M8 with Jupiter 8... a little bokeh from some inexpensive glass

Nice. Out of curiosity, where did you find your Jupiter 8? I was just on the 'bay looking for one. Would love to see more.
 
There are a few of these on eBay this week. That's where this one came from.

I'm no expert on these, but I figured at $56 w/ adapter there wasn't much risk. My wife asked "what's in the box?", but didn't flinch when I told her what I paid. Needless to say, this wasn't the same reaction I got when the M8 and 28 2.8 Elmarit arrived here in March. Even asked me if it's Russian.

Moral of the story: if you want to have some good cheap fun and not run into trouble with your mate (especially, if like me, your spouse is the financial brains in the family), the FSU's are worth a look. I think I got lucky that this one was as described, having read about all kinds of unpleasant surprises on RFF from folks who do this a lot.
 
True about the spouse. I don't think she would mind ~$60 which is much cheaper than the other 50's I have been looking at :) Also, thanks for the fedka link WD.
 
Picked one of these up a few months back. I think I paid a little bit more for mine, which is also black, from Fedka.
I don't shoot a lot with it, but for $50 or $60, it's not too shabby. This was shot at f/2 or 2.8.



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Interesting how well old lenses designed for film hold up in the digital era. You photos look good to me.

Bob
 
The FSU glass is amazing but the mechanics are horrible. I have a J-8 which is brilliant but the focus ring is beginning to slip on it. I also have a FED Industar-10 that is better than my Elmar 50/3.5 I kid you not and the lens cost about $19 against $150 for the Elmar. There is sample variation but if you're lucky enough to get a good one they are well worth keeping.
 
I have a mint Jupiter 8 as well. A nice little jewel of an optic for the price. I paid about $49 for mine too (Cheap! I just bought a Noctilux Used, and my wife was not home when it arrived--wheww!!!, she also was not home when my Jupiter 8 came ha ha).

Hey, did you notice the focus issue with the lens on the m8. I noticed I have to rotate the focus ring a little past the correct focus in the rangefinder. It seems these FSU lenses are matched to the Contax standard, which is not the same as Leica for correct focus. I found this the same with my Industar 61LD, and my Jupiter 9 as well.
 
Richard Jenkinson said:
The earlier alu finished J-8's have a better build quality. They are often tabbed and have the front aperture ring which does not rotate when focussing.
Click to expand...

I'm divided on this one. The double helical J-8 cannot be adjusted as easily as a J-3 to get the RF cam, Distance scale, and actual focus to all line-up properly. Very often, the distance scale is off. Some of them require thick grease in the helical to control "slop" in the movement. The focus movement can get an irritating "slip" as the guide pin jiggles in the guide slot as you focus it. Just annoying, does not affect the actual focus. BUT: some of these doible helical designs are VERY good, like the one that Raid has. The single helical J-8's have a less complex design, and have not given me as much trouble. I use both.

On Optics: the earlier lenses tend to be very sharp. Later lenses tend to be more "mixed". The best of them are every bit as sharp as a Nikkor 5cm F2.
 
My J8 is nice and tight, almost as if it were never used. With the bayonet adapter screwed on and the lens mounted on my camera, the focusing scale ends up aimed at my feet. Not terribly useful. Anything I can do about that? Also, the adapter is on so tight (Loctite?) that I can't unscrew it by hand. Any safe way to get it unscrewed.
 
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