J12 on r-d1? Just bought rd-1

[gavinlg]

Hey all, just bought an r-d1 locally from melbourne, and then had a problem with my car that sucked up funds previously reserved for a nice lens, so I'm looking at getting a cheap 35 to use for the time being.

It seems jupiter 12s go from about $30-60us at the moment on the bay, What are they like? More specifically what are they like on the r-d1?

Also, how long does it take to recieve them from the russion sellers once sent?



Has anyone got any examples from a j12 on an r-d1?
Has anyone got a J12 they want to part with and send to me?


Thanks very much
Gavin

 

[RML]

I have a J12 and I'm loath to use it on my R-D1. It's got a behind larger than J-Lo's and I'm not going to risk my shutter blades. Others have reported, though, that the J12 works on the R-D1 but blocks the light sensor.

 

[pfogle]

they work beaut on the R-D1 - they don't touch the shutter and have a nice image if you get a good one.

beware of de-centering (a problem with FSU lenses probably due to less than perfect quality control) and test out any lens before buying!

I've used them, as have many others here, and I've never heard of a problem with them. Because of the large rear element, you may have to dial in some exposure correction, but that's all.

 

[Edward Felcher]

The rear element doesn't come near the shutter. It's perfectly OK.

I use one on my R-D1 with excellent results.

I thought it would block the meter but was pleasantly surprised to discover the camera meters perfectly with the J-12.

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Here are my two creepy examples, embiggenable on flickr...

What Edward said, you can shove anything inside your r-d1 without hitting your shutter...Elmars will scratch your paint tho... I got this lens from a member here a couple years ago.

 

[gavinlg]

Edward, SteveM, thanks very much - very reassuring!

Steve those results look quite nice actually - how do you find the lens goes as far as sharpness/colour rendition etc compared to modern cosina voigtlander stuff?

Anyone got any more pics to add?

Thanks!

 

[Edward Felcher]

I have a J12 that is better edge to edge than most modern designs.

 

[migtex]

Not on a RD-1 but I'm a lucky owner of a J12 for my Nikon S's and S2's
Shot wide open @2.8 on Tri-x

 

[89rzweig]

Hi Gavin and others,

I am definitely not an expert on RF gear and this is actually my first post in this great forum, but as I was solving exactly the same dilemma couple of weeks ago, I think my experience could be useful to you.

As you might guessed, finally I went for it. I found, that it is actually Carl Zeiss Biogon designed in early 1930's, recalculated by the Russians around 1953. It's a bit odd looking but very nice small lens. There are only two caveats when used with the R-D1:

* when focused on infinity the real element really blocks the camera meter, so if you use AE a lot, then it is probably not for you. But if you are -- like I am -- used to set the shutter speed yourself, then it is no problem, just close focus, get the meter reading, adjust the shutter speed, focus, etc.

* the aperture ring is located *inside* the front part of the lens and sometimes changing the aperture requires a little fiddling; definitely not for people with long nails...

As for comparison with Voiglander, I can only compare it with 28mm Ultron I've got. The Ultron is one stop faster and the build quality is definitely in a different league, but it cost me $475 including VAT in a local camera store. In comparison I bought the J-12 on ebay for $67 including shipping and currency conversion charges, it is brand new in original packaging with the original certificate (passport) and even a user guide in Russian. I can send you a link to the seller on ebay, if you are interested.

Picture-quality-wise, my first impressions are that the Ultron creates somewhat low contrast, soft like images, but still with plenty of detail. On the contrary the J-12 creates more crisp images, also with plenty of detail and free of any distortions. It is quite funny, the images from the Ultron lens look more old-fashioned-like then the ones made by the J-12.

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Pavel