jupiter 12 35/2.8 ltm

[Michael I.]

I am considering the lens to compliment my zorki 4 with jupiter 8 50/2(both '58 serviced by oleg)

how good is this lens? what are the upsides\downsides?
are there any ltm lenses in the soviet's price range that are good for anything?

 

[captainslack]

I've got the Contax/Kiev mount version and I like it a lot. Never used the LTM one, but most people here speak highly of it.

 

[RML]

My J-12 flares madly. I don't use it very much because of that. However, when it doesn't flare the results are very good.

 

[mac_wt]

The J12 is worth the investment. It has a very large back element that fits very far into the camera and that is easely damaged. In fact it needs a special back cap. Be sure this is included when you buy one. Because of the large back element the J12 doesn't fit/work well with modern Bessa's and Leicas with meters (But it should fit all FSU cameras).

Other LTM lenses worth checking out:
The FSU lenses offer fairly good quality for their price. The J3 and J9 have a not so good reputation: it seems harder to find good examples of these types. The Orion 15 (28mm) and certainly the Russar (20mm) are more in the priceleague of the voigtlander lenses.
There exists some cheaper Leitz glass, especially in 90mm and 135mm and some 50mm Elmars and Summitars. (<100 Euro/USD).
I got a Canon 35mm f:1,8 for a very good price on ebay, because the seller was very honest in his description; he noted the presence of some rust on the outside. Luckely this doesn't influence the quality of the glass.

Wim

 

[airds]

J12 rear cap

J12 rear cap

It has a very large back element that fits very far into the camera and that is easely damaged. In fact it needs a special back cap. Be sure this is included when you buy one.

If your looking for a cheap replacement rear cap, I've found a old 35mm film can cut down in height does the job fine - it's a nice neat fit.

rdgs

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

If you do a search with the Search function, there are various threads that talk about this.

One of them, recently, is from someone that mentions something about carefully painting black the very side edges of the rear element to combat peripheral light-induced glare.

I have the Contax mount version, but since I have a Contax IIIa, I haven't been able to try it out 🙁