maclaine
Well-known
About a month ago, I went to a photo show just outside of Boston. My goal was to seek out a Sonnar or Sonnar-type lens for my Zeiss Ikon. I had recently traded in a beautiful Nikkor 5cm f/2 towards a ZM Planar, and immediately regretted it. I was looking for something faster, rather than just another f/2 lens, but the only one I saw was a Nikkor 5cm f/1.4 in Nikon-S mount.
One of the dealer's tables I stopped at had a Jupiter-8. However, I initially passed on it, because of some fears about Russian lenses based solely on ignorance and the occasional negative story online, and because it was just f/2. After scouring the rest of the show and not finding anything, I went back and asked to take a look at it. Other than a minute amount of oil on the aperture blades and a stray hair in the lens itself, it was in fantastic condition. It was priced at $50, but the guy behind the table said he'd sell it for $40. Seemed like a fair enough deal to me, so I grabbed it.
It's a black version with a serial number that starts with 02. The markings on the lens are in all-white, rather than white and green as I've seen on other black J-8's, and it doesn't say "Made in USSR" on it. It has the KMZ logo on it, but "Jupiter-8" is written in Cyrillic. I can't seem to find another lens that looks like it in my searches online. Maybe it's a frankenlens?
Anyway, I finally developed some pictures with it, and boy is it a winner. It's "look" is VERY different from the Planar (as I expected), and I really love what it does wide open. It doesn't seem to have any focus issues, although I haven't done a proper test. I'm not really the testing type, so I might not even bother, as these images seem just fine to me.
As a bonus, these are some of my first home-developed rolls of film. It's Arista Premium 400 in HC-110. The lab I used to take my stuff to developed everything in T-Max, but I like the way these look a lot more. They seem slightly sharper, but it could just be my rose-colored glasses since I did it myself and I'm just happy that there's anything on the negative at all.
Enough talk, here are the pictures.
First is my friend and regular model Emeen. We work together and I regularly need to either test a lens or finish off a roll, so if he's around, then the camera usually gets pointed at him.
Next is my friend Jay. He's the lead singer in my band, and this was a couple weeks ago when we went down to Brooklyn to mix the songs for our forthcoming EP release. Jay's quite a character, and it's hard not to laugh when he's around. I really like the way the light looks in this one.
That's it for now. Thanks for looking!
One of the dealer's tables I stopped at had a Jupiter-8. However, I initially passed on it, because of some fears about Russian lenses based solely on ignorance and the occasional negative story online, and because it was just f/2. After scouring the rest of the show and not finding anything, I went back and asked to take a look at it. Other than a minute amount of oil on the aperture blades and a stray hair in the lens itself, it was in fantastic condition. It was priced at $50, but the guy behind the table said he'd sell it for $40. Seemed like a fair enough deal to me, so I grabbed it.
It's a black version with a serial number that starts with 02. The markings on the lens are in all-white, rather than white and green as I've seen on other black J-8's, and it doesn't say "Made in USSR" on it. It has the KMZ logo on it, but "Jupiter-8" is written in Cyrillic. I can't seem to find another lens that looks like it in my searches online. Maybe it's a frankenlens?
Anyway, I finally developed some pictures with it, and boy is it a winner. It's "look" is VERY different from the Planar (as I expected), and I really love what it does wide open. It doesn't seem to have any focus issues, although I haven't done a proper test. I'm not really the testing type, so I might not even bother, as these images seem just fine to me.
As a bonus, these are some of my first home-developed rolls of film. It's Arista Premium 400 in HC-110. The lab I used to take my stuff to developed everything in T-Max, but I like the way these look a lot more. They seem slightly sharper, but it could just be my rose-colored glasses since I did it myself and I'm just happy that there's anything on the negative at all.
Enough talk, here are the pictures.
First is my friend and regular model Emeen. We work together and I regularly need to either test a lens or finish off a roll, so if he's around, then the camera usually gets pointed at him.
Next is my friend Jay. He's the lead singer in my band, and this was a couple weeks ago when we went down to Brooklyn to mix the songs for our forthcoming EP release. Jay's quite a character, and it's hard not to laugh when he's around. I really like the way the light looks in this one.
That's it for now. Thanks for looking!
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oftheherd
Veteran
I'd say both film and lens are doing well together. Nice photos.
paulfish4570
Veteran
Your J-8 fits your rangefinder well. Good combo.
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Good lens, good processing.
maclaine
Well-known
Thanks for the kind words, everybody. I can't believe I got so lucky on my first try with a Russian lens. I'll post some more shots in here as I get them scanned.
The best part about developing at home is how (relatively) easy it is. It's addicting, and the best thing is I think it's going to get me to shoot more, because now I'm not worried as much about the cost of having a lab develop them.
The best part about developing at home is how (relatively) easy it is. It's addicting, and the best thing is I think it's going to get me to shoot more, because now I'm not worried as much about the cost of having a lab develop them.
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maclaine
Well-known
Here's another one. Looks like flare got the best of this one, but I think it adds a great, dreamy quality to the image. It's got that "KMZ glow".
denmark.yuzon
Streetographer
Wow, amazing photos... Now im wondering if I have enough money in the bank to get a nice zorki and a j8..