Jupiter 85/135mm: what ones are best?

T

Teus

Thijs Deschildre
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I'd like a couple of these in M39 mount. What ones would be the best: the pre-1965 ones with silver barrel, or should I go with a later black one?
 
That's also what I thought, thanks. I just bought one and paid the lens with paypal. Then I noticed I was too hurried, and have bought one in Contax mount...
 
I have a silver J-12 in Kiev/Contax and a black one in LTM39, neither seems to be better made to me but it's not really a true like-with-like comparison. I think the silver lenses are generally considered better simply because they are older and quality control seems to be better on older models.
 
Teus said:
time to get a kiev4 or something. or what earlier kiev would you recommend, with better QC?
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The older Kievs are usually considered better made, such as the 2 and 3. A good 4 or 4a can, however, be nice. I have a 4 and 4A, both from the mid-seventies, that work well. The metered models are usually considered less aesthetically appealing and many of them have non-working meters due to age.
 
Teus said:
time to get a kiev4 or something. or what earlier kiev would you recommend, with better QC?
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The Kiev II is the best since it is more like the original Contax II but an early 60's Kiev 4a is a good buy.
 
I find little difference between my silver Contax mount and my black LTM mount, but admittedly I have not put either through an exhaustive results analysis.
 
The Kiev 4 AM is a sad thing when compared with earlier Kievs. The diffrences are visible. Mine is from the 80´s and was bought as new and had to go to the repairshop right out of the box. It´s as if you see an animal degenarating each generation becuase someone made a mistake in the breeding process
 
to be fair to the 4am (without the meter, which I have, and I'll bet the 4m with meter is similar) it has some advantages.

1.) it is ridiculously cheap, and so are contax mount lenses, so you can get into kievs pretty easily.
2.) people really seem to like the Helios 103 lens (i haven't used mine much, I like my jupiter 12 so much.)
3.) it's takeup spool is built in. some kiev 4's you'll buy won't have a spool. you can make one using an empty film can (or buy a new one) but not having to worry about loosing it every time you switch film is really nice on the am.
4.) How cool is it to own something from the USSR that was made in 1984? Orwell would be proud

quality control i'm sure is an issue but if you get lucky you'll have a nice user camera.
 
There's so much variation in 20 to 50 year old lenses, so much that can happen to them, that I don't place much faith in the "older is better" argument anymore. Buy from somebody who stands behind what he sells, like fedka or Oleg, and don't worry about the year. I bought a '61 J-3 and an '85 J-8 from fedka ... both are great.
 
The Jupiter 85 mm is said to be an excellent lens -- provided that you get one which hasn't been opened and reassembled incorrectly.
 
Solinar said:
First, with regards to the Jupiter 9 - the big issue is condition and whether or not it is assembled correctly. Pristine examples from the 1959 to 1965 era often have helicoids that were cut wrong, which explains why they weren't used very much. Then there are the lenses which have had their helicoids regreased, but were incorrectly reassembled. Bottom line, the Jupiter 9 has Russian / Ukranian roulette issues.
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I've also heard that ones from mid to late '80s are more of a gamble because of deteriorating QC in the last years of the Soviet Union. J9 export versions, marked "Made in USSR" and with Latin instead of Cyrillic script on the front, are said to have gone through stricter controls than the domestic versions.

Your best bet is to buy a J9 on the secondary market from a user who can vouch for its quality. Otherwise, look for an export version or one from the "better" years. Early J9's should have stiff focus action because the grease has dried out - this indicates that at least the lens hasn't been disassembled and relubed. Avoid anything that obviously looks reassembled from two different lenses, unless it's from a trusted repairperson. Good luck!
 
My personal experience has been that the older (50's and 60's vintage) lens are better built. I have several Jupiter lens from the above era as well as some from the late 70's and 80's.

The later versions even after service feel rough as though it has sand in the focus unit..
 
i'll say that the j-9 is russian roulette worth playing, though, it's a fantastic lens when it works

are the Contax mounts more reliable than the LTM?
 
timmyd18 said:
i'll say that the j-9 is russian roulette worth playing, though, it's a fantastic lens when it works
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I have a J-9 which I bought several years ago. After cleaning and relube by myself it has been a fine performer. I just purchased another one from a US seller. Hopefully it will also be a good lens..

timmyd18 said:
are the Contax mounts more reliable than the LTM?
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Quality wise I don't see any difference..
 
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