is very sharp but after some years of using aperture ring get stiffed making it hard to change aperture. My second Jupiter from 1958 is a little bit softer and lower contrast but still very good lens. I think the best is 8M in Kiev mount from 1962 but I have it for just a few weeks so it's too early for judgment. Anyway first samples shows it's better than my LTM Jupiters.

[Richbuckle]

David - I can't really describe exactly the 'look' I find the J8 has for colour. I had some images I took in France on a rainy day that I ought to scan in. It's most definitely not a contrasty look, and I personally find that some sharpness can seem to be lost on colour film. I tended to use Reala for colour with my J8s, which was possibly a bit of an error. However, when the light is dim, I've found the J8 can capture a great deal of detail without being 'brutal sharp'. I've got an I61 LD which is far too sharp for b&w portraits I find, and the J8 gets a lovely look under these circumstances. It's a good portrait lens, but that's not just because it's not sharp. It is; just in a 'softer' way. Look at images taken with the Nokton classic single coated lenses. I think the J8s have a similar effect on colour tones - a good thing in some contexts, bad in others.

I think that what I really meant was that it's easy for the eye (my eye?) to miss all the detail that the J8 captures in a colour image.

People are always talking about focus problems with the J8. I haven't found one yet with a focus problem..

[blazejs]

I have shot some Reala with Jupiter 8 and it was nice. Even more - I love colour that gives this lens. But you're true, it's lower contrast than Industar 61L/D. Industar is much more contrasty.

[mabelsound]

I'm mostly concerned with ergonomics, since all of them seem to render well, so I will probably look into getting a chrome one from Fedka--presumably it would already be cleaned and lubed, from Yuri.

[kanoot]

I have tried two different Jupiter 8s. The first one took a few good shots with an interesting look - then it literally fell apart in my hand. The second one couldn't focus.

I'm not interested in trying a third.

[rbiemer]

I'm mostly concerned with ergonomics, since all of them seem to render well, so I will probably look into getting a chrome one from Fedka--presumably it would already be cleaned and lubed, from Yuri.
I like and use the J8. Have had several over the last few years. My preference are the older tabbed versions. I don't think they are any better optically but i like having a focus tab and I like that the front of the lens does not turn as I focus. The focus tab lets me have a pretty good idea of what distance the lens is focused at; and with small apertures, I can simply frame and shoot. When I do want/need to focus the tab makes that go a little quicker. And considering where we live, J Robert, the tabbed lenses are easier to use with gloves on.
The other thing about some of the later black lenses that I'm not fond of is that the markings are printed on the lens and not engraved.
I'm going to be back home in Cortland after this week end, PM me if you want to try out my J8.
Rob

[mabelsound]

And considering where we live, J Robert, the tabbed lenses are easier to use with gloves on.

Ha! You're right--but it's been hella nice weather here this week. I may take you up on giving your J8 a whirl...

[Richbuckle]

I totally forgot. I would say that far more important than the particular J8 is to use a hood with it. It needs this for clarity far more than any other lens I've used (not used any uncoated).

[david.elliott]

Thanks for the followups on the color rendering question.

Seems like generally a more muted, less bold palate than one might get with the same film and another lens.

[rbiemer]

Originally Posted by rbiemer View Post
And considering where we live, J Robert, the tabbed lenses are easier to use with gloves on.Ha! You're right--but it's been hella nice weather here this week. I may take you up on giving your J8 a whirl...

Oh, sure. Quote one of the worst sentences I've ever written.:D Let me try it again:
The tabbed lenses are easier to use with gloves on which is nice,
considering where we live.

And I absolutely agree about using a hood with this lens.
Rob

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I have one that was given to me (an old chrome one) and one I got cheap on ebay (black version in beautiful condition). Problem is, both backfocus severely. Totally unusable. When I have a little extra $$ I'm going to send one of them to Fedka for focus calibration. I'd still like to use these, but I'd be afraid to buy another.

[xayraa33]

Physically, I like the early tabbed J-8 , with its non rotating front, but my sharpest ones turned out to be the late black ones with the all white numbers.

This is just the way things turned out for me and your own personal discovery, by going through a bunch of J-8s will be different.

[QUAsit]

.....erm....I'm not sure what you mean...I've never owned a J8 and am just looking for some guidelines. I mean, it would be nice to get a bunch and test them, but I'd rather just find somebody with experience with them and ask. Thus, this thread!

I mean that I saw heck a lot of nice J8 from 50-60-70-80s and a pile of absolutely rubbish samples from 50-60-70-80s. :D
I can give you a guideline just like: the best of best J8 I`ve seen is 1954 J8 from Zorki-3. And J8 of 1957 from Kiev... and friend of mine have stellar black J8 of late 80s. And plently of people will say that non-tabbed silver J8s are great. Though I met only mediocre and bad lenses from that group.

[raid]

A J-8 makes a good shell for a Sonnar 5cm 2.0. This is its main purpose, isn't it? :angel:

[Brian Sweeney]

Ouch.

Actually, my favorite J-8 is a 1955 in tabbed mount and it is quite good. And collimated for use wide-open and close-up.

I still prefer J-3's, and just ran a test roll with a 1953 KMZ after rebuilding it. My '55 and '56 KMZ are quite good. One for the COntax, one for the Nikon RF. And the '53 for LTM.

[David Hughes]

Trouble is; if someone pays a lot of money for an old lens, then they see it as a valuable antique and don't mind spending a lot of money on it. But if they pick it up for pennies they see it as an old secondhand lens and are expecting it to fail.

I've a lot of old cameras and lenses and I see Leica Elmars that are badly damaged by idiots who think they can easily be CLA'd without even using the right sized screwdriver and I see the same in the FSU ones. (Sometimes I think they use the breadknife instead if a screwdriver... ) When restored both are good lenses. But because the labour is what you are paying for both cost about the same to work on: people just don't see why they should pay the same for a £3 camera as a £300 one.

Leicas often get neglected as they are/were old fashioned and (2) because people expect them to last forever without any attention...

Both, imo, need overhauling by someone who knows what they are doing and has the right tools and equipment to deal with whatever may be wrong. After all the things can't have spend the last 40, 50, 60 or even 70 years wrapped in cotton wool.

As for the lubrication, I've spent a lot of money on a Leica body having the dried up grease and oil removed and the internal rust dealt with and so on. And I've FSU cameras that cost a pittance (UK £10 or US $15 or so) and which were brilliant.

So it's all a matter of luck.

As for J-8's, my experience of the black one is that it's a nice lens and I use it on the Leica M2 and the Fed 2. You can get a vented lens hood made for Leicas that fits and, of course, will improve things no end. My one is Chinese and the label say "For Leica 40,5mm".

I said "of course" as any lens will be improved with a lens hood and using one without is a good way of spoiling a lot of pictures (but they blame the lens and not their technique).

BTW, whatever you do, don't squirt thin oil into lenses to free the dried up grease because oil can get on the coating and that will destroy the lens.

Also FSU owners have a reputation for selling off their rubbish and homemade repairs, when a proper repair would be a better idea . (There's a lot of repairs that can be done in seconds with the right knowedge and tools but without them you are asking for trouble.)

OK rant over.

Regards, David