J-12 - a great performer

David Murphy said:
Bolas, those are wonderful photos. Your 4a does have a small light leak however (typical of Kiev's - I know, I've owned a few)
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Yes i know, but to be honest i can't decide to fix it. I use that camera mostly to shot BW photos from living history events and it's kind of advantage - all those leaks, skratches and so on ...

In fact it looks not nice on normal pictures ... well, anyway - maybe in future i will do something with it ;)

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ath said:
Thanks for the nice words, petronius.
I don't see, how a different body could change the result unless its from internal reflections in the body.

I've given up on the J12; this experience in combination with the weird handling was too much. I'm looking for a 35 Ultron now.
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Hi Andreas,

In my interpretation, it does happen that a specific lens will give different results with different Kiev bodies. It seems that in the Kievs the distance from the mount to the film plane may vary - not to speak that the pressure plate is to be given attention.

For this reason, when I prepare a Kiev for work, afterwards I run a test with each of my j-8, and other standards, on it to look for the specific best one, and results vary. The crappy one is crappy in all bodies, but the best one varyies according to the specific body.

As for the lenses themselves I would say, as a very gross statement, that 10% of the standards are outstanding, 80% run from good to very good, and a 10% are crappy. Of course any Kiev user doesnt have the chance to gather some dozen J-12.

But look at what happened to me. The Helios 53 is held as a glorious lens. The first one I got happened to be a crappy one, so it took me a long time until I decided to try again, while I never could understand why is so cherished. Finnaly after some years, I bought one, plus another one that came with a camera. And indeed both later ones happened to be glorious.

So I think that if you are going for a CV, it will be a better investment to go for wider than 35mm and give another cheapo J-12 a chance.

As for the portruding rear, it is here where the sharpness comes from. For better handling take care that in case you buy a J-12, you get the custormary bakelite case, and not just any case. With the correct bakelite case, you can use thin foam strips forming a kind of inverted conus, preventing the protruding end from touching the base of the case.

A step up ring 40.4 to 49, strongly attached for life, will enable to mark over it the aperture numbers inside the lens for fast and easier manipulation, as well as a basis for a metal stuck cap.



Cheers,
Ruben
 
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about that light leak... mine are the same shape, in the same position. where is this coming from, anyone know?

and you're Bolas from AHF right?

cheers.
 
I just don't get it

I just don't get it

I have a j12. I even added a hood to adjust the f stop easier. The lens is no better or worse than a cv 35 I have. BUT, the exposure needs to be compensated when on my m6. And with that or my m3, I continually have to turn the camera around to make sure the f stop hasn't changed.
Isn't anyone else bothered by this? The j12 is on my "to sell" list due to those issues.
 
dragunov said:
about that light leak... mine are the same shape, in the same position. where is this coming from, anyone know?

and you're Bolas from AHF right?

cheers.
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Maybe something is wrong with lenses in kind of one special position against sun ?

What about "AHF" ? I do not know what You mean ... ;)
 
Generally: the darker the filter, the more pronounced the effect. So which filter will depend on how you want your photos to look. And, the darker filter will reduce the light to the negative--either longer exposures or wider apertures. I actually found it a bit easier to adjust the aperture with a filter attached--sometimes too easy; I had to check to make sure the aperture hadn't moved from where I set it. And when I used my J12 with out a filter, I rarely felt the need for a hood but when I had a filter on then I needed a hood as well. I used a 40.5mm wide hod I got from Heavystar on ebay.
Rob
 
what, you too? but I don't know who you are specifically. hmm...

yeah, i'll beef up the seals around the wind sprocket and see what happens. thanks...

cheers.
 
I've had what looks to be an identical light leak on a 1975 Kiev 4 for ages and gave up on trying to fix it until this thread reminded me about the likely cause! I've put much more sealing around the winder sprocket to no avail but last night shone a torch through the small rangefinder window and lo and behold, a dim glow through a tiny slot at the top of the sprocket, just where the fogging appears. So, it looks like (as someone else said), the light trapping behind the small window of the rangefinder prism that's at fault. Back to the screwdrivers and the splendid Kiev Survival Site - many thanks Russ!!
 
My latest attempts with the J-12 are much better, since I got knowledge how to handle that histogramm before scanning - in addition I put the apperture on 8 mostly.

Here are a few examples:

documentary shots from a big demonstration in my hometown:
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And from a trip to Cologne some weekends ago:
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Comments are very welcome!

I just ordered a yellow filter. Maybe this will increase the contrast. But I'm not sure yet.
 
If the leak comes from small rangefinder window the easiest way is just to cover this window with your finger when everything is set and ready to shoot ;) ?
 
Jonni said:
Can this lens be used on an M8 or does the rear element project too deeply?
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Yes mine does fit. Metering is not always perfectly accurate due to the protuding element, but it's still acceptable.
I suggest testing by putting the adapter on the M8 and then slowly screwing in the J-12 while listening/feeling and making sure it doesn't touch the shutter. I don't know how close it gets, but it works for me.

The lens is very compact but setting aperture is not super convenient. However it is quite good for the price.
 
question

question

Hi

I have been satisfied with my J-12 up until now, but i just got back some pictures that show a sot of glow in a ring around my pictures, see the sample.
Anybody got any ideas as of what caused this in my j-12, not all frames show this, only some.
Per
 

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Florian1234 said:
:angel: Any other comments on my photos, please? :D
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Also gut! :) It's good to see "action" photos. But imho some of your shots could be more catchy if you would take them by getting on your (half) knees. Ex. boy on light-pole, girl with bike. Cheers!
 
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