J9 vs. Serenar

[dazedgonebye]

So, which is the better bet? A jupiter 9 or one of the serenar 85mm lenses?
The Serenar will cost about twice as much (near as I can tell) but will I be running the same sort of risk associated with FSU lenses?
Is a good copy of one better than a good copy of the other?

Should I quit thinking this to death and lay out the bucks for a CV 75mm?

 

[Chaser]

I am thinking about selling both of these lenses...If you are interested I could send you both and sell you the one you want.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I am thinking about selling both of these lenses...If you are interested I could send you both and sell you the one you want.

That's a great offer! What lens are you going to?
Do you have prices in mind for the lenses?

Thanks,

 

[Chaser]

I picked up a elmarit, and then sold my leica so the only camera i have that can fit these lenses is a minolta cle and f2 85mm lenses are a little taxing on the small baselength. anyway when I get off of work later i will pm you and see if we can work something out.

 

[dazedgonebye]

Great. I look forward to it....

 

[FrankS]

It doesn't get much better than that! 🙂

 

[dazedgonebye]

No it does not.

 

[ZorkiKat]

The Serenar is about 2X as heavy as the J-9. No, I haven't really put either lens on the scale, but it does feel that way 😀.

The Serenar is good (I've got a chrome f/2 version) and is quite sharp even at full aperture. You won't get any sort of 'glow' (euphemism for flare if a pedigree lens makes it 🙂) that one sees from an average J-9.

The Serenar is not for FSU RF use. This lens used a tongue-shaped cam which either would catch on the FED or Zorki pointy RF sensor tip, or else won't line up with it properly (no RF coupling). Either case is bad for the camera.

Jay

 

[dazedgonebye]

Oh no! No Serenar for FSU? That's what I want it for.

Shoot....

On the bright side, at least I did not buy one off of 'bay in complete ignorance...which I nearly did.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Oh no! No Serenar for FSU? That's what I want it for.

Shoot....

On the bright side, at least I did not buy one off of 'bay in complete ignorance...which I nearly did.

Nine -perhaps 8-, times in 10, a lens with an RF coupler like the one found in the Serenar 85, 100, and 135 won't fit or mount a Zorki or FED correctly or safely. And in those instances where the lens would mount, the coupling won't likely be accurate. One reason is that the camera's RF sensor isn't sloped correctly. The point sensor could be oriented with its long curved side facing outwards. Such an orientation would let a Serenar in, but it could also mean that the RF sensor tip is not properly calibrated for near distance focusing.

I have more than 65 FED and Zorki- many of these are the Barnack types, and some are the later models. No more than 10 can take in the long Serenars correctly.

You'll have no problems with a Leitz Elmar 90 though, assuming that your FED or Zorki is properly calibrated to Leitz standard.

Jay

 

[raid]

Jay: Do you use each of your 65 cameras once in a while? This is a large collection indeed.

Raid

 

[ZorkiKat]

Jay: Do you use each of your 65 cameras once in a while? This is a large collection indeed.

Raid

There was a time (though the cameras were not that many yet) that I used to pull one out and snap with it. Now, with film getting rare (here) and the opportunities to go out and shoot equally as scarce, I'm afraid not. One is almost always in the bag, with film in it.

Jay

 

[raid]

There was a time (though the cameras were not that many yet) that I used to pull one out and snap with it. Now, with film getting rare (here) and the opportunities to go out and shoot equally as scarce, I'm afraid not. One is almost always in the bag, with film in it.

Jay

Jay: I thought that almost anywhere in the world it is easy to get film. I wish you good times with your camera collection.

Raid

 

[ZorkiKat]

Jay: I thought that almost anywhere in the world it is easy to get film. I wish you good times with your camera collection.

Raid

Thanks Raid. I'm currently expecting a clutch of 5 more FED-1.

There's still colour negative film to be found, but I'm no fan of these. The BW which I favour - one from China which has old style qualities- is now hardly found. Its importer seemed to have spooled the last of their stocks. I think Tri-X in bulk rolls could still be found if one looked for them. Slide film is sometimes found, but even the Kodak and Fuji here have stopped their E6 lines. They now send their rolls to an independent firm. Since they probably see these emulsions at the frequency of less than 1 per week, economics dictate that the machines which use perishable chemistry and lots of electricity be shut down. 🙁

Jay

 

[Valkir1987]

The last industries for making color film in Europe have also closed for about 2 months ago. 🙁 Where is the film used here in europe supposed to come from? (when it is not produced in Asia) Luckily good quality film can still be bought here. (for how long is another question)
About my Jupiter 9: Its a quite heavy lens, mine still suffers from flare. (the aperture is so greasy that it works like a mirror which causes inner reflections) I still have good results using a UV and skylight filter, and a good hood if there is no light in front. 🙂

 

[raid]

I hope that the wish of millions of film users will encourage some companies to continue producing film. Without film, all film based cameras will be either paper weights or collectibles.

Raid