Jupiter 12 on Nikon S3

[JonR]

Friends

I have read in several threads here at RFF that the Jupiter 12 is a great lens and work well with Nikon RF´s and without the optical issues you get with other Jupiter lenses and especially the longer ones.

Today I decieded to try it out. My Jupiter 12 mounts on my Nikon S3 but it does not feel good - it does not mount that smoothly and when strating to adjust the distance it feels less and less smooth so i "aborted" my test.

Any suggestions - is it just my lens, something others have experienced and/or something that can be fixed/adjusted ?!

By the way - the same Jupiter 12 works well on my Kiev 4 so the lens itself seems to be OK.


/Jon

 

[xayraa33]

the J 12s are all a bit different, mine mounts ok on my Nikon S2 and the focus is smooth.
Since this lens is very good and not expensive it might be worth while to find one that fits ok.
Also some members do some filing to the mount of this lens to make it fit on Nikon RF cameras.
Vince C. or Brian Sweeney might know more about this than I do.

 

[NIKON KIU]

A while ago I bought a Nikon S2 that came with a Jupiter 12. Here is the thread:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26122

It was exactly as you describe, the focus was uneven, focus wheel was hard to turn.
Worst off all, the lens left a circular scratch on one of my Nikon S's:

Beware of mounting Jupiter 12's on Nikons :bang:

Kiu

 

[JonR]

I got the same circular scratch but not as noticable as on your camera but it clearly behaved in the same way....
😡
/Jon

 

[Tom A]

I have J12 mounted on a S3 at the moment. As Jon says, it is not super smooth focus, particularly at infinity and a couple of millimeters back. As for the scratch when mounting it, I dont know as there is an accumulation of scratches on that S3 and what can be blamed at the J12's or me I don't know.
My Zeikon project is continuing as we speak and today is Sonnar 85/ J12/ Menopta 53 that has been Sweeneyized and another run through of the S #613 with an old 50f1.5 Sonnar. I could not remember which one of my S's that has a lazy 1/500 and 1/250 so another roll of Tmax 100 is required!.

 

[Nikon Bob]

I have to say that I only use Nikon lenses on my S2 but I have been using a Kiev 4a with a CZJ 1.5 Sonnar and if I ever get my Contax II back from overhaul I will be using Jupiter lenses on it. So I am not against mutt combos and feel no need to keep the breed strictly pure. The only reason I do not use Jupiters on my S2 is for fear of marking the body up. BTW I just love the J-12.

Bob

 

[JonR]

Thanks for advice f2eyelevel and others!!

As to the debate of Nikon or non-Nikon lenses there were two drivers for me trying the Jupiter. Firstly I have not succeeded in geeting a Nikon 35 mm lens in RF mount yet - I try to avoid the international Ebay and the likelyhood of finding one here in Sweden at "user price level" seems to be close to zero and there has actually been very few - if any - in the classified section here at RFF over the last year. Secondly I think it adds another dimension to my interest to take pictures, use my cameras, look for new photographic opportunities to try new combinations... Long term I would love to have "all" Nikon lenses but short term I don´t mind experimenting a little (and you learn by doing it as I now did regarding the J-12 outer bayonet collar)

/Jon

 

[JonR]

Nikonwebmaster..... Yes, I will keep looking here at RFF and the NHS Journal is another good idea - I actually get it now since I bought one the Bessa R2S NHS set (allthough I wasn´t that impressed with the Bessa camera and will most likely trade it/sell it)!

I do not like buying through Ebay other than the local Swedish version when you can more easily go and pick up the goods yourself - my feeling (right or wrong) is that you get dissapointed more times than you get positively surprised and since we are talking about stuff with a significant price tag I prefer to buy from more trusted sources like RFF.

Out of some reason I do not fully understand there seems to be very few Nikon RF cameras and lenses in the second hand market where I live so thats a complication. But otherwise I agree with your basic thought of only using Nikon lenses for the Nikon cameras - for my Nikon SLR´s and DSLR´s I only use Nikkor lenses....

/Jon

 

[xayraa33]

If I had a Nikkor 35mm f2.5 in S mount I would certainly use it on my Nikon S2 , but I do not have one, so my Jupiter 12 for my Kiev 4 will do when I want to use a slight W.A . lens on the S2.
it works fine and I have no bad feelings for doing so.

 

[jsuominen]

The reason is that Nikon RF gear was very seldom imported into Europe (if imported at all) back in the 1950s and 1960s.

You're right about that European Nikon rf-dilemma. Most photojournalist who used 35mm RF-cameras late 1950's or early 1960's used Leica or Contax gear here in FInland, because Nikon RF-stuff was not imported here (maybe only small batch of SP and S3, but not the earlier models). I have read that at least one photojournalist, Jussi Pohjakallio, shot professionally with two Nikon SP bodies and 35mm/1.8, 50mm/1.4 and 85mm/1.5 Nikkor lenses.

 

[xayraa33]

was not there a problem with the name "Nikon" in selling the early F in Germany.
it was too much like" IKON" (Zeiss TM. name).

 

[NIKON KIU]

The interesting thing is that in the Nikon crowd, partly because they are somewhat more uncommon cameras, there are apparently higher percentages of users to whom the exterior of their cameras is important and/or who abhor mixing Soviet and non-Soviet equipment. Or that's at least my impression. In the end everybody should probably use his equipment the way he likes.

Philipp

Not entirely so.
I just hate to mount a lens on a camera with the knowledge that it's gonna scratch the front plate. Sounds incompatible at best.

If you choose to mount a $35 lens on a $500 camera knowing it's gonna scratch it, then that's fine too.

Kiu

Kiu

 

[rxmd]

I just hate to mount a lens on a camera with the knowledge that it's gonna scratch the front plate. Sounds incompatible at best.

I think the core of the problem is that one doesn't have the knowledge in advance. Some lenses will scratch, others won't. Some users will mount the lens, others won't. Personally I would risk it, because the emotional value I attach to an unscratched camera body doesn't mean much to me, but given that we all are different people, it's no wonder that we assess these risks differently.

I've got a J-12 that leaves scratches already on a Kiev body. Of course I wouldn't mount that on a Nikon. Instead one can just get another lens, it's not as if they're expensive... I don't scratch cameras deliberately, but if I'm afraid of scratching them accidentally then I should just refrain from changing lenses or using the camera in general, and leave them in a glass cupboard. But as I said, that's a matter of philosophy 🙂

Philipp

 

[rbsinto]

Fred,
You stated you didin't know anyone shooting seriously with Nikon rangefinders these days. I'm curious to know how you define "seriously" as, while I unfortunately derive very, very little income from photography, nevertheless I take my streetshooting very seriously, and use an S3 to do so, about a third of the time.

 

[xayraa33]

nice snapshots.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Can I have the last word?

I have a Menopta "Shimmed" by the Master "Shimmer"...



Kiu

 

[MikeL]

A big hello to the Menopta Master!