J-12 on a m4/3? Possible?

[DNG]

Brian, Have you measured the distance at INF to see it clear the shutter assembly of an m4/3?

And are there any other issues that would prevent mounting it with a LTM>m4/3?

Thanks in advance....

[Brian Sweeney]

I have not measured the clearance for it- but would be very wary of the Shutter when it closes to take the picture on the u43 camera.

I have a J-12 in contax mount, sold one in LTM. Honestly- my least favorite of Russian lenses, and 35's in general. I would go for a Canon 35/2.8 over a J-12.

[raid]

I agree with Brian; this seems to be a relatively less excellent lens than other FSU lenses that I have tried.

[Coldkennels]

I quite like mine... on occasion. I'd heard such good things about it, but it's so prone to flaring that it's infuriating to use. Plus, because of the design, it's impossible to use any screw-in lens hood that I've seen (focusing the lens causes the lens body to jam against the back of the hood).

I'm fairly certain I've seen someone use it on an m4/3 before, though - but I can't remember for the life of me which one.

[DNG]

I was asking because I know some one who is considering the J-12 on a m4/3... I also suggested the Canon LTM as an alternative.

[Coldkennels]

What camera has he got? I measure my J12 at 22mm from lens mount to end of rear element, so if that will fit with a bit of space - and if he can get one in decent condition for cheap (say, less than £60 or whatever the equivalent in $ is) - than I'd say he should go for it. A lot of people do genuinely love the lens, and I have, on occasion, been really pleased with it on Feds + Zorkis:


Overlooking Durgan, Cornwall by Coldkennels, on Flickr


Abandoned garage, Falmouth. by Coldkennels, on Flickr

The only problem is that due to the popularity of the lens amongst some Leica II/III users, they can go for far, far too much money on ebay from time to time, so you have to be willing to shop around.

EDIT: I should also mention that the rear element is about 30mm in diameter, so anything that is jutting out inside the camera could get in the way.

[raid]

FSU lenses work well on FSU cameras.
With non-FSU cameras, you have to check things out first.

[t6un]

The diameter of the rear element of my J-12 is 29mm: I would be afraid it won't fit between the "walls" of a m4/3 camera? Early lenses are said to have even bigger rear element.
But I don't know the "box dimensions" of m4/3, or whether they even are standardized.

[Nomad Z]

Originally Posted by Coldkennels

I quite like mine... on occasion. I'd heard such good things about it, but it's so prone to flaring that it's infuriating to use. Plus, because of the design, it's impossible to use any screw-in lens hood that I've seen (focusing the lens causes the lens body to jam against the back of the hood).

I modified a vented hood to work with mine - machined a chamfer into the offending area to make clearance. I don't recall any flaring with the hood in place

[Benjamin Marks]

Won't work, sadly.

[hlpgtf]

In terms of hoods, I found that a glassless 40.5mm filter or two works well and makes it easier to turn the aperture ring.

I'm guessing it won't fit the m4/3 mount - even the Bessa rangefinder models get hung up on the rear element. A 38mm 1.8 for the Olympus Pen cameras would be a great choice - I'm enjoying using one on my Sony NEX. It's not much bigger, has better coatings, and gives you over a one stop advantage. They aren't too expensive, either (certainly cheaper than Canon threadmounts...)

[Coldkennels]

Originally Posted by Nomad Z

I modified a vented hood to work with mine - machined a chamfer into the offending area to make clearance. I don't recall any flaring with the hood in place

Originally Posted by hlpgtf

In terms of hoods, I found that a glassless 40.5mm filter or two works well and makes it easier to turn the aperture ring.

I'm not sure which one of these ideas I like more. I guess until I get an opportunity to sort out the first one, I might have to give the second one a try. Cheers, hlpgtf.

[kievman]

Supposedly the newer black paint J-12s are sharper and less prone to flare then the older silver ones. I 've got some pretty decent results from my newer black contax mt j-12. you want to stop down this lens to F5.6 for fairly sharp results. At F2.8 and 4, It's on the soft side. Best used at F8, pretty sharp corner to corner. Kievman

[bowieknife]

I'm happy with the IQ of my black Kiev/contax mount J-12, it also gives good results on a Nikon rangefinder. But doesn't mount on postwar Contax bodies IIa and IIIa, nor does it mount on a Sony Nex, the rear element protrudes too much by ca 1mm.

[colyn]

Done tried it and it does not work. The rear element is too large in diameter to fit....