Jupiter 3 + DSLR ...

[Matus]

Hello,

I have just received a very nice clean copy of Jupiter 3 that I intend to use on R3A (hopefuly to have one within few weeks). Apart from the M39 -> Leica M adapter I got form the same saller a M39 -> Minolta AF adapter as I hoped to use this this lens a bit as a potrait lens on my Minolta 7D.

Mounting the lens for the first time on the 7D revealed 2 things:
- the adapter is rather bad and shows a lot of later "shift" - like 1 - 2 mm.
- even worse - the lens will focus to some 15 - 20 cm (!) and here I am puzzeled. Is this purely becasue of the large flange-to-film distance of SLRs (when compared to rangefinder cameras) that turn every rangefinder lens into a macro lens on a SLR or ... ?

I seem to remember that some people did you their M lenses on DLSRs so I am wondering how. I knew I will loose the infinity focus with this combination, I just did not expect such a strong 'macro' effect.

 

[ZorkiKat]

You can't mount a J3 on a dSLR or SLR for that matter, because the lens mount flange to focal length of an average SLR is much longer than what the J3 uses. The J3 LTM uses 28,8mm. The average SLR is anywhere from 42 to 46mm. That gives you more than 14mm
extension- making the J3 good for nothing else than focusing within the 10-20mm range.

However, you can mount the J3 on a Lumix...it's not a true SLR, but looks like outside.

It's SLR lenses which can be put on LTM or M cameras...an adapter which bridges the flange to focal differences is available.

 

[Matus]

I see, and I have to admit that I feel pretty ashamed not to realize this beforehand, as I am a physics 😎

But indeed once I realized that focusing the J-3 form 1m to infinity moves the lenses only about some 5mm, then it was clear that another 10-15mm will bring the focus ... nicely down. I can at least try some macro 😉

 

[pvdhaar]

If you've got longer RF lenses than the J-3, you'll find that the farthest distance you can focus at mounted on an slr will also be further away. For instance with a 135mm lens, what would be ca. 1 meter (just over 3ft) from the front element..

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Sonnar design of the J-3 makes it a poor choice for macro work. The field curvature is very high, magnified at close-range. I did a comparison of a collapsible Sonnar formula Nikkor 5cm f2 vs a collapsible Summicron on my DSLR. Collapsing the lens as much as possible reduced the back-focus so that i could take some shots of flowers. The Sonnar image was much softer than the Summicron. again: field curvature is more pronounced at close-range.

 

[moretto]

You can get a Zenit M39 lens (helios, Jupiter, Industar) and still use the adapter. 😉) Prices are about the same or less than LTM lenses. Just for fun.

 

[Matus]

Yes, I know there are other lenses in M39 that would work as they were not designed for rangefinder cameras, but I was not looking for a lens for my DSLR - it was supposed to be only a "side product" of getting a portrait lens for 35mm RF.

Now I actually have issued with rangefinder alignment in my 'new' gray R3A, but as I do not have any other RF lens I can not say whether it is the camera or the lens that has a problem.

I plan to get SOME M-mont lens - I am just wondering whether longer lens (like Tele Emarit 90/2.8) would be more suitable to test the camera than a wide angle lens ...