50/1.5 Jupiter J-3 LTM back in production at Lomo

It's a good and interesting lens and focuses now to 0.7!
You get a used Nokton and almost a Zeiss Sonnar-C for that price. Hopefully they get the specs right with this batch .. no shimming required and all :D

599€ incl. shipping in Germany is ok when you are in for a "new" lens tho
You could get a J3 for less but the pain to find one that is no dog or doesn't need CLA done is worth the difference for some.

Black version for 100€ less and I'd might bite
 
599€ is way too much for an "Art Lens". "Art Lens" is Lomography's way of defining lenses with low performance. At that price I'd rather get two, or even three real J-3s even if they require shimming. Or even better a Leica lens with more of a character.

k__43, it is not a negligible difference between the copy and the original. You can always get a perfect J-3 from a well reputed seller and in many cases a new old stock one.
 
I pass too.. "rich russian heritage" regarding the J3 made me smile... Isn't it a Czj Sonnar knock off :D
 
Nikos72 said:
599€ is way too much for an "Art Lens". "Art Lens" is Lomography's way of defining lenses with low performance. At that price I'd rather get two, or even three real J-3s even if they require shimming. Or even better a Leica lens with more of a character.

k__43, it is not a negligible difference between the copy and the original. You can always get a perfect J-3 from a well reputed seller and in many cases a new old stock one.
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What makes you think it performs other than an original J3?

If it is adjusted to western standards it should even be better than the average original.
A friend of mine shimmed the old one to meet infinity and also had to change the focal width to meet 1m too. back in the days they adjusted the zorki to match the lens and not the lens to match the standard.

One that isn't scratched or so goes at approx. 200€ with import tax and shipping and you probably have to go thru all the stress with shimming etc. (and changing the close focus stop)
 
That's about what I paid for my used but as new C Sonnar ... I'll also pass thanks! :eek:
 
Keith said:
That's about what I paid for my used but as new C Sonnar ... I'll also pass thanks! :eek:
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Yeah I also paid less for my C-Sonnar (it came in a bundle) but this is "new" with warranty and all. Let's see what this will be on the second hand market.
Also a C-Sonnar doesn't focus down to 0.7m.
 
I find it way too expensive... $450 would seem fair to me.
I don't think performance was improved, from the pictures they are displaying.
 
This is three times what I paid for my last Rigid Summicron after getting it adjusted and cleaned by DAG :)
I pass.
 
lot of dissatisfaction with price...

I think this price is fine. I would hope the people building them are making a livable wage.

one point that is not being brought up is that this lens is screw mount, and will mount on a lot more cameras than the M mount lenses people are comparing. You gotta give lomo credit for bringing a new screw mount lens to market
 
I have several J-3 lenses, and I enjoy using them. Most (very clean) J-3 lenses cost these days about $200-$275 on ebay., and there are some Jupiter 3 lenses offered for much less. I don't see any reason for buying a J-3 for $695. I paid less than $600 for a like new CV 50mm 1.1.
 
Let's see how it performs when someone we trust shoots with it.

I don't expect it to be better than my Summicron DR, which I got for 250 Euros (including glasses, front and rear caps and yellow filter) a few years ago :D That lens finally gave me an idea why Leica people are Leica people.
 
WJJ3 said:
lot of dissatisfaction with price...

I think this price is fine. I would hope the people building them are making a livable wage.

one point that is not being brought up is that this lens is screw mount, and will mount on a lot more cameras than the M mount lenses people are comparing. You gotta give lomo credit for bringing a new screw mount lens to market
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I very much like the sample images, although I think they are close in character to my Canon 50/1.4, which you can buy for a lot less.

That said, this is a brand new lens - I have no Russian lenses, but the consensus of the RFF crowd seems to be that they are wonderful, if you get a good copy. If these guys have consistent quality control, then I don't see why the price is so much out of line.

Randy
 
another thing that I see is that the lens seems purble/blue not brown/yellow .. is this MC?

also prices on ebay climbed from what I'm seeing now (mostly because of the weak euro for me). a J3 from russia in nice cosmetic condition (no word about accuracy) is at least 250€ +shipping 19% import tax on top means 300€ for a single coated old J3 with non-standard focal width (ask Dante Stella) that might still need shimming.

If they fixed that inherent problem I find 599€ okish .. although I bet that the Lomo-guys keep most of that to themselfs which is a shame.

I know that's no competition to crazy second hand deals many of us made in the last years but this is a from-the-shop brand new lens.

As I said I'm not going to buy one since it's not black mainly and the strong competitors on the second hand market, yet I find it quite compelling
 
k__43 said:
Yeah I also paid less for my C-Sonnar (it came in a bundle) but this is "new" with warranty and all. Let's see what this will be on the second hand market.
Also a C-Sonnar doesn't focus down to 0.7m.
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Is your rangefinder accurate down to 0.7? If min distance is your stance on this then one could get a macro lens and an SLR for one fifth of the price of that lens.
It has a price not on par with its quality and even its collector's value. It is so ridiculously over priced that not even lompgraphy fans can digest.
 
Check it out here http://shop.lomography.com/en/jupiter-3-plus

For a whopping 599€ one should expect it to be 100% "The results are phenomenal—expect crystal-clear sharpness, natural colors and a beautiful, dreamy bokeh. Don’t miss out on this premium lens—limited quantities are available on a first-come, first served basis."

But it has been proven that their products are not like that. For optical awesomeness would you trust them? (especially when proven awesomeness comes from others for a lot less). And also since we are speaking of J-3s list me the reasons why one would get the original J-3 and why should one buy this that looks like a J-3 but it's not.
 
Nikos72 said:
599€ is way too much for an "Art Lens". . . .
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Why?

It's a perfectly reasonable price if it gives you effects you can't get any other way.

On the other hand it's a crazy price if you can get ten good originals for the same money. It's nothing to do with "art lens", though I agree with you about Lomo's definition of the term. It's everything to do with people with more money than knowledge.

Cheers,

R.
 
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