kiev/contax lens test

[nzeeman]

i made a small test with four lenses wide open.
lenses are
carl zeiss sonnar collapsible 50/2
jupiter 8 50/2 (1951)
jupiter 8m 50/2
helios 103 50/1.8
here are the photos
you can also try to guess which is which.

 

[nzeeman]

and the other two lenses

 

[nzeeman]

if you want all photos in full size you can download them from my site because they are too big to be attached.
http://cri-du-chat.tripod.com/index.htm
just go to the bottom of the page and click on FOTO TEST

 

[dexdog]

hey, this is a tough test, given that 3 f the 4 lenses are Sonnars. No clue on most, but I think that the third photo is the Helios, only because the OOF rendition seems to be different than the other three. On the other hand the fourth one appears to have a bit more contrast.

I am probably wrong- I usually am on these tests.

 

[ruben]

Hi Nzeeman,

Would you be so kind in order for us to see, to pick a very very small part of ech neg and enlarge to the size of your present attachments ?

Thanks,
Ruben

 

[nzeeman]

Hi Nzeeman,

Would you be so kind in order for us to see, to pick a very very small part of ech neg and enlarge to the size of your present attachments ?

Thanks,
Ruben

here they are ruben first two. this is best my scanner can.

 

[nzeeman]

and other two details

 

[NickTrop]

Interesting test, and I must admit, I haven't got a clue. A testimonial to those Russian lenses. Recently, I shot some 6x6 event pictures with a somewhat new 80mm MC Zeiss Jena Biometar, a "Russian" (well, East German anyway) with my Kiev 60. The guy who runs the lab asked if I shot with a Hassy and said the pictures were "sharp". He even wrote "sharp" on my receipt to remind him to tell me the pics were sharp. He's the only pro lab in my area, mostly deals with pros, is older and has been doing this all his life, seen all kinds of pics from all kinds of expensive glass... I was surprised because I shot these with a flash, hand-held at 1/30 - where the Kiev's sync. This was the only time a lab tech ever commented on the pics I took, regardless of lens.

The cost of this "sharp" medium format lens? We know how expensive MF lenses are. This one stops down to 2.8 by the way. Cost me $50-ish, plus say $20 or so to ship it from the Ukraine.

1. Most of the so-called differences between lenses has more to do with marketing hype than anything. One of the most successful was "SUPER" (oooooooooh) Multi-Coated lenses. (You're just using "regular" multi-coated lenses??? Mine are Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper multi-coated... LOL!)

2. Also the halo effect from some breaktrough lens formulation from a generation earlier that's been copied 1000 times by everyone.... pay a premium for that too.

3. Most of this "this lens vs that lens" talk is bull--it.


Sorry for the rant but posts like these make me laugh. Thanks so much for posting.

 

[nzeeman]

1. Most of the so-called differences between lenses has more to do with marketing hype than anything. One of the most successful was "SUPER" (oooooooooh) Multi-Coated lenses. (You're just using "regular" multi-coated lenses??? Mine are Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper multi-coated... LOL!)

2. Also the halo effect from some breaktrough lens formulation from a generation earlier that's been copied 1000 times by everyone.... pay a premium for that too.

3. Most of this "this lens vs that lens" talk is bull--it.

you are totaly right - thats the bad side of capitalism (i wonder if it have a good side at all) they just make us buy new stuff and always talk that everything in past was s**t . they dont let us use our heads - because when we use them - we see that all their marketing is pure bull****.

 

[rpinchbeck]

Thanks for the detail images. They are much better than the original as there is some jpeg compression noise when zoomed in.

I'd say #1 is the Helios as the OOF area exhibits a bit more "bloom" than the other 3 images. The other 3 look remarkably similar. #3 has less contrast so I'm going to guess that the collapsible Sonnar is perhaps uncoated and this is it.

The other 2 are anyone's guess.

 

[dexdog]

Thanks for the detail images. They are much better than the original as there is some jpeg compression noise when zoomed in.

I'd say #1 is the Helios as the OOF area exhibits a bit more "bloom" than the other 3 images. The other 3 look remarkably similar. #3 has less contrast so I'm going to guess that the collapsible Sonnar is perhaps uncoated and this is it.

The other 2 are anyone's guess.

No.1 was my second choice for the Helios. I agree about the "bloom", that is what caught my eye about the images

 

[zhang xk]

Hi,

I saw a nice Chinese tea pot with an ancient poem by Li Bai on it"两岸猿声啼不住,轻舟已过万重山".

I feel the 3rd one might be the Helios from the oof image quality. But those beautiful poems of Tang dynasty.

 

[nzeeman]

Hi,

I saw a nice Chinese tea pot with an ancient poem by Li Bai on it"两岸猿声啼不住,轻舟已过万重山".

I feel the 3rd one might be the Helios from the oof image quality. But those beautiful poems of Tang dynasty.

can you please translate us that poem.

 

[zhang xk]

can you please translate us that poem.

Those poems are impossible to translate.:bang: When I read those two lines, there is a picture in my mind:" I heard the sounds of monkeys on those high mountains when my light boat drifted swiftly passed them."
This is when Li Bai travelled along the famous three gourges of Yangtz River, he wrote the poem.

 

[ruben]

Thank you Nzeeman. Thanks a lot. Since I am a humble aficionado I cannot claim to know who is who. But about sharpness/contrast/detail - my choice is for #4.

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[shadowfox]

nzeeman, thank you for showing us this, I am a new fan of the Jupiter-8 and Helios 103 lenses. These pictures just reduce my GAS for a real Sonnar because I can't tell which one is it

Another vote for #1 being the Helios. The bokeh signature is the only one different than the other three.

Li Bai is cool, here's another poem of his that I think is less "abstract"

問余何事棲碧山，笑而不答心必閒；桃花流水窅然去，別有天地非人間。

which translates (by a friend of mine):

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream and is gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is not among men."

 

[Paul T.]

This is the great thing about the Kievs - that the quality of a cheap lens could be so good.
I did own an Opton Sonnar that was a wonderufl lens. But for black and white I didn't notice that it was any better at all than the Jupiter 8, or even the supposedly lowly Jupiter 8m, which gave great prints.

 

[Santafecino]

There are reports that the Jupiter 8M is a 5-element lens, but others say it's the same as the Jupiter 8 (6 elements). Does anyone know for sure?

 

[nzeeman]

" I heard the sounds of monkeys on those high mountains when my light boat drifted swiftly passed them."

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream and is gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is not among men."

both are beautiful. thank you for them. if you have more please post them here - i think many members will enjoy.

 

[rpinchbeck]

On the rear element group they cemented a pair, thus reducing the count. What it does for image quality is possibly reduce internal reflections.

There are reports that the Jupiter 8M is a 5-element lens, but others say it's the same as the Jupiter 8 (6 elements). Does anyone know for sure?