Do I Zorki or Do I Fed?

[Stu :)]

Righto, I've decided I'm going to buy one of those legendary Jupiter lenses for my Bessa's. I'd prefer a Jupiter-3, but a Jupiter-8 will do I guess.
The question is, which "rear lens cap" do I get, the Zorki or the FED?

The next question is, does someone here have one they would like to part with? Or do travel down 'the waiting 21 days for Russian mail order, wondering if I've been ripped off' road...

Stu

 

[RML]

Stu, the J-8 is the standard lens of the Zorki 4(K).

If you decide to got he russian way you can be pretty sure you won't get ripped off if you buy from a reputable seller like alex-photo, ruscamera, etc. They are perhaps a little more expensive but you get what they advertise.

 

[peter_n]

Also from my reading of the situation WRT the J-3 and the J-8 you are going to be better off statistically with a J-8. You pay a lot more for a J-3 and at the same time stand a better chance of getting one that is not so good. OTOH most people here and elsewhere seem to be happy with their J-8s. Remy has a cracking one and I've seen pics from other lenses that also look really good to me.

As Remy says, look for a seller with excellent feedback and you should be OK. I just got a J-11 from a seller who didn't have big numbers but he was at 100% in terms of his feedback. The lens looks gorgeous, came with it's original certificate and I can't wait to get the negs back from it.

 

[RML]

Not so long ago there was a thread about whether to go for a Zorki-4 or a Zorki-4K. The former is equiped with a film advance knob; the latter comes with a film advance lever.

Furthermore, the VF of the Zorki is bigger and brighter than the FED's.

Indeed, my J-8 is a gem. It gives me the most wonderful gentle softness in my shots. I tried the Industar-61 LD and the Industar-26 that regularly come with the FED-2 but I wasn't satisfied with either of these lenses: IMO they render the picture too harshly and the colour not very nicely. But that's my opinion.