Which is your favorite FSU "normal lens" and why?

[kotokot21]

I tend to use a collapsible Industar-22 more for balance of compactness and IQ, in lower light I use a Jupiter-3 more. I also have a nice chrome Jupiter-8 and a black Jupiter-8-1 (worse build quality, but better color rendition), also there's a nice zebra Industar-61 (non-LD), a rare version with 9 aperture blades — rather nice, but not much sharper than J-3 at f4 and further. Also I have a collapsible Industar-50 and a collapsible FED 50mm f3.5 — the FED is the most compact one, but has the worst IQ of these 3 collapsibles. Speaking about J-12, I have a black LZOS LTM one, I've blackened it's apeture blades myself with a sharpie-like marker — now it flares much less, but the best J-12, I guess —*it's an Arsenal-made one with Contax-Kiev mount. Older Jupiters have perfect matte black diafragms, newer ones are just plain unpainted metal — thus more flare. But newer ones have a bit more modern coatings, thus better color rendition, like the black Jupiter-8-1. But I never had any problems with color film with my ZOMZ J-3 and KOMZ I-22.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

The poll is for normal lenses for 35mm, of which I have none. But the 75mm Industar on my Iskra is my favorite; it's the equal of my 80 Planar on the Hassie. Different rendering, of course, but equally good performance. And the lenses for my Kiev 6C ain't too shabby, either. FSU lenses generally rock, in my opinion; they're too inexpensive to have snob appeal, so they get disparaged by people who need "Leica glow" or "Zeiss pop" to feel reassured about their expensive purchases. FSU lenses work well, if they're serviced and aligned. Most of them are 40 or more years old, and pretty much any lens needs some TLC at that age.

 

[neal3k]

I voted for the Industar 22 but I like them all.

Here are most of mine:

FSU Lenses (USSR) by Neal Wellons, on Flickr

 

[Sonnar Brian]

L1000047 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr
J-3, first lens I used on my M Monochrom when bought in 2012.





Secret Garden, Occoquan by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

My favorite is the Jupiter-3, KMZ and the new J-3+.

I have excellent examples of all the lenses on the list- CLA'd them all, have used them all. The I-50 is really good, the build quality on the Collapsible I22 and I50 is very good, Chrome over brass construction. I picked up a Rigid I22, is also good build quality. The I-61L/D- not as good build quality, but great optics.

Why? The early KMZ J-3's have Zeiss optics, up through 1950. Use Schott glass through ~1954. The 1955 and 1956 KMZ lenses are "within a hair". The J-3 LTM mount is better designed than the original Zeiss LTM mount, the early KMZ J-3 match the wartime Sonnars for performance.

 

[titrisol]

J-3, a Soviet made CarlZeissJena Sonnar

 

[titrisol]

J-3, basically a Sonnar 50/1.5
Lovely rendition of tones and a very soft bokeh wide open.


Nicely sharp at f/11

 

[jc031699]

I adore this thread. Have the J8 silver, J8 black, I-61 zebra, I-50 collapsible, Helios 103, J-12 silver, J-9 CRF.

Horses for course, every one is special and a snowflake 😉

Special thanks to Brian Sweeney for inspiring the calibration work.

Bought a 3d printed LTM amount for the Helios from Kevin Yang. Had to sand down the rear element baffle to fit but works terrific.

 

[MarkWalberg]

The poll is for normal lenses for 35mm, of which I have none. But the 75mm Industar on my Iskra is my favorite; it's the equal of my 80 Planar on the Hassie. Different rendering, of course, but equally good performance. And the lenses for my Kiev 6C ain't too shabby, either. FSU lenses generally rock, in my opinion; they're too inexpensive to have snob appeal, so they get disparaged by people who need "Leica glow" or "Zeiss pop" to feel reassured about their expensive purchases. FSU lenses work well, if they're serviced and aligned. Most of them are 40 or more years old, and pretty much any lens needs some TLC at that age.

Wow, Mr. Retro Grouch, I bet that you must be one of the very very few on this forum with no normal lenses for 35 mm format. I've lost count of the 50s I own. Figuring out which one is best would take a year.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have an abnormal number of normal lenses for 35mm.

 

[Coldkennels]

I have an abnormal number of normal lenses for 35mm.

And I'm eternally glad for that fact, as every time I question whether I "need" another 50mm lens in LTM, I think "am I getting anywhere close to the number Brian Sweeney has?"

As long as the answer to that question remains no, everything's okay!

 

[wlewisiii]

Looking at this again, I'd have to say, my Helios 103 that I adjusted to fit my Nikon S2 is now my favorite FSU normal. Certainly it's the only one I'm using 😉

 

[santino]

I really like the Sonnar look. My 1951 KMZ LTM J3‘s aperture index doesn’t line up with the focus index and it is so soft that I think, that something is wrong with it (even though it is a beautiful lens with all it‘s glass and nickel).

Instead of the J8s I prefer my CZJ Sonnar, so my answer is my pre war FED 3,5 50mm lens. It is uncoated, has a slightly shorter body than the Industar 22 and it has a very rich tonality when it comes to b&w film.

 

[justins7]

I love my J-3 and now that I have an Amadeo adapter I can use it on my Leica M3 or M9 or CL. So I swap it between my Kievs and M's.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Wow, Mr. Retro Grouch, I bet that you must be one of the very very few on this forum with no normal lenses for 35 mm format. I've lost count of the 50s I own. Figuring out which one is best would take a year.

Well, I see that I wasn't clear. What I meant was that I had no normal FSU lenses in 35mm format. Believe me, like you and nearly everyone else here, I suffer from a ridiculous overabundance of the damn things! 😉

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I really like the Sonnar look. My 1951 KMZ LTM J3‘s aperture index doesn’t line up with the focus index and it is so soft that I think, that something is wrong with it (even though it is a beautiful lens with all it‘s glass and nickel).

Instead of the J8s I prefer my CZJ Sonnar, so my answer is my pre war FED 3,5 50mm lens. It is uncoated, has a slightly shorter body than the Industar 22 and it has a very rich tonality when it comes to b&w film.

I have seen early J-3s with mismatched rear triplets from later lenses that cause huge shifts in focus and focal length. That one- one of the first 5 bought and did not know to look for that as a problem. Years later- used the parts and made a really good lens out of it.

 

[santino]

Is there a way I could

I have seen early J-3s with mismatched rear triplets from later lenses that cause huge shifts in focus and focal length. That one- one of the first 5 bought and did not know to look for that as a problem. Years later- used the parts and made a really good lens out of it.

Is there a way I could check myself whether my rear triplet is from a later lens or not?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Is there a way I could

Is there a way I could check myself whether my rear triplet is from a later lens or not?

Early Russian Lenses, What Features to look for.

We have a native Russian-speaking fellow on the board. Won't he step in with a translation? Eliminate the educated guesses with an accurate translation. "Shrugs."

www.rangefinderforum.com

You need to unscrew the rear fixture, and compare it with those in the above thread. The year of manufacture is also important. I had a 1950 J-3 with a ZOMZ rear fixture forced into it. It could not be focused correctly.

Feel free to post pictures of your lens in the same thread.

 

[xayraa33]

The Helios 103 is my favourite for shooting colour print film but for B&W film, the J8 and J3 are my choice of lens.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

I voted J-8. From "Rikki Don't Lose that Number" by Steely Dan, it's the only one I own. 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂