Kiev lenses

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Mikael.N

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Hi everybody now i have joined the dark side with a Kiev 2 so far it feels great,a solid well made camera.But now i am considering lenses.How are J3,J8 and helios 103 compared regarding booke and resolution, i have read that helios are a biotar design? I have a J8 and a J11 .Happy new photo year ps wants to buy a J9 or a zeiss sonnar 85/2 not so big differense in price.
 
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Johne, thank you very much for the message you left. Unfortunately, I don't have my own darkroom. (fFats in Paris are small or expensive ... mine is small). I just pay for a professional processing to get good result, even though I don't think my rolls actually deserve such care; but if there is only one good picture, then it is worth a professional processing.
Thanks again,
Marc-A.
 
Marc:
I gave my darkroom away some years ago. Now I have c-41 developed and get a CD and do the rest at home on the computer and a printer. That way if I have one print of exceptional charm or quality, I can try to do it justice at home or send it to a professional lab. Cheers.
Johne
 
Mikael
I use the 35 and 85 Russian Biogon lens by Jupiter. I also have a Zorki 2S with Industar 61. I find all to be reliable and effective equipment. I also had my 50mm Summicron refurbished by Oleg at Kiev and am glad to give him an unqualified recommendation. The new coating is a wonder!. May I suggest that you and Marc take a look at the following site: www.gallery.swannsway.ch. Examples are posted here. Johne


1Jan07 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 
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Marc-A. said:
Johne, thank you very much for the message you left. Unfortunately, I don't have my own darkroom. (fFats in Paris are small or expensive ... mine is small). I just pay for a professional processing to get good result, even though I don't think my rolls actually deserve such care; but if there is only one good picture, then it is worth a professional processing.
Thanks again,
Marc-A.
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Hi Marc,
Don't forget that you live in one of the few citys of the world where the best commercial manual printers of the world are located - a privilege the huge majority of us don't have. Although one should have the money to pay them...

C'est la vie? ( I apologize for my terrible French😀 )

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Mikael.N said:
Hi everybody now i have joined the dark side with a Kiev 2 so far it feels great,a solid well made camera.But now i am considering lenses.How are J3,J8 and helios 103 compared regarding booke and resolution, i have read that helios are a biotar design? I have a J8 and a J11 .Happy new photo year ps wants to buy a J9 or a zeiss sonnar 85/2 not so big differense in price.
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Hello and welcome!

Well, the lenses named Jupiter are all of Zeiss pre war design. Some have received some improvements, some other don´t. The major differences are in coatings. Most prewar lenses if not all aren´t coated then Jupiters will deliver perhaps and if working corrctly, better image quality than the german prewar counterparts.
Russian lenses were cheap in finish and in design of metal parts, (aluminum vs. brass) but otherwise are cheap and excellent performers.
I have J8M (1966) a J12 (1963) and a J 112 (1960), all of them in Contax mount.
All of them performed as if being Zeiss made, unless thinking about their price.

Regarding the Helios 103, this is a recalculated Zeiss Biotar which most known Russian incarnation was named Helios 44 (which by the way, was a real Biotar copy -f2/58mm-).
No doubt they are really good lenses, but their only drawback is the almost absolute lack of quality control.
J8 is a Sonnar 2/50 mm; J12 is a Biogon 2.8/35 mm; J3 is a Sonnar 1.5/50 which closes to 22 (the original Sonnar closes only to f:11).
The other two Jupiters, the J9 is the Sonnar 2/85 mm and the J11 is the Sonnar 4 /135 mm.
I´m not sure if black J9s are newer versions or not, just check for serial numbers. The first two figures give you the production year.

best regards and Happy new year

Ernesto
 
Mikael,
I have the 75***** black J12 and am very satisfied with it; however, I have no basis for comparison with earlier examples in chrome. See my shot of the murals at night at www.gallery.swannsway.ch. This was taken with this lens wide open. BTW, I always use a large lens hood just to be safe.
Johne
 
what difference is it betwen black and white j9 are the coating different?I assume the blacks are newer.Is a old one better what is your expirience?
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I've got a 1961 silver one and a 1977 black one, and the later black one is far superior. The early silver one has a bright blue coating and flares badly, while the newer black one has barely perceptible colours in its coating (faint blue from the front and faint yellow from the rear), doesn't flare, and is the sharper of the two.

But having said that, the way FSU quality control didn't (control quality, that is), I wouldn't be surprised to find someone with the opposite experience - an old silver one that out-performs a new black one.
 
Mickael

If you have a good J8 then a 103 wont be detectable better, unless you have a good one (a 103) and also use a tripod. The lens may have been mistreated by Ru kitchen table maintenance people, e.g. to remove fungus, or one rebuilt from bits of two.

103 were easier to make as they are more tolerant to manufacturing errors and hence cheaper for the same performance, they seem to be a Leitz design rip off.

The FSU improved its coating processes, initially using the pre war Zeiss obtined as a war reparation, from the E Germans, then ripping of the later multi coating processes... They tended to leave the later lenses with less black paint then desirable, so although better coated they may not have any better performance.

My J8 and 103 work ok even without the black paint so the Ru may have known what to paint, but i always use a lens hood.

The 103 has better micro contrast, but the J8 controls extreme flare better, either is not much different from a leitz lens unless you are into test charts and tripods made of contret blocks. Nice Sw forests might be better with a 103, and Fuji 50 ASA chrome film, but is that what you plan on?

A 103 wont fit in a standard ERC case, unless you modify the case.

Noel
 
Thanks for all the replies i have a j8 and j11 i will first buy j9 and later a faster 50 i am on the first test roll so far everything seems right best regards Mikael
 
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