Jupiter 3 internal reflections

[payasam]

These two pictures were taken within a minute and with the same exposure settings. The first shows a problem which has cropped up before with my Jupiter 3. It has happened (rough estimate) in no more than around 3 per cent of the exposures made with the lens: but I cannot afford such a disaster when working professionally.

The lens did not focus correctly. Kim Coxon set it right and it is now bang on. It is my assumption that because it was opened and put back together, this business of internal reflections cannot be eliminated. It is possible that others have experience of the problem and its solution.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Are you using a deep shade with it? Maybe a filter?

I've opened a lot of J-3's, and never had a reflection like this one. I've shot with the lens positioned so that direct light would hit the front element to test for flare.

A test of my Zeiss Sonnar in LTM, front element positioned in direct sun, wide-open:

 

[payasam]

I use the rectangular plastic push-on hood made in the USSR. As I said, this happens rarely. Some sort of a freak event. In these pictures the light was behind me, to the right. No sources of light in front of the lens.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Most strange! Have you ruled out a light leak? Do any other lenses do this with the camera?

The subject is brightly lit, but I've shot far more difficult scenes than this with a lot of different J-3's.

Bright Sunlight to the left of Nikki on this one;

Blown highlights in the center on this 1986 lens:

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Try shining a bright light through the lens. Maybe slight haze or cleaning marks?

 

[payasam]

No trouble with other lenses. This J-3 problem is restricted to wide apertures, used almost only in relatively dim light. The blue colour of the damage would suggest that the unwanted light is not coming from behind. Will do the bright light trick as soon as flashlight gets fresh cells. Thanks.

 

[payasam]

Brian offered to help out, and the lens is on its way to him. I am hopeful.

 

[payasam]

Nothing wrong with the Jupiter 3. I just got the prints of a part roll exposed through my Ultron 35/1.7. One of them has the same bluish light, sort of sharp at one place and also diffused over a larger area. That this happened earlier only with the J-3 has to be coincidence. I was all along puzzled that a lens which had been put together by Kim Coxon, and whose focus had been made dead on, should behave badly.

Youxin Ye, from whom I bought the M2, had replaced one of the shutter curtains. The other curtain has some unevenness, but shining a flashlight at it does not reveal any light leaks.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Shine the light both when the shutter is at rest, and when you are advancing the mechanism. That was the problem with my Contax IIIa: The shutter was not capping when advancing when used at 1/500th and 1/1250th. Of course, the problem only manifested itself with a Fast Lens shot wide-open. That's because it was the only time that I used the high shutter speeds.

 

[payasam]

Will do, thanks. Shutter not capping may well be the problem. It could also be that something goes wrong when the shutter opens. I am suspicious of the 1/30 speed, and perhaps also 1/60 and 1/125: there has been no trouble with 1/15, which I use a great deal, or with 1/250 and faster. But this time I shall come to no conclusions without firm evidence.

 

[gb hill]

I bet it's the shutter curtains, the blue line is running vertically up the right side of the photo. I bet if you were shooting b&w the leak would show more evidence.

 

[gb hill]

I have a Fed2 I had nearly the same problem @ 1/60th. The tension was off the 2nd curtain traveling behind the 1st curtain. Good luck with the fix.

 

[gb hill]

Payasam, take off the lens & open the back flap to reveal the shutter curtain. I assume you can do this with an M2? Sit in front of tv set & fire the camera @ different speeds while you look at back of camera. You will see if the curtains are traveling evenly.

 

[payasam]

Thanks. I shall do what you advise. I intend also to take pictures of a blank wall at different shutter speeds. If the problem occurs regularly at one speed, it will be easy to identify. If it shows up only intermittently, the hunt will be difficult. Yes, the swing-up back of the M2 can be removed.

 

[payasam]

This picture, taken with my CV Ultron 35/1.7, exonerates the Jupiter 3. The innocent lens is at this time travelling to the US and is to be sent back to me untouched.

 

[brachal]

That shot looks like holes burned in the shutter curtain, and maybe the film plate scratching the negative as well.

 

[gb hill]

That shot looks like holes burned in the shutter curtain, and maybe the film plate scratching the negative as well.

It's definitely a light leak & yes I agree that looks to be a horrible scratch in a perfect straight line on left side of photo. I think I would contact Yoxin Ye about it. From what I have read about him he will do you right.

 

[payasam]

culprit identified

culprit identified

Thank you, gentlemen. The culprit has been identified. One curtain was replaced; but the other, as the photo shows, has had a considerable part of its area "patched". In this patch there are at least two holes. The camera body came in January 2008 and the problem manifested itself that same month, in the second film exposed. Being confident that nothing could be wrong with the body, for fifteen months I have been blaming an innocent lens.

 

[payasam]

All settled. Youxin has asked me to send the M2 to him to be set right.

 

[brachal]

I'm glad there is resolution. I'm sure Youxin will set things right.