brbo
Well-known
Wow! I wonder what I can get for my 63 J-3 that Brian helped me calibrate?
200? If you are lucky. I wouldn't pay more for a lens that can't be properly calibrated in the whole range. Kiev mount J-3 + Amedeo adapter combo is a much better choice and costs about the same.
aoresteen
Well-known
Better yet would be to get a used Canon 50mm f/1.5 for around $300.
goamules
Well-known
All Sonnar types have focus shift, from any maker. And again, many people want a new lens, with a warranty. That's who they are marketing to, not antique rangefinder lens enthusiasts. People that don't surf Ebay or even know about an original, 60 year old unknown condition lens might be buyers for a new marketing campaign.
Dante_Stella
Rex canum cattorumque
Dante_Stella
Rex canum cattorumque
Yes. The M39 lenses require anywhere from slight to major adjustment to work on Leicas (the actual focal lengths of older ones are sometimes "close enough"). This was a byproduct of the Soviets' needing to use the same optical modules for Leica clones as they did for Contax clones. That's not an issue today, and it's pretty unlikely the they are using 50 year old tooling to make a lens out of a totally different metal. The brass may even be CNC'ed now.
Dante
bluesun267
Well-known
Pardon the possibly dumb question, but where can one buy the new Amadeo adapter? I once used an Opton Sonnar years ago (on a Contax) and thought it was amazing. Now that I'm an LTM user I have a 1957 Nikkor S.C. 5cm/1.4 that I love dearly. Still have great memories of that Opton though...
I do like that someone is releasing a lens in LTM, though the Lomography brand leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth. However I will always carry a major grudge against Voigtlander for phasing out LTM lenses.
I do like that someone is releasing a lens in LTM, though the Lomography brand leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth. However I will always carry a major grudge against Voigtlander for phasing out LTM lenses.
Jason Sprenger
Well-known
Amadeo is a site sponsor with an ad on the home page.
uhoh7
Veteran
So in one important respect the new issue is unique: LTM with Leica calibration.
Huss
Veteran
Those lenses were prone to get hazy etc etc. I did a search on ebay and the first 10 I looked at had a combination of the following - scratches/cleaning marks/ haze/ fungus. Given the age of that lens and the uncertainty of these sales I would definitely spring for a new Jupiter with full warranty.
Funny thing is that judgement has been passed down on this Lomo lens before anyone has even used it! It will not be the same as the old version as the mfg process/materials are not the same.
It is by far the cheapest new fast 50mm lens in ltm/m mount available.
Huss
Veteran
Nope. The Lomo 32mm 2.8 is an M mount lens. I wish they made this one Ltm w/ m adapter as it makes the lens far more versatile like the new J3. I would be able to use it on my Leica 1f as well as my M mount cameras.
Sid836
Well-known
Has anyone experience of their LTM lenses on M to LTM adapters on M bodies? Do they need any adjustment for correct focusing?
mcfingon
Western Australia
My experience is that they focus correctly on an M.
goamules
Well-known
Just the manufacturing of an all metal and glass lens is a very expensive proposition today. A Sonnar is 6 elements of different refractive indices glass, all aligned and cemented. It's coated, and mounted in a precision brass fixture. As an example there is a US manufacturer trying to replicate an 1800s Petzval portrait lens for Large Format. They discovered they couldn't make the barrel in traditional brass for the target price, so had to use aluminum. (like LOMO did on their Petzval I believe). That lens is going to cost $1000.
Its also the economy of scale. Fuji can make 20,000 X-mount 35/1.4 lenses and their prices have gone down from about $700 when first out, to about $350 now. The new J-3 will not attract that many buyers, it's a niche lens, so it's expensive. But it will go down in price over time. Just wait a year if you want the price more in line with Voigtlander 50mm lenses.
Its also the economy of scale. Fuji can make 20,000 X-mount 35/1.4 lenses and their prices have gone down from about $700 when first out, to about $350 now. The new J-3 will not attract that many buyers, it's a niche lens, so it's expensive. But it will go down in price over time. Just wait a year if you want the price more in line with Voigtlander 50mm lenses.
goamules
Well-known
Perhaps, but the last Jupiter 3s were made in the Soviet union in 1988, not that long ago. And the current KMZ/Zenit plant has continued making optical devices all these years. The Zenit camera with Helios lens was made at least up until the late 1990s. It's like when Nikon reissues a classic lens, or Smith and Wesson an old style revolver - they're in a better position to do it than these flash in the pan Kickstarter projects that are run by a kid with no experience and a marketing glimmer in his eye.
They made some cool spy cameras fairly recently too: http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/camera/f21/index.htm http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/camera/zakhod/index.htm
hmm. nothing was stolen so far as the Zeiss Contax and lenses.
They were awarded as prizes of war to Russia.
Why Russia got the Contax instead of the Leica,
I have no idea.
But imagine what the photography world would have been like,
if Russia was awarded Leica after the war.
Huss
Veteran
They would have a red star instead of the red dot Komrad!
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
Contax and the Zeiss lenses were considered top of the pops, or "Pro" cameras at that time, akin to the Nikon SP versus the Canon VIL in the USA in the late 1950s.
Also, rumour was that the Contax II and III shutter preformed better in the freezing cold.
Another thing is Jena and Dresden are located in East Germany, Wetzlar was in West Germany.
The Soviets got to Zeiss territory first and the other Allies, the British in this case, got hold of the Leitz works.
santino
FSU gear head
that's the main reason.
Highway 61
Revisited
The USSR got the German industries which were located in the USSR-controlled part of Germany, which became the GDR some years later.
That's why they didn't get the Zeiss Ikon plant located in Stuttgart and the Carl Zeiss plant located in Oberkochen.
k__43
Registered Film User
.. not 100% true tho - the americans held south east germany up to the river Elbe (remember Capa's famous picture of a dead soldier in Leipzig)
It was then traded for West Berlin or so (I have to check that part again tho), but yes then the Zeiss factories in Jena were in Russian territory