Jupiter 12?

[NIKON KIU]

Hello to all ya FSU Fans,
I am lost when it comes to FSU stuff, especially the lenses!
Recently I was offered a Nikon S2 with a Jupiter 12 lens, whole outfit is a user and priced as such.
The Jupiter 12 lens is said to have oil on blades and hard focus.
I have a few of questions.
1) what is a Jupiter 12 in mm? wide angle or normal?
2) is it worth anything in a user condition? $10-$30??or more?
3) will it work with the focus wheel on a Nikon(same as Contax)?
4) What camera was it meant to be used with?
Thanks,
Kiu

 

[Michael I.]

35/2.8 .offered for 10-60$ depending on condition and viewfinder.has good reputation-known to flare. made for kiev-(contax clone).

 

[colyn]

Kievs (Contax copies)

I've seen a couple on ebay in LTM too..

 

[colyn]

Hello to all ya FSU Fans,
I am lost when it comes to FSU stuff, especially the lenses!
Recently I was offered a Nikon S2 with a Jupiter 12 lens, whole outfit is a user and priced as such.
The Jupiter 12 lens is said to have oil on blades and hard focus.

My understanding is this is a very good lens. I hope so because I just bought a like new one on the bay.

I have a few of questions.
1) what is a Jupiter 12 in mm? wide angle or normal?
2) is it worth anything in a user condition? $10-$30??or more?
3) will it work with the focus wheel on a Nikon(same as Contax)?
4) What camera was it meant to be used with?
Thanks,
Kiu

1 This is a 35mm f/2.8

2 I payed $29 for a like new one with both caps and case

3 My understanding is it should work on Contax, Nikon, and Kiev cameras.

4 It comes in Kiev (Contax and Nikon) mount and I have seen a couple on ebay in Leica thread mount.

 

[wlewisiii]

It will use the focus wheel if the focus is smooth on the lens - I used to focus one on a Kiev 4a that way. That said, the one you describe probably should not be focused that way as if it is that stiff you could strip out the gears linking the wheel to the helical.

William

 

[NIKON KIU]

Thanks for all the answeres, I bought the outfit. Looking at the thread here:http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26063
I notice this is a FINE optic.
Colyn, can you post some pictures of your lens with the caps and case when you receive it? I am just curious to see what they look like.
Thanks again,
Kiu

 

[OldNick]

I can't comment on the J 12 in Kiev/Contax mount, but I have a 1987 J-12 in LTM that is a great lens. I assume the optics are the same in both mounts.

Jim N.

 

[skhan]

I heard this is a great lens. But the main problem with these lenses is sample variation. Some people (including Stephen Gandy, if I remember correctly) even had to buy 5-6 of these lenses just to find a better one. I just bought this one (in LTM), since the seller had already tested it and found it to be one of the better ones. Have a look at the seller's gallery, he have some nice shots made with this lens.

 

[Spyderman]

Very nice lens. Flares a lot. Physically can't be mounted on Bessa R.

For this reason I'm looking to get a combo like OldNick - except that I'd like a somewhat cheaper body alternative (Zorki 1), not a Leica 😀

 

[comp_wiz101]

Thanks, it's nice to know that one of my pictures can confirm this quality of this lens 🙂 Of course, I have wlewisiii for selling me such a wonderful example of this lens.

 

[OldNick]

Many of the airplane photos in my gallery were made with my Leica IIIf RD and the Jupiter 12. I was very well pleased with the results. Take a look if you like.

Jim N.

 

[colyn]

Colyn, can you post some pictures of your lens with the caps and case when you receive it? I am just curious to see what they look like.
Thanks again,
Kiu

These are the photos provided by the seller of the 35mm lens hope they help.

 

[Xmas]

Kiu

The hard focus may be

- congealed grease on focus heliciod or
- tolerance problems between j12 and camera, i.e. lens build

The heliciod is exposed from back of lens and grease can be (partly) cleaned out with slightly damp stick (zippo fluid) with cotton waste on end - cotton buds - q tips - or whatever is the proprierary name, a few drops of PTFE liquid and a half a dozen rotates between infinity and close focus should do. Use lots of sticks one drip of zippo per stick...

The tolerance problem can be addressed by

- file
- watchmakers screw driver

The follower of the lens mount inner baynets (i.e. on the lens) can be filed, if you can see which surface is tight, I'd not do this myself.

The lens baynet embillished can be removed (screws) and the mount to lens body grub screws lossened off, the lens mounted on camers and focused to align the mount to lens interface and the grubs tightened in situ. the grubs are made out of soft steel and need to ba handled like soft butter - the stuff one spreads on bread...

The lens is not like a Nikkor for flare, especially if you have a late one with an exposed rear element with an unfinished bevel. You will be able to detect this contra jour, black board paint, a fine brush and a steady hand will help.

Not with standing all this I only use a J12, the much better J8s are too confining, My only problem is distorsion, I get real good resolution and flare.

Noel

 

[varjag]

As to lens quality, I stumbled once upon an article (in Russian) sorting out differences between different Kiev-mount Jupiter-12s. The order from best to worst perforers was:
1. KMZ 'BK', pre-1950s
2. KMZ early 'white', thick front edge, early 1950s
3. Lytkarino 'black'
4. Lytkarino 'white'

 

[comp_wiz101]

I dunno, mine is a black Lytkarino....

 

[rxmd]

varjag,

do you have the reference?

What's "BK"? Biogon Krasnogorskij?

Philipp

 

[NIKON KIU]

Finally

Finally

After waiting for close to a month,package losing its lable and resent, I got the Nikon S2 and jupiter 12 that came with it.
The lens was mismounted! I took it off, it seems to be OK, the lens seems to have normal focus but mounted on the S2, its difficult to use it with the focus wheel, being an external mount lens, I can understand why the seller thought it had a stiff focus. The aperture blades have some oil on them but having only 5 blades! I don't think it's a problem. The lens came with a plastic front cap that looks a little more modern than the one pictured above.
The main problem is that the lens is not easy to mount on a Nikon! I had a tough time mounting it on a user Nikon S and once I finally did and took it off, it left a circular mark on the front panel of the Nikon S! I inspected the Nikon S2 it came with and although it seems to mount easier on the S2 it has left its mark on that camera as well.
So beware of mounting Jupiter 12s on your Nikon, you may end up with a circular scratch!
Bottom line of the story, I can't have a lens scratching my Nikons😱
Look for this Jupiter 12 in the RFF classifieds soon!

Kiu

 

[Xmas]

Nikon Kiu

The lens mount may be removed with a small screw driver, undo the screws on the chroms embellier ring and the grub screws revealed when you remover the embillisher.

You might then be able to file off (or grind) the high spot, that causes the scratch.

The only problem is getting the grub screws back into place as they are really soft and the mount needs to be aligned so they can be screwed in easily, rather than pulling the mount back into place.

If the focus is not free with the lens off the camera then since the helicod threads are visible from the rear all the exposed grease can be removed with dry cotton buds (q tips?). Then the exposed threads cleaned out with a little Zippo fluid dripped on to a clean cutton bud and a drip of teflon gun lube applied as a replacement for the grease, you dont need much.

If the lens focus is tight when fitted on the camera then refitting the grub screws above when the lens is mounted on the camera may help. Normally the grease is the problem, only a fraction need the grubs loosened or the follower filed.

Most J12 should be easy to focus.

The J12 won't match a Nikon ar a Voightlander but are cheap, and you need to be picku to see a difference, not had one scratch a Kiev yet.

What part of the Nikons was scratched?.

Noel

 

[Stephanie Brim]

These photos were taken with a LTM J-12 on a cloudy day in March. I find the lens easy to focus. It won't match the sharpness of a Voigtlander lens wide open, but it does give good bokeh...wish I had a shot for that.

 

[NIKON KIU]

...What part of the Nikons was scratched?.

Noel

As I mentioned, the lens left a circular scratch on the front plate on the right side, here is a crude Jpeg.
Not too bad for a user camera but still...
I sold the lens to a fellow RFFr.
Kiu