Who of you uses FSU lenses with a Bessa R?

Spider67

Spider67

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.....and what are the experiences you could share?
If you have pics let me see them.


As I will have to use FSU lenses exclusively with a Bessa R, I won on eBay.
How "evil" is the J 12? Does it just impede the internal light metering sensor or will it damage the shutter?

Is it necessary to adjust the lenses?
Will it work with Industar lenses or with Jupiters only? (I noticed that putting Zorki's J 8 lenses on a Fed and vice versa gave me rather confusing rangefinder readings)

Sorry if I repeat a thread but the last one I read on a similar topic was a bit too specific for my undersatnding.

Thanks a lot for you answers as I am currently wondering if I got lucky for winning a black Bessa R for a good price or if that means that I have to obtain Leica or Voigtländer LTM-lenses for a premium (You can forget about Canon lenses in Europe as they are nearly non existant around Austria/Germany)
 
I use a J12 with my Bessa R, and as far as I can see, it only blocks the meter. Have also used a portrait-length FSU lens (forget nomenclature) with no problems.
Mostly though I have used the V'laender lenses, which I dont find THAT expensive, given the quality, and also got lucky on a nicely priced (used) Canon 35mm lens, which is excellent.
 
Thanks shutterlab that's very comforting!....given the quality a Mercedes is not that expensive, but many of us will have to make to with a VW. Compared to the prices of Cameraquest (whose prices I watch witha certain amount of envy) the prices for Voigtländer around our turf are rather steep. Yes thanks to the Bay I also found a nicely priced Canon from the States.
 
I used 28 Orion and 135 Jupiter with my Bessa R and now with the R2 no problems. 20mm Russar does not fit. I would be very wary of 35mm J12, some fit some don't, mine most definitely does not, it just touches the shutter, which is not a good idea
 
i use a Jupiter 8 and an Industar 61 on my Bessa R with no problems. I did not have to adjust anything :).

--Warren
 
I've used the Industar 61-LD, Jupiter-3, Jupiter-8, Jupiter-9, and Jupiter-11 regularly on my Bessa R with good results. From what I've read, you're taking a chance putting the Jupiter-12 on a Bessa; it may hit the shutter.

It seems that you can have great results with these lenses on the Bessa, but you can also end up with an almost unusable combination, depending on individual variations between different lens samples.
 
I used a Jupiter-3 and Jupiter-8 extensively. Fine lenses, no problems; the J-3's focus was slightly off, but still manageable, it's now at Kim's for shimming.

I also had a Jupiter-12 that, when mounted on the Bessa, would not only block the metering, but also hit the shutter when focusing to +/- 8 meters. Because of the way the shutter works, shooting at that distance would probably have left nice vertical scratches in the rear element of the lens. In general, not all J-12s work on all Bessa-Rs, and I would at least be careful with yours.
 
I bought an Industar 61 L/D 55mm f2.8 a few days ago, I'm still testing it. I put some shots in an other thread, I think it's a good lens

Ciao

Franco
 
I used an Industar 61 l/d and a Nokton 1.5 50mm for the same shoot and cannot tell the difference. The Industar made the Bessa R lighter and better balanced. I used the Industar at f8 and 11 and the Nokton at f 5.6 and 8 because the light changed. No problem whatever with either. I have pics but have not scanned them.
Kurt M.
 
I no longer have my Bessa R but I used it with J-8 and J-9 with no problems.
My Industar 50 worked well also but I was always worried that I would collapse it so I didn't try it after the first time.
Rob
 
I have a couple of I-61s and an I-26 I think that is the right #. And I have a J-3 that I use on my bessa R with no trouble, except the J-3 wide open is a little off I think. I also have a J-12 and I won't even dare try it out because just looking at it I can pretty much tell it won't focus proper without hitting the shutter. I bought a 35mm voigtlander lens and I love that lens for that camera. I like the J-12 but whoever the Russian was who designed the darn thing, I hope they sent him to Siberia.:D
 
gb hill said:
I like the J-12 but whoever the Russian was who designed the darn thing, I hope they sent him to Siberia.:D
Click to expand...

It's actually a Zeiss design, so a German is to blame. Given the course of the mid twentieth century, the poor guy may have wound up in Siberia anyway. I've read somewhere, probably here, that many Zeiss engineers were involuntarily relocated to the USSR, along with their camera factory, after the war.
 
Spider67 said:
.....and what are the experiences you could share?
If you have pics let me see them.
Click to expand...

For a few years I used a Bessa R with a Jupiter 8. I love that combination. The J8 is a truely wonderful lens.

Examples with the J8 on different cameras: http://shardsofphotography2.blogspot.com/search?q=bessa
Examples of the J8 on the Bessa R: http://shardsofphotography2.blogspot.com/search?q="Bessa+R"

How "evil" is the J 12? Does it just impede the internal light metering sensor or will it damage the shutter?
Click to expand...

I have a J12 but I've only tested it on my cameras. People say it's a lovely lens but for me it's more hassle than I care for. The rear end is huge and bulgy, interferes with the light meter, may or may not touch the shutter or some internal baffle, setting aperture is a little tricky, and IMO it's prone to flare.


Is it necessary to adjust the lenses?
Will it work with Industar lenses or with Jupiters only? (I noticed that putting Zorki's J 8 lenses on a Fed and vice versa gave me rather confusing rangefinder readings)
Click to expand...

Calibration may be needed. I was fortunate that none of my Industars or Jupiters needed any. Others have not been so lucky.


Thanks a lot for you answers as I am currently wondering if I got lucky for winning a black Bessa R for a good price or if that means that I have to obtain Leica or Voigtländer LTM-lenses for a premium (You can forget about Canon lenses in Europe as they are nearly non existant around Austria/Germany)
Click to expand...

Thankfully any LTM lens will in principal work on the Bessa R! :) There may be a few exceptions but those are usually the "odd" lenses (the ones with bulgy rears, collapsing barrels, etc.). The rangefinder base of the R isn't the longest so focusing high speed lenses or very long lenses can be a bit tricky wide open. But that's all!

I have a few Voigtländer and Russian/Ukranian lenses but no Leica/Leitz lenses in LTM. And to be honest I don't need them. I spent the money saved on film and travelling. :)
 
I agree with RML that the (or at least my) j12 may have looked the part but had quite a problem with flare and became a little tedious when changing the aperture. It was fun, but once I had tried the CV Color Skopar 35/2.5, the J12 was left in it's little case, probably flaring away as I type this.
Dave.......
 
John Robertson said:
"20mm Russar does not fit."
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Hey John, just curious why the Russar doesn't fit? RF problems or...?? And if you've written about this before, I've probably read it, but just don't remember. please forgive. :eek: Thanx!
 
Thanks for your answers folks! Great pics Donald (makes me really wonder why I rarely use filters for BW) Thanks for Philipp for that detailed description of what could happen. When I read RMLs post I thought that could be nice to turn zhat into a sticky post as I am sure there are enough pepople with the same problem!
 
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