Jupiter-3! I remember why I love you.

the_jim

the_jim

human
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Nov 12, 2006
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I've had this J-3 for a couple years now, but haven't used it in a while. Just ran a roll through my Zeiss Ikon and wow - I remember why I loved it. Not the best pics, but I think they show what this lens is capable of in terms of sharpness and rendering.

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f/1.5

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f/2

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f/1.5

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f/2

I love this lens!
 
They are amazingly good I agree ... I'm looking forward to using mine for the up coming FSU contest! :)

What film is that by the way? It's got that gritty look and tones that I noticed with the first roll of Foma I used recently!
 
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It's neopan 400 - my favorite black and white film.

My particular J-3 was initially adjusted by Brian Sweeney and I was very pleased with the results. But, out of boredom/curiousity, I took the lens apart again and further tweaked it and now the focus is spot on and I think it's a little more contrasty now.
 
Wow! .... Neopan, I wouldn't have guessed that!

I don't recall ever geting that much grain ... very nice. :)
 
These good pictures -- specially the first and the last -- deserve a good lens. I sold my battered but perfectly focussing (after it was fixed by Kim Coxon) J-3 only recently: and now, having bought a Leica IIIa and being without a screw mount 50, am regretting it.
 
Nice shots.

I just bought a J3 from Eugene (RFF member) on the classifieds. It's a '53 vintage apparently. VERY impressed with it. Low contrast old-school look. Gorgeous bokeh in most situations, though spot highlights can look a little busy at times. f/1.5 gives great selective focus, and allows pretty decent low light ability with 400ISO. Best of all is the size and appearance of the lens; very low-profile.
Only downside is the 1m minimum focus distance - but nothing too serious to worry about given all the other strengths. Colours are very realistic, but I just love shooting B&W with this. I can see why people talk about the "sonnar look".

Yesterday I bought an old Yashica ever-ready case. After a bit of clipping and trimming it fits the M+J3 combination just right. That will be my street shooting outfit. Lightweight, low profile and always ready to shoot.
 
Oh yes, that one was my workhorse for 4 years. Still have a bit of remorse selling it, although it sat unused after I picked up v2. summilux. But am happy it's in the good hands of Stu :)
 
Yup, that's the one!

It's sat right next to me in my office right now - hope to go out and shoot with it later :O)

I really should get myself a Flickr account or something so I can post pictures too. I used to have a PBase account, but let it lapse through lack of use, mainly caused through frustration at the slow interface for uploading and managing pictures. Any recommendations for a free and easy hosting site?
 
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When you bring up the image on the gallery, there should be two blocks of text under it, one for Picture URL and the other for BB code.

Try the BB code, which is how I posted my pictures.

To see the command, you can "quote" my post with the images and see the code of the picture.
 
I might be selling the one I just bought in the classifieds a couple of weeks ago. It is a user '74 chrome aluminum. I like it a lot, but I shoot a lot of buildings and lines, and there is more distortion in it than my J8, but not necessarily more than a CV 35/1.4 or Hexar AF lens.
 
myM8yogi said:
Yup, that's the one!

It's sat right next to me in my office right now - hope to go out and shoot with it later :O)

I really should get myself a Flickr account or something so I can post pictures too. I used to have a PBase account, but let it lapse through lack of use, mainly caused through frustration at the slow interface for uploading and managing pictures. Any recommendations for a free and easy hosting site?
Click to expand...

You can get a free flickr account. Thats what I use! You can always upgrade later if you wish!
 
Marvelous shots Tim.

Brian, very many thanks for sorting out my link problem over the weekend! Great. Now I hope to be a more active member in terms of "putting my money where my mouth is" and actually displaying images to better demonstrate what I'm seeing.

You can see from most of my shots displayed above that I mostly shoot within a couple of shots of wide open. Well, since I last posted I took a few pictures of a nice old car parked down the road at f/8 to f/16. The detail is amazing. COntrast also seems to improve. really, it's like having a different lens! When stopped down the character seems to change to much more of a "modern" look. Amazing.
 
Payasam, somehow, that '59 J3 ended-up at my door today. Original buyer couldn't use it on his Oly M4/3, issues with adapter. Cloudy outside for some test shots, can't wait for the sun to be out again.

payasam said:
..... I sold my battered but perfectly focussing (after it was fixed by Kim Coxon) J-3 only recently: and now, having bought a Leica IIIa and being without a screw mount 50, am regretting it.
Click to expand...
 
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'56 KMZ J-3, wide-open on the M8.

Lens is modified for close-focus to 0.8m. Internal stop for close-focus is removed, and thread mount filed down for RF cam.
 
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