Leica LTM FSU lenses on IIIC

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
wolves3012

wolves3012

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Ok, so I've just bitten the bullet and bought a IIIC off a member on here. Nice camera, I'm liking it a lot but I've (yet?) to get some Leica glass. I do have a selection of FSU lenses, however.

My choice would be to use a Jupiter 8, partly because I have a "spare" one. The lens scale and RF do not agree when mounted on the IIIC, something which I expected based on what I've read.

Questions: Do I go with the lens-scale when focussing and ignore the RF or vice-versa? I'm thinking probably the former. Is it possible to correct the errors and if so what's the best way? Or do I simply ignore the scale and shoot using the RF and hope that DOF will cover small errors? Based on what I tried below I'm thinking that the error isn't going to matter except up-close and wide open - am I right?

I have done some quick measurements: With a target at a true 1m the lens-scale says 1.1m when using the RF to focus. At infinity there is agreement (expected). I tried a target at 4m as well and at that point the error was within the DOF scale even for f/2.

What experience do you guys have of FSU lenses on Leica bodies. Is there a preferred lens and why?
 
The collapsible Industar 22 and a Barnack are a match made in heaven. The I-22 is more robust than the LTM Jupiter 8 and it's cheap.

It you want a lens that's faster than the I-22, I highly recommend the Canon 50/1.8 - as it is compact and designed to use the same register as the LTM Barnack. Translation - the focus is already calibrated to use with your IIIc as opposed to the J8 - which needs to be recollimated in order to shoot wide open and close in when mounted on a Barnack.
 
Wolves, your results are what I would expect and precisely match my experience - this is the familiar close focus problem when mounting soviet lenses on Leica bodies. The ultimate answer is to adjust the lens, but for the present I'd be inclined to shoot a test roll and see what works best.

Cheers, Ian
 
Acknowledging the theoretical differences of 51 to 53 mm lenses I am having great success with a J-3 and both the IIIg and al the other cameras including a Bessa-R and 20 FSU bodies.

I have been gobsmacked with the J-3 I bought - others milage may vary! - but it is now the permanent occupier of the Bessa mount.

OTOH - I haven't tested the Kiev J-3. That may be another story. My theory is that J-3s were better built than J-8s and cost a lot more as a result. Unless someone has disassembled it to 'improve' it a J-3 is a fine lens. Try the FSU lens in your camera before consigning it to the trash can. Even wide open you can focus, lean back a couple of inches and you'll be right on the button.

Murray. Brisbane
 
I just tried an Industar 22 on a Leica III c and the results were good. Right now I am trying a Jupiter 12.
I've tried my whole array of FSU lenses wide open on my Bessa R and except the Industar the results were far from satisfying. Especially the Industars from my Feds did not harmonize - be they radioactive or not - although I like the results when I use them on ym Fed's. The intersting thing is that the FED Industars also give me a different distance when I put them on my Zorkis. Is ther some kind of Inter-FSU incompatiblity?
Well the J 9 seems to work but my specimen is prone to flare.
 
That's interesting Spider - I tested 3 Industar I-61s and found they were 8-10 cm out at 1metre on Leica bodies - including an Oleg adjusted FED 2. They were also out on Zorkis. To be honest I have never had genuine interchangeability with any Soviet camera/lenses - they all needed a bit of tweaking, which is why I tend to leave a particular lens on a particular camera.

Incidentally Murray, I believe the consensus is that Kiev J-3s are less prone to trouble than LTM versions. They are indeed superb lenses, all being well.

Cheers, Ian
 
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I've had my Jupiter 8 collimated for my Leicas (M5, CLs), and it works well. You'll probably want a Jupiter 12 for that IIIc. A (collimated) Jupiter 9 works well on my Leicas, and so does a Jupiter 11.
--Lindsay
 
Thanks for the info so far guys. Of the FSU lenses I have a choice of Industar 22, 26m, 50, 61 and 61L/D. In Jupiters I have 8, 11 and 12. The main reasons I'd pick a J-8 if I need one adjusted are that: a) I have a spare [from a parts body], b) it's a nice lens and c) it's fairly fast.

In what way would it need adjustment? Am I right in thinking that the IIIC's RF cam profile doesn't match the lens-throw? If it were re-shimmed doesn't that keep the basic problem or am I missing something? Ideally I want the RF and lens-scale to agree, is this actually possible?
 
I've used Jupiters and Industars on my Leica IIIc. Even the large aperture J-8 and J-3 focus even more accurately on my IIIc than on most of my Zorki or FED.
One J-9 which I've always thought to be off worked right on my Leica.

Don't assume that the lens needs to be recalibrated or adjusted for use in a Leica or non-FSU camera just because it has Industar or Jupiter on its ID ring 🙂. Some lenses are indeed bad, but likely because someone did a bad job on them sometime in the past.

The Jupiter-3 and Jupiter-8 50mm lenses I use on Leica (including M3) and even the RD-1s never had to be adjusted. I'm using them as they came, and they perform quite nicely. Couldn't exactly say that I was lucky in these instances- there are 2 J-3's and 3 J-8s involved here. Five lenses made at different times obtained from different sources.

Jay
 
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Thanks for reminding me the Kiev lenses wander off less, Ian. I remember reading that somewhere but forgot it. I think my experience with the J-12 put me off a little. That one needed a shim under the back element - a tip I got from here, somewhere. Made a world of difference.

But then J-12s often get a bad press. I'll have to try the same trick with the LTM J-12 now. A pity really as I like a w/a lens - the DOF helps so many times for that 'snap' shot. It might come up OK.

Murray. Brisbane
 
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