Downgrading Planar to Jupiter-8. What to look for?

[sienarot]

I had lusted for the ZM 50mm f/2 Planar for a long time and finally pulled the trigger when I came across a used local copy. However, after owning it for almost a year, I only put one whopping roll of film through it. As nice of a lens it is, I'm not really a 50mm guy. I've been considering selling the Planar for a while, but the only thing holding me back was me wanting to keep a 50 on hand just in case (that and the fact I love Zeiss glass).

Now I'm considering freeing up up the Planar again but picking up a J-8 in its place. I'm really finding the soft, low contrast look appealing but I don't know very much about FSU equipment. Is there anything I should be looking for with these lenses? Are they RF coupled? Are there any versions that are better than others? What's the verdict on the aluminum tabbed versions?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Spyderman]

I'm really finding the soft, low contrast look appealing - a typical 'sonnar' lens.

Is there anything I should be looking for with these lenses? - A known good copy.

Are they RF coupled? - Yes.

Are there any versions that are better than others? - I don't think so, it's just how the particular copy had been handled and used / abused.

What's the verdict on the aluminum tabbed versions? - Depends whether you like tabbed. Otherwise the glass is identical.


PS: if you want to sell the Planar and keep a good 50 just in case, look at the Canon 50/1.8. It's tiny, it's cheap, it's very good.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

The various aspects of J8 aquisition have been discussed at great length here, many, many times, and a little looking around will give a lot of information and examples, probably better to get one from a reliable source - such as Fedka....and yes they are r/f coupled.
Dave.

 

[peter_n]

Both posts advise well. The Russian glass is great, I have a J-8 that is very good but the mechanics are not so hot. I would strongly consider the Canon mentioned above or a Nikon f1.5, because after you buy a J-8 and get it CLA'd you are not too far short of the cost of a good Japanese lens.

 

[Thardy]

The J8 is a pretty good lens. I think that's the one with non click fstops on the aperture dial. I have one that I bought a few months ago. It only cost about $60 at Fedka, but he does have a new one for $100, if you like all of your gear to look new.

The best thing about the J8 from Fedka is that they are supposedly all checked out, you can get it in 2-3 days since he is in the US, and that he actually has them (I'm comparing to the Canon, where do you find them?)

Plus it's so cheap you don't feel as if you've lost anything if you don't like it.

 

[David Murphy]

I've found the later model J8's have better optics - not bad for the price in fact. Most of my experience has been with the Kiev versions. I would not pay more than about $30 for one though.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

I just picked up a J-8 recently from a fellow Rff'er and its been working great since I got it. One observation about my J-8 is that it focuses spot on with my Fed2 but when I mount it on my Canon P lots of close focus images shot wide open will come out a little back focused.

 

[brachal]

The entire lens barrel rotates when you focus a late-model, all-black J-8. Setting the aperture can rotate the lens and spoil your focus, so always set aperture first if you buy a black J-8. When they work as designed, J-8s are very nice lenses, but I don't know if they should really be considered in the same league as a new Zeiss. I usually buy from fedka.com, and have never been disappointed.

 

[xayraa33]

look for one that is not sickly unsharp at f2

 

[tbarker13]

I picked up a black J8 from Fedka for something like $50. I've been quite happy with it so far.

Here's a shot with it - wide open.

 

[sienarot]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Since I'm not in any rush, I may just keep my eyes open in the classified section so I can get a copy that's been verified to be a good one. I seem to recall these come up pretty frequently. Failing that, Fedka will be the way to go.