JWalker
Member
Would a new Jupiter 12 35mm f2.8 mount to a Contax iia? Anyone have comparison with Nikon 35mm 2.5 and Jupiter12?
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
On the Contax IIa and IIIa they are not recommended, as the protruding rear glass on the lens will hit the shutter curtain.
As to the J-12 on the Nikon RF cameras, the lens will work fine on them but they will scratch the camera's front plate to mount the lens, ask me how I know?
I have shot with this combo and they work just fine but I got no samples on Photobucket to link here, so check out the work of the late great Tom A on our forum or on Flickr and he had some photo samples with the J-12 and RF Nikon cameras.
Highway 61
Revisited
Actually not at all. You just can NOT mount the J-12 on the Contax IIa and IIIa.
Not because of the rear glass to shutter curtains distance but because of the upper shutter curtain additional housing in those cameras lens chamber, compared with the Contax II and III (and the Kievs). In other words, it's just impossible.
The W-Nikkor-C 35/2.5 is a better lens than the J-12 (has less vignetting and is sharper corner-to-corner). A mint late black (improved coatings) W-Nikkor-C 35/2.5 is one of the best 35 ever made and a must-have if you own a compatible camera body. It will mount with no problem on all cameras sporting a Contax-Nikon RF mount. On the Contax cameras it will focus just fine.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
I never owned a Contax lla or llla but I know that the J-12 is not compatible with that camera, regardless.
I know that the Nikkor 35mm/f2.5 is a fine lens, as I own two of them, but both are in LTM. For the little I use the 35mm focal length with my Nikon S2 the J-12 lens in Kiev/Contax mount is plenty fine and I have 3 of these lenses, two of which are still almost brand new, as I bought them cheap in 1992 in Eastern Europe, where there was a lot of ex Soviet stuff going for peanuts.
Cascadilla
Well-known
+1 on the 35 mm f/2.5 Nikkor--I own one of the earlier chrome versions and it is very sharp, as well as fitting perfectly on my Contax IIIa.
johank
Established
For a IIa/IIIa you will need a modern 35 mm. The change to Alumnium shutter shortend the Dark Room.
Elmar Lang
Well-known
Another "vintage", post-1945 35mm. is Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 35/2,8, that perfectly fits on the IIa/IIIa, not having the mentioned, protruding rear element.
Only, the Biometar is not really easy to find...
Only, the Biometar is not really easy to find...