.Lucifuge.
RF Big Fan
I'm about to buy this lens and really don't know if this rainbow on the front element affects in any way clarity or sharpness of pictures. Is this normal state of the lens and if is not, then how to remove the rainbow? Is this lens worth of my attention? Thanx for any help in this thread 
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xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
that is element separation caused by a good knock.
if the lens was dropped on a hard floor this can sometimes happen.
unless the lens is at a give away price, I would look somewhere else to buy a J-3
if the lens was dropped on a hard floor this can sometimes happen.
unless the lens is at a give away price, I would look somewhere else to buy a J-3
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raid
Dad Photographer
This would make a good sacrifice lens for a Brian Sweeney Sonnar project. I would pay $25 for it and not more.
jmkelly
rangefinder user
Adding my 2-cents: even without the apparent separation, in my experience you have a very slim chance of getting a Krasnogorsk J-3 (dove prism logo) that focuses properly on a Barnack. I've had far better luck with the Zagorsk lenses (lens triplet and arrow-eye logos).
raid
Dad Photographer
John,
I have three J-3 lenses in Contax mount and none in LTM. I had to sacrifice the LTM mount to get a Sonnar 5cm 1.5 into LTM. Brian is needed to reshim in such cases.
I have three J-3 lenses in Contax mount and none in LTM. I had to sacrifice the LTM mount to get a Sonnar 5cm 1.5 into LTM. Brian is needed to reshim in such cases.
P. Lynn Miller
Well-known
Right now, any J-3 that is $25 is in danger of becoming mine. I am looking for several donors to send to Mr. Sweeney to make a few hybrid lenses.
I really want a LTM Zeiss Sonnar....
I really want a LTM Zeiss Sonnar....
john341
camera user
J3 is a great lens when used on a great camera, viz Zorki 3C .. sharp, good colour saturation.
raid
Dad Photographer
Lynn: Good Luck. Brian just placed my new Sonnar in the mail. It took a while until I gave my $80 J-3 for the project.
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jmkelly
rangefinder user
Raid - You won't be disappointed or sorry you donated your J-3. Though the 1936 donor CZJ Contax is uncoated and sometimes the f11 min aperture is a limitation, my hybrid is nearly the best performer among my five different LTM 50mm lenses - at least for B/W.
raid
Dad Photographer
John,
I have no regrets. The Sonnar 5cm 2.0 that I first got is awesome. If the 1.5 version is as good as the 2.0, or even better as some claim it it be, then I can understand why you hold it at such high esteem.
Brian wrote me that my 1.5 Sonnar is pristine optically. He actually refused to mail it to me without some protection, so he used a close-up lens to cover the front of the lens.
[not to side track this thread ....]
I now have a nice collection of Sonnar 5cm lenses.
1. Zeiss Jena Sonnar 5cm 2.0 LTM : It is either a custom job that was done outside the Zeiss factory, or it was done at the Zeiss factory [Marc Small considers both possibilities]. The optics are from the Contaflex TLR camera, it seems. DAG had this lens twice for cleaning and adjusting. Another well-known repair group refused to tinker with this lens when its focus was off. They told me that the lens was jammed, and that the cost to undo the problem would be "cost prohibitive".
2. Brian sold me a Sonnar 1.5 Opton in Contax mount. This lens is a gem. This lens was the just about second or third best in the flare test for the 50mm lenses that I recently did. It is coated, of course.
3. I also have a Zeiss Jena Sonnar 2.0 in Contax mount. This is somehow my favorite lens. I just love the results from it. This lens is uncoated. I need Sonnar lenses for my Contax IIa and IIIa. Not all lenses must be in LTM.
4. I got also a Zeiss Jena Sonnar pre-war uncoated lens that has been repaired by Brian. It had a messed up rear element that Brian replaced with one from a J-8. The lens is in Contax mount [I think].
5. Lastly, I had Brian place the optics of a pre-war uncoated Sonnar 1.5 into a LTM J-3 shell. He tried to save the J-3 by placing the J-3 optics into the Zeiss Jena module.
That's all folks.
I have no regrets. The Sonnar 5cm 2.0 that I first got is awesome. If the 1.5 version is as good as the 2.0, or even better as some claim it it be, then I can understand why you hold it at such high esteem.
Brian wrote me that my 1.5 Sonnar is pristine optically. He actually refused to mail it to me without some protection, so he used a close-up lens to cover the front of the lens.
[not to side track this thread ....]
I now have a nice collection of Sonnar 5cm lenses.
1. Zeiss Jena Sonnar 5cm 2.0 LTM : It is either a custom job that was done outside the Zeiss factory, or it was done at the Zeiss factory [Marc Small considers both possibilities]. The optics are from the Contaflex TLR camera, it seems. DAG had this lens twice for cleaning and adjusting. Another well-known repair group refused to tinker with this lens when its focus was off. They told me that the lens was jammed, and that the cost to undo the problem would be "cost prohibitive".
2. Brian sold me a Sonnar 1.5 Opton in Contax mount. This lens is a gem. This lens was the just about second or third best in the flare test for the 50mm lenses that I recently did. It is coated, of course.
3. I also have a Zeiss Jena Sonnar 2.0 in Contax mount. This is somehow my favorite lens. I just love the results from it. This lens is uncoated. I need Sonnar lenses for my Contax IIa and IIIa. Not all lenses must be in LTM.
4. I got also a Zeiss Jena Sonnar pre-war uncoated lens that has been repaired by Brian. It had a messed up rear element that Brian replaced with one from a J-8. The lens is in Contax mount [I think].
5. Lastly, I had Brian place the optics of a pre-war uncoated Sonnar 1.5 into a LTM J-3 shell. He tried to save the J-3 by placing the J-3 optics into the Zeiss Jena module.
That's all folks.
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