Lomography Jupiter 3+ Users ?

Mark240590

Mark240590

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Wondering if any of our members have this lens and what they think of it ?

It’s quite expensive but I feel like it’s something missing. A scratch I must itch. The idea of having a Jupiter 3 with more modern coatings speaks to me.

Wondering if anyone has any examples they could share alongside their thoughts ?

Cheers,

Mark.
 
Mark, there some current threads ghat address this very well. Take a look at the thread called “This is not fair” or something close to that. There are great piccs and comments that will provide insight.
 
I bought mine directly from Lomography, first day available. I've also seen J-3+ available on Ebay, at much less cost. I have not bought ay of those. After reading people's experience, easy to see there was a lot of sample-to-sample variation. It is ashame, as the Mount is brass, focuses to 0.7m, the optics are multi-coated, and the lens is built to the Leica specification. Mine is in focus from 0.7m to infinity at F1.5. Focus was perfect on my M9.

On the M8, wide-open.

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M Monochrom
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On the M Monochrom,

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I have Two, one I optimized for the M Monochrom with an Orange Filter. Deep filters cause a focus shift towards infinity on most lenses. But not on my Ultra-Achromatic Takumar 85/4.5 or Voigtlander/Cosina 50/2 APO-Lanthar.

This lens used with Orange and Red filters sharpens up "a lot". Filters cut down on chromatic aberration.
 
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If I remember correctly, the J3+ originally sold for 600 USD in 2016. Price on the eBay versions generally about 400 USD today. I acquired two on eBay, and both had problems with the mechanics. Fortunately I was able to fix them easily. As shown by Brian's photos, these are really good lenses when in working order
 
First Day that I had the lens, tested focus on the M9 from close-up to infinity, fence slat test for centering.
Fence Post- first is at the "regular" 0.9m, next is at closest focus. I remember testing repeatability in focus, make sure the helical has no slop and is aligned.
It passed.
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dexdog said:
If I remember correctly, the J3+ originally sold for 600 USD in 2016. Price on the eBay versions generally about 400 USD today. I acquired two on eBay, and both had problems with the mechanics. Fortunately I was able to fix them easily. As shown by Brian's photos, these are really good lenses when in working order
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$649 from Lomography. Based on what I learned from Chris at Skyllaney, lenses like this are labor intensive.
I bought mine on the first day announced, got SN 200. "Not for sale!!!"
Maybe the world's best J3+?
 
I have one that I picked up here in the classifieds maybe four or five years ago.

Haven’t used it all that much as I have two Sonnar f1.5s and an f2. My J3+ seems decent but does have the slightest amount of wiggle on the focus ring when changing focus direction. I don’t know if that could be tightened up?

I’ll get it out again and see what I think of the rendering.
 
Larry H-L said:
I have one that I picked up here in the classifieds maybe four or five years ago.

My J3+ seems decent but does have the slightest amount of wiggle on the focus ring when changing focus direction. I don’t know if that could be tightened up?

I’ll get it out again and see what I think of the rendering.
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This is usually due to the guide screws being smaller than the slot that they move through. Change direction, the head of the guide screw moves until it hits the wall of the channel. Mine do not do this, but I had several J-3's that did. Collect enough spare parts, get a small collection of guide screws: so I replace them with a slightly larger one. Lacking a good fit, I put heavy greats down the channel to dampen the movement.
 
I was tempted, but I had 4 or 5 J3 which I bought cheap. I had then all serviced, tested, kept the sharpest, sold the rest and never looked again at J3+ after reading some conflicting reviews. One J3 is enough for me.
 
valdas said:
I was tempted, but I had 4 or 5 J3 which I bought cheap. I had then all serviced, tested, kept the sharpest, sold the rest and never looked again at J3+ after reading some conflicting reviews. One J3 is enough for me.
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That’s fair for sure. I’m an obsessive on them. I’ve got multiple Jupiter 3’s. To be honest. Majority of them are good performers once I’ve given a CLA. I actually think my 1986 lens might be the best of the bunch. Despite being a dreaded black late one. But I don’t particularly pixel peep. I just enjoy them on hit ratio 🙂
 
Mark240590 said:
That’s fair for sure. I’m an obsessive on them. I’ve got multiple Jupiter 3’s. To be honest. Majority of them are good performers once I’ve given a CLA. I actually think my 1986 lens might be the best of the bunch. Despite being a dreaded black late one. But I don’t particularly pixel peep. I just enjoy them on hit ratio 🙂
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It’s funny, because the one I kept is also from mid 80thies (which are supposed to be the worst of the bunch). And it’s not even KMZ 🙂 But I had it serviced, so…
 
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