Jupiter 3 Kiev-Mount dropped on stone floor

[ki_]

My kids are destroying everything …

Today my 5 yo son climbed the shelv where I store y cameras and dropped my kiev 4 with the jupiter 3 mounted. I just heard a crash and then my son weeping.
When I rushed in the hallway he was holding his cheek and the camera was lying behind him. While I was comforting him I began to cry as well, as I realized that the camera just dropped on the floor with the lens at first. so there is a rather big bulge in the filter thread and the aperture ring got really stiff.

So I will do some testing if the lens got de centered. If so, is it possible to put the glas into another lens frame? When I checked prices I figured that they really climbed. I bought my J-3 a few years ago for 50 Euros shipping included (It's a 1951-model which is supposed to contain Zeiss glas and performed really nice) but now for a 1951 J-3 I see prices went up to 160 Euros plus shipping (and than I am not sure that it is a performer) …

So would it be possible to just get a bad lens and put the optics into it? Or would this procedure just end with another de centered lens?

Are there any disassembling guides? I've only seen a guide for M39 J-3s and not for the kiev/contax version.

btw, after getting really pissed and shouting on my son we both ended taking us in the arms and comforting each other – or would I better say I was comforting him for me being so pissed and him dropping the camera - which annoyed him as well ("Dad, I did not do this on purpose.") besides his cheek turning blue from the camera.

This is the third camera/lens (Zeiss Distagon 1.4 35 and Rolleiflex 3.5F where former victims) I've lost on the kids beside three printers that just died from dropped water-glasses or kids climbing/jumping on them … I need a bigger flat and a working room that I can lock!

 

[Dez]

I think that may be quite difficult. The metal parts of the Jupiter lenses were not machined as precisely as one would like, amd moving the glass from one metal frame to another may be risky. Decentring is probably not the issue, but incorrect spacing may be.

It has been a long time since I have taken one of these apart, but as I recall, once the body of the lens is removed from the mount, the screwmount and Kiev-mount versions are very similar. You can remove all the elements from both sides of the aperture fairly easily. To remove the mount, undo the small ~1mm setscrew near the back of the lens, and then unscrew the outer ring at the rear.

If the body of the lens is not obviously bent and you can find a replacement lens with bad glass at low cost, I think you would be better to just replace the filter and aperture rings. I think you need to remove the aperture ring first in order to reach screws securing the filter ring, but as I said, it has been a long time.

In any case, you will almost certainly need to check the accurate focus of the lens, and adjust the back shimming to get it right. If you undo the setscrews holding on the ring that retains the aperture ring, note very carefully its exact position, as this defines the position of the lens in its mount.

I suspect you can find a replacement lens for a better price than you have been seeing, but it may take a while. There is a good looking one on ebay at the moment, but the price is too high.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jupiter-3-1...04163395?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item4ab760f043

Good luck!
Dez

 

[Brian Legge]

At least you're looking for a Kiev J3. The good clean LTM ones are have been in the $200+ range recently.

 

[ki_]

@Brian: You are right, these go for ridiculous prices.

@Dez: Thank you for your detailed explanation. I will check accuracy first (I'll buy a b-w film tomorrow and do some test-shots). If it is off, I will try to adjust it or change the filter ring.
The Aperture ring is only stiff but still can be set when the lens is in infinity locked. So maybe I get around it changing this one.
Can the filter ring be replaced by a filter ring from the Jupiter 8? I,ve read this in a description of the following ebay item:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Jupiter-3-50...ters_Lenses&hash=item19d119269c#ht_553wt_1033
Does anybody have experiences in this way? And are the filter rings of the Jupiter 8 and 8M the same? I have a faulty Jupiter 8M at home, would be great if I just could swap the filter ring.

Just for information: I'll add a picture of the lens:

regards so far.

Kristian

 

[ruby.monkey]

Ouch. Lock your cupboards and beat your kids. 😉

 

[Paul T.]

Crying? Bit of an over-reaction?

My son knocked the M3 off a bench onto a stone floor - crunched the VC mini-finder, broke the VF window.

OVer the years he also knocked over a 1965 Epiphone acousitc, with a medium-size headstock break.

It's just stuff. Part of the price of admission for having kids! What will you do when he crunches your auto?

Altho I have muttered to him over the years about the time he scribbled in red felt tip on top of my tweed 1952 Fender Champ amplifier...

 

[Blanc]

Those lenses can be quite strong, if you are lucky, nothing is off center, for the dent there are some specific tools to reshape the holder without damaging the thread.

If you are not lucky consider buying a new one instead of trying to fix this one. Without a FTM bench and some other pricey tools you won't be able to calibrate it better than it is now.

 

[Dez]

There were a few different versions of the J8, which confuses things a bit, but I think in most cases the parts would be not fit the J3. Assuming you have something else to use on your camera for a while, I would keep watching ebay for either a really good J3, which unfortunately will be expensive, or one that is mechanically good but has bad glass, and which you can scavenge for parts.

I have a few J8's in pieces from which I could possibly scrounge parts if they will fit, but no J3's at the moment. If you want to send your lens to me and are quite patient (I already have a number of cameras on my bench), I can examine it to see if any of those parts will fit. I would only ask you to pay shipping both ways. I do not have collimating equipment, so we would be depending on nothing's having been too badly damaged. If this is of interest, send me a private message.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[vanyagor]

ki, I have a Kiev mount J-3 which I'm not using at all. I'm moving to another country soon and was considering to part with my FSU collection. Oh, it will be a pain ...

I'm going to double check which model/production year do I have tomorrow morning.

Where are you located?