Jupiter 8 With Gold Ring

David Murphy

David Murphy

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I bought an old Kiev 3 which came with a J-8 that had a gold colored aperture ring. I've not seen this variant before -- is anyone familiar with this version?

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payasam said:
The Lint Special. Wow.
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Hardly any, sorry to dissapoint you. This is a result of camera level direct flash and an inexpensive digital camera which conspire to highlight unresolved bright features like dust grains. But that's not the topic anyway. (The lens is in very good condition)
 
oscroft said:
It looks too evenly distributed, including on the knurled finger-grip, for that. (Besides, I suspect David would have noticed if it was just grease 😉 ).
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No grease. A little dust (compressed air takes it off). The camera+flash were about 8 inches away and almost in line with the lens. The lens is actually in very good condition.

In any event I am asking about the gold ring. I see all black models and all chrome models on eBay, but none with this ring. I've owned a pure chrome J-8 and all the Sonnar's I've seen were also chrome (or at least silvery in color), but non with the gold markings.
 
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Had a similar effect on an Agfa Isolette Compur shutter, had gone a similar colour and did look even, came off with a bit of isopropanol. Might look better on another monitor (I'm using a very dim work monitor).

If it is residue, the question would be whether or not to clean it off - after all it would have taken a couple of decades or so to build up.
 
Peter_Jones said:
Had a similar effect on an Agfa Isolette Compur shutter, had gone a similar colour and did look even, came off with a bit of isopropanol. Might look better on another monitor (I'm using a very dim work monitor).

If it is residue, the question would be whether or not to clean it off - after all it would have taken a couple of decades or so to build up.
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OK, I see what you are getting at. I think this not the case. I think it is gold-color anodized aluminum -- a very common metal process. There was one like this not too long ago on eBay that got a high price for a J-8, but I can't locate the auction now and I'm not sure what the significance of that was.
 
I doubt it is anodized aluminum. I have at least 75+ Soviet lenses and have never seen a permanent gold color. I have seen a similar gold color but it is either just grime or discolored lacquer; it cleans away with solvent (lighter fluid and/or alcohol and/or acetone). Put it to the test as you can't clean off anodized aluminum with solvent.

Michael
 
It appears to be a very thin lacquer - it does come off slowly with scrubbing and a solvent (rubbing alchohol). Acetone will probably remove the paint on the f-stop engravings so I'm not gonig to use that.

The uniformity of the gold color and its complete isolation to the ring makes me suspect it is intentional, as if to color-code the ring. I will ask a very experienced machinist I know at work today if he understands this finish. FYI the lens is clean and beautiful inside - no oil or haze at all -- it's hard for me to believe something is leaching out of it.
 
I've seen that finish on some J12's on eBay. I always assumed it was merely a discolored piece of lens assembled with a non-discolored piece of another lens rather than a factory made color.
 
OK there's another possility as well, and this gets a bit technical. It might be Iriditing. This is a gold-like finish laid on aluminum which is not as hard or robust as anodizing (it can be rubbed off with sufficient polishing and a solvent). It is used for two main purposes: as a primer for later application of paint, and as a oxide preventing finish that is softer than anodizing and is conducting (anodized metal is a dielectric i.e. insulator)

Perhaps these rings were also made for black painted Jupiter models and some where diverted to the chrome fab line.

Here's a link describing this:

http://www.oerinc.com/metal/finishingoptions.htm
 
My vote is with discolored copal varnish - I've seen this on other non FSU mounts and as you clean it you can see the varnish, nothing fancy (and nothing leeching out of the lens) just age IMO.

Michael
 
I had a J3 with yellowed varnish. Perhaps the previous owner cleaned the yellowed varnish on the main barrel of your lens, but left the aperture ring alone. Yellowed varnish is my guess.
 
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