Lens I'm looking at

[Tom hicks]

Based on the fed3, fed5c, and zorki4 , are these lens any good , they are all m39 mount which I figure are what I need for the fed 3, Zorki 4, but unsure of the fed5c

Jupiter 9 2/85 m39
Jupiter 11 4/135 m39
Industar-61 L/D 2,8 55

Are there any of these lens that would be pass on for lack sharpness are there better ones to look for.

I know that any m39 lens would work like pentax and others but iwas wanting to stay with the FSU stuff.

Tom

 

[Scarpia]

Tom, I have the Industar 61 LD and it is a very sharp lens. Other RFF'rs say the same. It can generally be bought for around $40.00 which if it is in mint or nearly mint condition is a real bargain.
Kurt M.

 

[Scarpia]

By the way, it is currently sitting on my Leica M6 with adapter if that means anything.
Kurt M.

 

[gb hill]

Hi Tom. The fed 5c that you have takes screwmount lenses (m39) All the lenses you listed are good performers. The I61 like scarpia said is a really sharp lens. Another good lens that you didn't name is a jupiter 8 (50mm) and the J-3 50/1.5. though the j-3 isn't as sharp as the j-8, it's a good performer in low light. Just remember that you will need a finder for the j-9 and the j11. Have you got any of the cameras yet btw?

 

[gb hill]

I know that any m39 lens would work like pentax and others but iwas wanting to stay with the FSU stuff.

Tom

I never have owned a Pentax but isn't that a m42 mount? I don't think that would work on a fsu camera but I might be wrong about that.😕 🙂

 

[Tom hicks]

I never have owned a Pentax but isn't that a m42 mount? I don't think that would work on a fsu camera but I might be wrong about that.😕 🙂

You are so right , my mistake, No I haven't received any yet, I should have some of the other I have ordered this next week .


Canon 2- G111 Q17
Yashica G GSN
Fujica 35-EE

It will be several weeks before the FSU's get here , and those are the ones that interest me the most, man what have I gotten myself into?😕

 

[Tom hicks]

Thanks Scarpia, that confirms what I thought. I'more into nature wildlife stuff so need or use longer glass than most , would like something in the 2 to 300 range . but the 135 is better than nothing . I found a set of extension tubes that will be fun for my macro stuff.

Tom

 

[alternatve]

Just a word of caution, rangefinders weren't built for macro nor long range work. Not macro as you'll have a problem with parallex. Not long range as it's very hard to correctly focus beyond 135mm and for nature wildlife stuff, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't photography begins at 400mm?

That being said, I would like to give a thumbs up to the fabulous I-61 L/D. Great glass for a great price. I have a Jupiter 9, bu haven't tested it out and a Jupiter 3 crawling to me from the Ukraine, so I can't say much yet!

You can consider a I-22 or a I-50. Both are great glass, Tessar designs that are still found on sony digicams. You might want to get one for compactness as both of them collapse into the camera. Do check which cameras you can safely collapse into though!

Regards,
Samuel

 

[gb hill]

Thanks Scarpia, that confirms what I thought. I'more into nature wildlife stuff so need or use longer glass than most , would like something in the 2 to 300 range . but the 135 is better than nothing . I found a set of extension tubes that will be fun for my macro stuff.

Tom

You don't wan't to use a rangefinder to shoot wildlife. Stick with the slr's for that. Rangefinders are more foe street scenes and wide angle for landscapes. I like to shoot birds but I use my AE1p with 400mm lens.

 

[FrankS]

Hi Tom. The fed 5c that you have takes screwmount lenses (m39) All the lenses you listed are good performers. The I61 like scarpia said is a really sharp lens. Another good lens that you didn't name is a jupiter 8 (50mm) and the J-3 50/1.5. though the j-3 isn't as sharp as the j-8, it's a good performer in low light. Just remember that you will need a finder for the j-9 and the j11. Have you got any of the cameras yet btw?

This may be true based on the samples you have experience with gb, but I don't think it can be generalized. A properly set up J3 is at least as sharp as a properly set up J8. I wish Brian Sweeney would jump in here with his wealth of experience!

 

[Tom hicks]

Just a word of caution, rangefinders weren't built for macro nor long range work. Not macro as you'll have a problem with parallex. Not long range as it's very hard to correctly focus beyond 135mm and for nature wildlife stuff, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't photography begins at 400mm?

That being said, I would like to give a thumbs up to the fabulous I-61 L/D. Great glass for a great price. I have a Jupiter 9, bu haven't tested it out and a Jupiter 3 crawling to me from the Ukraine, so I can't say much yet!

You can consider a I-22 or a I-50. Both are great glass, Tessar designs that are still found on sony digicams. You might want to get one for compactness as both of them collapse into the camera. Do check which cameras you can safely collapse into though!

Regards,
Samuel

Thanks Samuel, being I have never shot with a RF. I was not aware of those limitations, but thanks for bring those up it will save me a lot of money. what you say does make since now that I think about it . I guess I'll have to do more street and documentary type of shooting.

I think you are right about photography starting at 400mm that is still a little on the short side for alot of what I do . the other starts at life size and goes up to 5X.

 

[Tom hicks]

You don't wan't to use a rangefinder to shoot wildlife. Stick with the slr's for that. Rangefinders are more foe street scenes and wide angle for landscapes. I like to shoot birds but I use my AE1p with 400mm lens.

gb, Landscape would be fun, but in dallas we have no landscapes :bang:, maybe some cityscapes.😀 they can be fun with a wide angle .

 

[alternatve]

Thanks Samuel, being I have never shot with a RF. I was not aware of those limitations, but thanks for bring those up it will save me a lot of money. what you say does make since now that I think about it . I guess I'll have to do more street and documentary type of shooting.

I think you are right about photography starting at 400mm that is still a little on the short side for alot of what I do . the other starts at life size and goes up to 5X.

Anytime Tom. I rather you learn here then after you get back a roll of film and get nice blurry pictures.

Two more additional points.

Composure is harder as well, because, unlike an SLR where your vision gets "zoomed" to the focal length, you need to use a external finder which is pretty small for a 135mm. Not good for evewear users people with squinty eyes. Also, the rangefinder baselength is pretty short for the Fed 3b and 5c, so it's harder to focus properly. Other short baselength cameras like the bessa suffer from this as well.

I would say use the camera for street and documentary type of shooting, which is what a rangefinder is renowned for. Any other type of photography is possible, but I'll rather an SLR or a MF/LF camera.

Regards,
Samuel

 

[Spyderman]

Don't mix up M39 and L39 mounts. M39 is Zenit SLR mount, similar to M42, but L39 or LTM is Leica standard screw mount and the lenses are rangefinder coupled. The threads are the same, but register distance is not (film-to-mount distance). Besure to ask the sellers which mount it really is.

 

[fidget]

It's a bit of a leap of faith to say that such-and-such an FSU lens is a great performer. As touched on in the posts above, "when set up", they can be very good. I believe that they are generally of better quality production than the average body, but can be subject to some variation and worst of all, may have been "adjusted" or abused over the years. They can come with the most amazing cleaning marks too.
I've heard of several users who picked a good one from a small collection of similar lenses then disposed of the rest. My small collection of 20+ FSU RF cams contains a couple of outright bad/faulty/fiddled-with examples and two out of six I61s which show enough variation to be seen in scans of negs.
Be prepared to evaluate the images from these lenses and move on if not up to scratch.

....this is just my experience.....Dave....

 

[Tom hicks]

Don't mix up M39 and L39 mounts. M39 is Zenit SLR mount, similar to M42, but L39 or LTM is Leica standard screw mount and the lenses are rangefinder coupled. The threads are the same, but register distance is not (film-to-mount distance). Besure to ask the sellers which mount it really is.

Thanks Spyderman, so stay with the L39 mount, canon made some lens in this mount is that correct? I may just stay with some of those , this FSU glass is making me a little nervous. a lot of it may also be because I am having an FSU brain overload, I think I just need to slow down and see what I get when it all comes in , use them for awhile then pick back up and look for some longer glass than what is coming on the new bodies.

thanks

Tom

 

[wolves3012]

Thanks Spyderman, so stay with the L39 mount, canon made some lens in this mount is that correct? I may just stay with some of those , this FSU glass is making me a little nervous. a lot of it may also be because I am having an FSU brain overload, I think I just need to slow down and see what I get when it all comes in , use them for awhile then pick back up and look for some longer glass than what is coming on the new bodies.

thanks

Tom

Tom, as regards the mounts, beware of the Jupiters in particular. The J-11 frequently turns up in M39 mount being advertised as for FED/Zorki/Leica. Also seen a 37mm MIR described as LTM fit. They'll fit but they sure as hell won't focus! Also be aware that some non-FSU lenses can foul up on the rangefinder cams of FSUs. On some non-removeable back FSUs this can be a one-way trip since they can't be removed (short of a hacksaw attack). With regards the collapsibles, all FSUs can accomodate them collapsing, not so some other bodies. Just keep away from very early models since they may well have non-standard registers. If it's coated it should be ok.

There were quality-control issues on most FSU bodies and lenses for sure. Maybe I'm lucky but none of the 20 or so lenses I have has given me any issues in normal use. Build quality on the I-61L/D that came on my FED 5C was very poor, otherwise all mine were acceptable to good.

Beware of rushing in and buying loads of gear in a short time. Better to try a couple of models first and see how you like them and what else you like/want/need...

As far as macro is concerned, an RF is a severe liability and an SLR is far better suited. Likewise, even the best RF isn't good enough for long lenses, hence the lack of them! Again, an SLR is a far better tool. Yes, you can force them to do what they're not suited for but you are just buying yourself frustration!

 

[gb hill]

I screwed that all up and said m39 in my post above where I should have said L39.:bang: Tom you think your confused now, just hang around awhile? 😀 just kidding! Frank I hope you are right because I have a j-3. I don't have a j-8 though. I,m going on test that i've seen on here in the past Wide open I do think the j-3 is abit softer than the j-8. Both are good lenses for the money. I wish Brian would step in too, for he is much more knowledgable than I.

 

[gb hill]

Stay clear of the Canon 135mm lenses. They will hang up on the cam of fsu cameras because the cam is shaped like a hook instead of round like on a Leica or Bessa. I used one on my fed 2 and had to dedicate that whole roll to the lens. After I finished the roll I set the shutter on B and pulled the cam back using my finger while unscrewing the lens. The Canon 135/3.5 serenar is a fantastic lens btw.

 

[payasam]

I have an I-61 L/D (55/2.8), a J-12 (35/2.8) and a J-3 (50/1.5). All are good performers. Although I chose the seller with care, none was expensive.

I agree with Samuel and the others who have said that a rangefinder is not the camera for wildlife work.