Where have all the Good Jupiters Gone... Gone to RFF every one?

If the front looks like a skating rink- that's about it. Otherwise you need to test each one, there is that much sample variation. I have enough spare parts to fix most of the ones I buy, or to part out a "DOG" to fix one that needs a clean front element or new focus mount.
 
Well, I'm not intending to part with my ZOMZ J-3. when I get a decent LTM/F mount adapter I will spend a little more time on it and hopefully post some images. I have two KMZ J-8's , one of which Brain adjusted several years ago, will get the same treatment.
 
I recently got a 1982 Black J-3 in LTM on a mechanically challenged Minolta 35 II (estate sale find). Turns out this J3 focuses perfectly at all distances on my IIIg. Clean glass too. I have not shot much with it so haven't developed much a taste for it yet, but it seems promising!
 
I haven't been watching FSU lenses in about 8 years, but just went and checked eBay. I see the J-3 is still being sold. Looks like an average price of under $200. With inflation, that seems about right. So was the OP saying they are not out there? Or not out there for a very cheap prices?

I have one I got from a friend in Moscow about 10 years ago. He had as many as he wanted, living there, and being a photographer. He sent me photos taken from a tripod from 3, and let me select the one I liked best. I paid $100 for it. KMZ about a 1956 if I recall. I shot it a lot back then, very nice, warm sonnar.
 
What I am seeing off Ebay: More Jupiter-3's that have been thrown together to look good, such as KMZ namerings on Valdai barrels with a mix of glass from each. More lenses with the barrels epoxied into the mount rather than use shims. 10 years ago finding a lens that had been glued together was rare, now- the last two Jupiter-8 lenses - could not get the barrel out of the mount to properly adjust them. The last Jupiter-3: KMZ namering and front element in a late Barrel, placed in the KMZ focus mount. The lens had been butchered, no retaining ring to get it deep enough into the mount to focus at all.
So- what I am saying- Bottom of the Barrel with lenses being made to look desirable but not to work. More lenses made to look like ZK and KMZ, not to mention many fake Sonnars in numbers that I have not seen before. We're used to Fed and Zorki cameras being re-engraved to be special edition Leica cameras, very common. Now it's the lenses.
 
Yeah the latest Jupiter-12 I have bought appears to have been clobbered together from parts as well. Hard to tell if that was done recently or at the factory though. The distortion and optical aberrations were quite something. It seemed like an optical elements mismatch. Luckily the focus unit was good.

And this was my first "bad" KMZ Jupiter-12. Usually KMZ Jupiter-12s are very well behaved and very sharp.
I only had one other which needed adjusting the main shim a bit - but that was all.
 
hap said:
If I am not mistaken this is a KMZ Jupiter 3? It has light blue coating. Perhaps you can tell me if newer made lens?
xjuVVitS17VktvCoQgH8kjfHvOrz9HkjwBXHLLOf1XMDRa4OGTqMr7y4lYe-Wg64bFRvNmI7kdNbwRuKIpGSMWBIJs_9iuZZzoz6vvZ2QOVqQVKitpe0PwhNfLtCDDeKFXJFH7qYPyok9BWtGIqNP6_qroSpV2FRAjqQAjrEMGJAyEHy5Sed4lYIDtrMjaLhNxrtccxK4x7qMMKfY76C--1UvGflrrR6C2ende-U9J3m_J-BtCU6W0KipJoI43i150dN6aywVxpULvm_w47wDu8FGci7ctlB-5svtWJth0m_mQ3lQL5Q31dpzISzOJFLAAadiCUTrKF3JJUSPYzl6bNUgnn71PYCT5PszqzwhH7kh0q9NgkmI7Bngd65AC77bjSqLjz-pm9qr5BcTtGE9Vuw0fF3AysHjbc-QE_m-HrMTW8Z9ggX1ZTRRmAZuF5U4Yl7inJGYe8UknC9_o7td9kMd6WFjouMC9aM_wUtK59xLvL9zPJG6HIOvNQ2EXJ6p_AR_nt9bR3YZwueMQmyOvwHRlJicNp2YuShuJB8Vsp2Sl9z_lvJIoHo08OCm4xDICTsWt_SrP4FfcE5POEIvPkEBkeQTLuJQDFtB0rCDSF63KY_GetA2KK1XaAO6jjrQIo6fPQtPZLfOMt--IAnnKZPoGwJER9U0b6AzQR-prejm7atbTUMlcbJb_b_MK0VgBAZqRuGhvQOdORxJF2wv7ub=w1080-h810-no


5UgGYJBGQQ52REKElwKENVJNMaioyikAf3RcdQ7comsbFRQXBkYouyK1js9FXYZlWVCQLeANNUr6-3nAh-7A2bhyvQfdITuegWpMK08yciBJo6k88HJXzML5Bb7dK9DZNMqR0KERYx6d7Plb8dhsObUasyvR2gNRKe1cWp1rxQQ-u6UO7nDceG60ZJb9ty-3BFB4J6sUHCP_OA6AAEeo_MKBDhPeuGL1utSlk6sJOR9quzpGFcEowLGyUrh13tW3BD8xSmOK8MrTUHkKhDT3kvOvAzwNt4C4WI2_3EEWR00Z155COF8drSW1ZND9owTxCY9tBya7nhUNWDK7r3Dd2pr180KPBhRusP0DuB0CWBdAE0QQB9jwPFw7mQxQMRAkg3fIt2sSWpUXwcKsx9LEh_XTyea5AUko_u6Bllyj9PV6s5uhvtHAnZOYRI47mB0NEj4XrHAhbhmIllzvl7qXPrDoumHZUgHryUSK4SzbAWegpZ1hj9dwFZtj8_TSZZ_S4IgouVfqj2d-fmG3xSnhDaGnklTA8Qa_4cSIeGSFPMNe4ZP9DSXHcedWp8zaWLZJJGXLqtjkZWNfxCYXSitDzr5pAEBKkjzNJNaJjiakuxnFlVDDH0QaR4QHwI-24V3c4vqX_1c5kCg9Xm91lIkg2rYrv5EYSXzDGo6stN9sca-Y9vtrbe3obhzJuJ-dKhkLOIzX8k6kFhETJeZK5BQuAlbI=w1080-h810-no
Click to expand...

I found this on Helios "store" Seems like a dead ringer for my ZOMZ 1959. POssibly Brian could observe for subtle differences.
Order lens Helios (helios-lens.com)
 
hap said:
I found this on Helios "store" Seems like a dead ringer for my ZOMZ 1959. POssibly Brian could observe for subtle differences.
Order lens Helios (helios-lens.com)
Click to expand...

The link is for a 1959 ZOMZ J-3, and they mistakenly describe it as 4 elements in 3 groups. The rear triplet has its own fixture, meaning made before 1963. I've had a couple of 1959 ZOMZ J-3's, a good year. I gave one to Tom A when he wanted to try one out.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
The link is for a 1959 ZOMZ J-3, and they mistakenly describe it as 4 elements in 3 groups. The rear triplet has its own fixture, meaning made before 1963. I've had a couple of 1959 ZOMZ J-3's, a good year. I gave one to Tom A when he wanted to try one out.
Click to expand...

Interesting story....Tom unfortunately not with us any more.
Supposedly the first two numbers on my lens ser # indicates 1958. I was rather curious because of the clean status of my barrel. However, it matches the one being sold and similar vintage.
 
My 1956 ZOMZ needed some adjusting. My 1957 ZOMZ, "not quite there yet". Wish I had kept the 1958 ZOMZ! One of the first I adjusted, and used- and it was one of the best I've ever seen. I did get lucky a few years ago and picked up a 1975 ZOMZ in perfect condition, needed shimming for my Leica and a good clean and lube due to age. It is amazingly good. You get some years where the manufacturers hit their stride, some years where they were getting in the groove, and some years where they were lax- but always some lenses produced by someone that was going to show everyone else how it is done.
 
This is a weird one, a 1951 KMZ J-3 in LTM, with ears on aperture ring, I have not seen one like this before. Anyway, makes me wonder if this lens is a transplant from Kiev-mount lens into a later LTM barrel. I have a 1951 J-3 in Kiev mount that has ears, and I have seen other 1951 Kiev-mount J-3s with ears, but this is the first one in LTM that I have seen. Ears are typical of earlier ZK lenses in LTM, of course. The rear lens group has 2 rings with spanner slots, which Brian has pointed out means that the lens is 1962 or earlier. Seller is asking $450 which shows that eBay sellers have realized the demand for the old KMZ lenses. Same seller has another J-3 with 1951 serial number posted at this time.https://www.ebay.com/itm/20380455409...YAAOSwEB5h8RCT
 
In my experience the ears are not that weird, a lot of 1951 J3 and J8 had them. Which meshes with the info on "Sovietcams" which has 1951 as the transitional year where they phased the ears out. I assume that batches with and without ears were made contemporaneously for a while as parts lasted.

Regarding whether its genuine. Hm... the aperture scale is riding way too high relative to the rest of the barrel which is really suspicious to me. It should not have left the factory like that. Also the name-ring looks period accurate and genuine. Also there's the interesting fact that the filter thread is clearly made from brass which again I've seen in other J3 (kiev and zorky) of that vintage.

So yeah I would agree that this perhaps a remount from a Kiev mount into a (newer) LTM one.
 
I noticed that the spacing on aperture ring was unusual looking, does not look this way on ZK lenses or early Jupiters that I have seen in LTM.
 
The more I look at it the stranger it seems. Also the rear element is quite far back as well. If the aperture ring were moved down it would look downright comical. I wonder if they had to move the lens very far forward with a big shim and then screw out the rear element by quite a bit. It definitely seems fishy now that I've taken a second closer look.,
 
This 1951 J-3 looks like it was remounted on a newer Focus mount. The position of the aperture ring is similar to my two 1950 remounts. The barrel is the same color as mine.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
This 1951 J-3 looks like it was remounted on a newer Focus mount. The position of the aperture ring is similar to my two 1950 remounts. The barrel is the same color as mine.
Click to expand...

That is interesting to know - so I guess that would mean they shortened the barrel at some point?
My remounted into a 1954 KMZ barrel ZK Sonnar has the aperture at the appropriate place but then again I did a pretty much complete rebuild, not something an eBay hacker looking for a couple of quick bucks would do...

Edit:
Via Sovietcams - it does indeed look like they shortened both the lens and barrel. Wouldn't that mean that they are using much higher refraction (better) glasses?
Source: Here
if5eyk9769.jpg
 
Sonnar Brian said:
My 1956 ZOMZ needed some adjusting. My 1957 ZOMZ, "not quite there yet". Wish I had kept the 1958 ZOMZ! One of the first I adjusted, and used- and it was one of the best I've ever seen. I did get lucky a few years ago and picked up a 1975 ZOMZ in perfect condition, needed shimming for my Leica and a good clean and lube due to age. It is amazingly good. You get some years where the manufacturers hit their stride, some years where they were getting in the groove, and some years where they were lax- but always some lenses produced by someone that was going to show everyone else how it is done.
Click to expand...

I think I am pretty happy with mine. I need to dig a little more on the focus accuracy. Presumably any able tech could adjust if necessary.
 
Just to confirm that Jupiters are still around - today I bought an almost mint J12 (in LTM). 20€. The price included the “body cap” in the form of Fed 3. OK, I did not test it yet, but for 20€…
 
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