Black FSU's and the mysterious J 11

[Spider67]

Hi,
I just wanted to ask those folks with black FSU's:
Did you buy them or make them yourselves?

And what were the expeirences of those of you who bought them from an ebay seller?

A seller promised me that his Contax copy's black colour was durable (looks good, although I just want a black Kiev and not a Contax copy, at least there are no Swastikas on it!)

Second quesition:
I rarely read about the J 11's. Are they ever used?
What to think of when using them (especially with the auxiliary VF's)?

Or did most people buy them "just to have the gear complete" (to be honest that's what crossed my mind when I saw one)

 

[dee]

My black ''Leicas '' [confirmed as Fed 1g when re-cla by Oleg ] come with instant brassing - it's not too bad and it seems in keeping - I love 'em !
I also [ sorry ] have several Zorki 1 and Zorki S ''Leica pretenders '' from moscowphoto which have newly chromed top and bottom plates and a rich thick gloss black rangefinder cover , which are really durable . They are also genuinely lovely to use - really smooth and good shutter action - despite the dire warnings I received about remade Leica '' tributes '' !
My black Fed 2a , a budget find from blyatnikov is a little rough around the edges , but i did not expect much .
dvd have many black Kievs which are tempting - but my Oleg Kiev 4 and 4m in original chrome , are just a deelight to USE !
I would say go for it , but then I am biased !
dee

 

[rxmd]

A seller promised me that his Contax copy's black colour was durable

Maybe it's just me being overly suspicious, but what else should he have told you? He wants to sell a camera, and it's obviously what you wanted to hear 😉

I rarely read about the J 11's. Are they ever used?
What to think of when using them (especially with the auxiliary VF's)?

I've used mine a bit on a Bessa and a Zorki 6. I had an auxiliary finder, but ended up guess-framing with the Bessa using the rangefinder patch and the 90mm framelines. It's a fine lens with nice rendition, but I found it was surprisingly difficult to focus wide open on the Bessa and all in all I just didn't like the focal length. I sold it together with my other 135, the Canon FD 135/2.5, which was a much better lens - if only because it is much easier to focus and frame on an SLR and it allows for much shallower DOF in portraits.

Or did most people buy them "just to have the gear complete" (to be honest that's what crossed my mind when I saw one)

I got mine with my Zorki and it was the least used lens I owned.

Philipp

 

[brachal]

As far as I know, all FSU rangefinders were originally chrome. I wouldn't try to paint one myself, but I do have a very nice looking black Fed-2. The finish isn't especially durable, but I think that will vary considerably depending on who did it. Since none of the black FSU's is a factory finish, you're gambling on the skill/dedication of the guy who painted it.

I have two Jupiter 11's, one LTM and one Kiev. 135mm isn't a very popular length for rangefinders, but I like it for certain things -- musical events, trips to the zoo or the swamp -- where the extra reach is useful. I like the lens and its results. Two of my favorite photos came from the J11. I always use my turret finder with it. You can guesstimate with a bessa, but on a FSU camera framing is a crapshoot unless you use the finder. Good or bad, any rangefinder with J11 and a turret on top will start conversations for you. I've met some very nice photographers that way.

 

[Spider67]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Just the answers I was looking for
@rmxd: the interesting thing was that the seller himself used the word "durable" and that was one reason more to ask around as sometimes people love to emphasize opposites.
@dee interesting as blyatnikov was the first I found! My Kiev was bought in 87 new needed a shutter repair as soon as iot was out of it's box so when I thought about buying a new one I just wanted a black one...actually I am workin on a scheme to have it sent from the seller to Oleg and have it CLA'd immediately.
I have the turret finders for both, no big difference except that youcant change the times when you use the Kiev VF on a Zorki.
So I'll give the J 11 a second thought!

 

[rick oleson]

It's pretty tricky to use a shoe mounted finder with a 135: the fit to the shoe has to be very tight, and the parallax correction (if the finder has it) has to be spot on. I have a slightly loose fit in the shoe with my 35-135 finder, which is not a big deal with other lenses but with the 135 i miss the target by half the frame. Results are much better if you aim with the RF spot in the viewfinder - you can still use the shoe mount finder to give you an idea of how much you'll get in the picture, and then focus and aim with the regular finder.

 

[ruben]

Hi,
I just wanted to ask those folks with black FSU's:
Did you buy them or make them yourselves?

And what were the expeirences of those of you who bought them from an ebay seller?

................ although I just want a black Kiev and not a Contax copy, at least there are no Swastikas on it!)

I use to buy very cheap from Alex photo goods the front black plate for my Kievs, which includes already a white nice Kiev logo, and paint myself top and bottom plates. The quality of the paint is very good.
Cheers,
Ruben

 

[outfitter]

Hi,
I just wanted to ask those folks with black FSU's:
Did you buy them or make them yourselves?

And what were the expeirences of those of you who bought them from an ebay seller?

A seller promised me that his Contax copy's black colour was durable (looks good, although I just want a black Kiev and not a Contax copy, at least there are no Swastikas on it!)

My black Contax copy was built up in the front (probably with auto body filler or putty like Bondo) in order to "engrave" the Contax name. As a consequence you cannot mount any lens other than the 50mm. The auto lock mechanism sticks and sometimes has to be manhandled. All in all sexy but not very satisfactory.

Michael

 

[Wayno]

Second quesition:
I rarely read about the J 11's. Are they ever used?
What to think of when using them (especially with the auxiliary VF's)?

I like my J11 - I use the universal turret finder for framing.



I've got some nice portrait results too, but as Rick says, framing gets a little tricky when you're dealing with closer subjects.

 

[Xmas]

The FSU made lots of black Fed 5c... they normally came with an all black L-61LD...

Noel

 

[Didier]

I have two black FSU cameras, a Kiev 4-AM with Helios-103 and a FED-2 with Industar-61LD.

The FED was from ebay seller alex-photo (also asr-photo), with whom I've had several transactions. The cameras isn't lighttight, though, and would need a CLA. But it wouldn't be a shooter anyway so I leave it in the showcase (the finder is rather squinty, the accessory shoe slightly too large and most accessories don't fit because the top plate is raised in front of the shoe).

The Kiev-4AM came from Yuri Davidenko of http://www.dvdtechcameras.com (which also sells on ebay as d_v_d_t_e_c_h_n_i_kk and h_o_h_o_l). There was an issue with the film transport mechanism when I received the camera. Yuri offered to fix it and added a goodie when he sent it back. Since then the camera works well, is lightight, speeds are accurate.

A interesting shooter camera might be the Zorki-5 or Zorki-6, which have a long rangefinder baselength (67mm). Painting it black DIY shouldn't be an impossible threat.

Wayno: Nice silo shot!

Didier

 

[Spider67]

Thanks Didier! That's even better than the dealer I was considering. That helps a lot
Thanks for the warning outfitter as I want to use my black Kiev with ALL of my black lenses!

Great Photos Wayno! Some people handle cameras and some actually make pictures. Thatose are just the kind of photos to humble everybody who's overemphasizing the use of the most expensive equipment possible
I think the correct use of the turret viewfinder is an arcane art in itself
Perhaps we should make experiments and post ist as a stuicky later on.
And I even have both finders result: the Kiev turret finder is great for the Retina IIS

 

[physiognomy]

My black Kiev came already painted (from US ebay seller - past member here I think) If you click the Kiev 4 link in my signature you will see it. The paint has been very durable except where the meter cover rubs when opened. Unfortunately it hasn't seen that much use of late.

I also own J-11s in both ltm & Contax/Keiv mounts & find that they are good, useful lenses. As mentioned the zoo is a great place to have a 135mm handy when the caged animals are more interesting than the one's roaming around freely 😉