Russian/Ukrainian rangefinders

There are other 28mm choices; Contax made one, as did Nikon, but seriously, I'd consider the new one from Cosina/Voigtlander- though at f-3.5, it's slower than I'd like. I'm hoping that CV will port their 28 1.9 over to the mount.

The 4 element-4 group Double Gauss design is pretty cool- I have the Mamiya 65mm lens for the Mamiya Universal which has that design as well. It's great for contrast, even with single coated lenses.
 
JD, thanks for the info. I took the first shots with the 4am last friday and it handled well enough. The tightness when cocking the shutter is not that bad anyway and I think there's really nothing wrong with it, but it's less "silky" than on the zorki 3m.

Getting used to the "contax grip" may take some time, and I discovered that for now the focusing wheel on top of the body seems a bit odd to my fingers, so I use to focus using the lens, as always.

OTH, the RF is by far the best I've tried yet, big and easily useable with very good brightness and contrast. Also, the shutter is VERY quiet, with a brief 'snap' instead of the usual 'thro-poff' of a cloth shutter.

Ah, and about the J-12, I also have one on LTM mount but used it only for indoor pictures. They turned up well enough, but some outdoor test is needed.

Let's see how the renowned Helios-103 performs finally, I'm using color slides this time.
 
I've found I must be VERY careful with the J-12 outside- flare is a very real problem, and the best I've done is drop the shutter speed and stop down, which seems to tighten up the flare troubles. I don't have a hood for the lens, and I don't know if it would help, truthfully. This is in both samples that I have (now 5 J-8's, all nice, 3 J-12's with two working, 2 J-9's, and another 135mm). It's bad.

On the other hand, the J-8 is strangely resistant to flare, even though I don't yet have a hood for it either. I'm VERY happy with my samples- they give great images and don't challenge me over-much with "what do I need to do to make sure this shot comes out the way I want it?" decisions.

The 85mm's flare pretty badly, and I do have a hood that helps.

The 135? I've only used it a couple times, and it didn't flare when I did, though I hear it may well, and that I should find a hood. Of course finding hoods for these beasts that work well with the focal length isn't easy. I can always make them, I suppose...

I think it so strange that even though the finder on the Kiev is so small, it is also so bright and usable. I've never mis-focused a shot, even wide open and up close.

Now, I'm off to look for the Holy Grail- the J-3, contrast be darned!
 
I've been trying out my backloag of Russian lens purchases from the past year. Some good, some bad. This is an example from a $25.00 Jupiter-8. I bought it to replace a defective Industar-26m on a Fed-3a. The Fed istself only cost about $20.00 with the defective lens.

-Paul
 
I can't seem to clean out my paypal account without first buying another something russian - amazing results for the tinkerer.
 
Paul, I can't see anything there to complain about! I've been using a J8M on my Kiev, which looks good to me. I have noticed that the circles formed by out of focus highlights are lighter around the rim and seem to "point" toward the center. Here's a shaky example shot wide open at about 1/4 sec hand-held...
 
Doug, amazingly sharp and very nice colours.
Good job!
 
Thanks, Richard! The lens is impressive, especially considering the origins and the price, as Pauls shot also demonstrates. I've read some compliments on the Helios-103 too. I wonder if it's related to the Jupiter-8 or a different design?
 
Pshinkaw:

I really like your image of the signs and buildings. Great sharpness and color. Nice work with a Russian Jupiter 8 lens!

Best, Bill
 
Pshinkaw, thanx for the link ! It's now well stored in my favorites !

I have a half-exposed Elite 100 roll on my Kiev 4am / Helios 103, my paw tool for these weeks. Let's see how the "legendary" lens performs finally...

Best !
 
Thanks for the link, Paul. They are quite different, with the Helios essentially a symmetrical 6/4 design. Indeed, it's my understanding the J-12 IS a Sonnar...
 
I think the symmetrical design is called a "Double Gauss". That might make the Helios a closer cousin of the Summitar than the Sonnar.

When I first acquired mine, I ran a side-by-side comparison using a Kiev-4 with the Jupiter-8 and a Kiev-4A with the Helios. There is a really slight difference between the pictures, but it is really hard to tell unless you are looking for it.

-Paul
 
Oops. Somehow this comparison didn't get attached. The top one is the Jupiter-8, the bottom one is the Helios-103

-Paul
 
LOL... JD, that's an attribute!
The pics are otherwise hard to distinguish, but it seem to me the Jupiter's shadows are a bit darker, maybe more contrast with that lens?
 
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