longer lenses - j-11, j-9?

[morgan]

What do you guys think of these longer lenses? I've been thinking about picking one up for my Fed5 and bessa-r. When I'm out and about I still sometimes yearn for a little telephoto action from my rangefinders. Interesting people that I can't get close enough to, architectural elements...etc.

 

[clarence]

The quality of a good J-9 is superlative. It's fast, and it has what many might consider pleasant bokeh, if you're looking for that sort of thing. An excellent available light portrait lens. I've only used the J-11 once, but never found the limitations of the 135mm / 4 lens to my liking. I'm trying to get rid of mine.

Clarence

 

[morgan]

Thanks for the reply. Other than size, what kind of limitations?

 

[peter_n]

I like the 135mm focal length and I have a 0.85 mag Leica M to use my J-11 with. Optically I think the lens is of high quality, mechanically you takes your chances with the FSU lenses as usual. The J-11 is very light and makes a terrific travel lens. The shot attached below was taken at around f5.6 in Madrid last year.

 

[clarence]

The J-11 is slow. It only opens up to f/4. Also, it does not focus very close, if I am not wrong. I find the J-9 better suited to frame-filling headshots.

Finally, the J-11 only comes in chrome, and I prefer black lenses.

Clarence

 

[Kim Coxon]

Hi,
The J9 can be a very good lens. However, be warned, it is very difficult to find a good one and most need major work to enable them the focus correctly close up at the wider apertures. If you search the forum, you will find several discussions on the subject.

AFIK, the J11 do not seem to suffer from the same problem and most focus correctly. The problem with the 135 lenses is that the area inside most finders is very small and it is difficult to focus them accurately unless you have a 1x finder or better. This could prove quite a problem on the Bessa R. I have used a 135 to reasonable effect on a Canon VI-L but the finder was set to 1.55x.

Kim

 

[peter_n]

I think the fastest Leica 135mm is f3.5. Any faster and the chunk of glass in front of the cam begins to unbalance it.

 

[morgan]

Thanks for the great information everyone. Oleg has a j11 and fedka has a j9 (not cheap!), hopefully something from them will be in good shape.

 

[nico]

...and what about focusing with the j-11 on a bessa R?
thanks for your answers...
bye. N.

 

[varjag]

J-11 is nice, small and sharp throughout all apertures lens. 135mm f/4 is not really limiting when you shoot in daylight. As mentioned it's great for travel: as much as I like my J-9, it is a bit heavy for daily outdoors use. I would agree it's a great portrait lens though, it renders females in most pleasing way somehow 🙂

Get both if it's within your budget.

 

[Spyderman]

I just recently got my J-9 and I was quite shocked how BIG it is. I personally would appreciate something a bit slower (like f/2.8 or f/3.5) if it was smaller... I always believed that RF cameras and lenses can be smaller, but my zorki 4 with Jupiter 9 and helios finder, is actually much bigger than OM-20 (OM-G) with Zuiko 2/85.

 

[Macpod]

i dont think 135mm is enough reach for that type of thing. 75-85mm is great portrait lens but i dont consider them to be teles.

for those rare ocassions that you need a reach, get a super zoom digital. one of the olymus superzooms. i think they are 35mm-400mm optical! ive used one and as a zoom they were great.

difference courses for different horses........or something like that?


PS do people here still use digital cameras? id love pentax DSLR with the 77limited F1.9 for portraits.

 

[clarence]

PS do people here still use digital cameras? id love pentax DSLR with the 77limited F1.9 for portraits.

Come join us at RFF's sister site, dslrexchange. It's quiet, but I'm sure it'll grow, now that RFF is expanding at an exponential rate.

Clarence

 

[Macpod]

will do. if its anthing like this forum im sure it will be great.

 

[brachal]

I have a J-9 and a J-11. Both are excellent. Some of my favorite shots have come from these lenses on my bessa-r. I would recommend getting a turret finder to use with them; I find it's a big help in framing with these -- also a great conversation starter.

As far as condition goes, I would recommend buying from fedka. I've bought numerous lenses from him, including the J-9, and they've always been great.

Some people have trouble focusing the J-11 on the bessa-r, but I've never had trouble with it, even as open as 5.6 at 10 or 12 feet.

 

[physiognomy]

I think the fastest Leica 135mm is f3.5. Any faster and the chunk of glass in front of the cam begins to unbalance it.

Not that this really matters... who cares about leitz/leica when were talking about jupiters anyway! I think leitz does have a great hunking 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit... Looks like a monster & has 'goggles' if I remember right. I've only seen it in black.

Back on topic! I have the J-9 & J-11 in Kiev/Contax mount and think they are both great lenses... If the f/4 of the J-11 might restrict your shooting why not take a look at the 135mm f/3.5 Super-Acall that I & others have picked up cheaply on ebay.

Peter

 

[rbiemer]

I lke my J-9 quite alot. It took two tries to get a correctly adjusted(or maybe not "correctly adjusted" but not messed with? No idea which it is) example and I count my self very lucky in that regard. Wide open and close up, my main problem is not focus but framing--and that is operator error more than anything else; I don't always remember to set the VF to close distance.
Hoods and filters are fairly easy to find and I think it's one of the better looking FSU lenses.
Don't own a J-11 yet, eventually I will get one but I already have a decent 135mm lens and use it very seldom so I'm not in any hurry to get another. But the J-11 is smaller and lighter than the lens I have, only slightly slower, has a pretty good reputation for build, and fairly cheap...hmm might have to start looking sooner than I thought.
Rob

 

[morgan]

I do have a digital camera (panasonic fx01) and it was searching that out that got me into old rangefinders. I saw the Leica Digilux2, loved it, and ultimately that led me to FSU's and rangefinders. I almost bought a canon20d, and still might eventually, but I'm so in love with film and rangefinders right now. Lugging that giant body and lens around really doesn't appeal to me anymore. I use my fx01 a lot, and it takes great pics, but it's not the same to me.

But back on topic, I think I'll go with a j-11 first and see how I feel about that. I am concerned about focusing issues, but we'll see what happens. Also, I really appreciate everyone's responses. This forum is one of the best I've ever encountered, for any area of interest.

 

[Kim Coxon]

The istD with the 77ltd is a great combination. 😉

Kim

PS do people here still use digital cameras? id love pentax DSLR with the 77limited F1.9 for portraits.

 

[Macpod]

The istD with the 77ltd is a great combination. 😉

Kim

i have seen some AMAZING stuff with that lens. wish it didnt cost 700USD. i dont think its 15 times better than a j-9. hahaha. it is autofocus though, so int hat aspect its better than zeiss and leica.