Jupiter-12 silver vs black re. flare

[Jan Pedersen]

I have 1991 specimen in new condition and although it generally performs nicely it flares more than any other lens i have used.
Even on overcast days i will get images with strong corner flare if light is stronger at the corner than at the center of the image.
The J-12 is not a lens i will use for any important work.

 

[02Pilot]

FYI, my testing with the J12 showed that using a normal 40.5mm generic vented metal hood (available on ebay for a few dollars) helped in some conditions, and did not vignette. Using a filter behind it, however, would cause vignetting, so it's pretty close to the limit. Even with the hood, I still see the purple flare on occasion; with B&W I'm not really bothered by the flaring, but with color it's not ideal.

 

[02Pilot]

I figured I'd throw some samples into this thread, since defining the magnitude of such things as flare is often difficult without images. These were shot recently with my silver J-12, which has been cleaned and serviced by me. The black paint on the rear element is fully intact; no lens hood was used.



Here you can see the flare in the top center. It's certainly present, but how much that sort of thing bothers you is obviously personal. I'm not really troubled by it.



Here it is again in the same position, but a bit more obvious.



And yet in this shot, taken from a similar perspective but at just a slightly lower angle, the flare is almost nonexistent.

These are all B&W of course, and in color the purple cast of the flare would have been far more problematic. In any case, hopefully this gives a little sense of what my lens does. Perhaps others will add their own samples so we can see some of the variations.

 

[fer_fdi]

>traveler101 said:
>Fer, why do you want an old silver one if your black one works well? Or are you just curious?

Curious mostly, I try old and newer version of FSU lenses when possible and see what I preffer. I like a lot how this lens render so I'd like to try both.
But yes it is also a lottery, not just year or factory but many other factors...


>Jan Pedersen:

My observation is that J-12 from the 80's are generally fine, maybe you could try with another one... I use Summicron-C and Jupiter-12 the most in my digital, so my 86 J-12 gives me very good images, I switch to Summicron-C for a different look.
I also have a Summaron 35/3.5 which I love and use, but Summicron-C and Jupiter-12 are the two I use for a more "modern" look.
And I don't think I have a specially good J-12; images look the same as all the images I researched here and in Flickr before buying. Same rendition.


>02Pilot:

Thanks a lot for your images (which are very nice btw)
They show the issue vey well, although in your images I don't find it specially annoying, I could live with that, no problem. I fact I think your lens may be just fine and showing it's behavior when shooting against the sun: the picture has great contrast and sharpness and flare comes directly from the sun...

The examples shown on the link I provided are weirder imho... That flare in the corners... I think that is the issue maybe



Million thanks to all
Still scratching my head though...

Please keep examples, experiences and thoughts coming!

.

 

[fer_fdi]

So, it is the older KMZ silver Jupiter12 from the 50s more prone to flare than the rest?

It is because internal reflection on the clear color body?

Or it is completely random and specimen-dependant?

 

[fer_fdi]

OK I finally got a KMZ Jupiter-12 from 1956 and so far my specimen does not seems to be more flare prone than my LZOS from 1986.

Focus is off and I'm trying to resolve that but not that flare issue some reported.
And I shoot in very bright mediterranean sun here.

 

[wolves3012]

FWIW, I have a LTM black version from '76 and a silver Kiev-mount version from '68. Neither of them has caused me problems with flare. I'd suggest the OP just gets a decent copy and doesn't obsess about the differences. If flare is a problem, there's an obvious answer: a hood. Frankly, I can't see how the silver/black argument makes any sense, especially when several manufacturers made them over quite a few years, undoubtedly with slightly different glass and definitely with different coatings. I'm fairly certain that no FSU lens was multi-coated.

 

[fer_fdi]

That's what the OP, me, did.
got a decent KMZ copy and reported back my experience.
: )