The Russian Collection

[VladimirV]

No ramblings this time and just some photos.

Tom is always going on about the Russian Jupiter lenses and he has a very good point, if you can find some good copies the lenses are actually quite excellent and given the price are a much better alternative for some rarely used focal lengths than spending 5-10x the price for any Voigtlander, Zeiss or Leica equivalent lenses.

They are quite well built and have a seamless aperture ring, the Jupiter-12 is also a very nice looking lens with the bulge at the back:

The best is to get these lenses together with a camera, this seems to be a better value and also give you better copies of the lenses.

Here some pictures taken with the 'comrades'

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0




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Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8 with Leica OUFRO macro adapter

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.0

Jupiter-11 135mm f4.5




So comrades, post your pictures taken with Russian lenses (or any other weird and wonderful Leica L or M lenses but not the standard CV, Leica or Zeiss).

 

[lenseye]

Nice lens Vladimir... I have always wanted one but all the ones I see are Kiev mount! I have given up looking for now as I don't know of any Kiev to M adapters!


The lens seems to produce a nice bokeh as well or is that your technique!

b

 

[VladimirV]

VladimirV wrote:

No ramblings this time and just some photos.

Tom is always going on about the Russian Jupiter lenses and he has a very good point, if you can find some good copies the lenses are actually quite excellent and given the price are a much better alternative for some rarely used focal lengths than spending 5-10x the price for any Voigtlander, Zeiss or Leica equivalent lenses.

They are quite well built and have a seamless aperture ring, the Jupiter-12 is also a very nice looking lens with the bulge at the back:

The best is to get these lenses together with a camera, this seems to be a better value and also give you better copies of the lenses.

Here some pictures taken with the 'comrades'

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8 with Leica OUFRO macro adapter

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8

Jupiter-12 35mm f2.0

Jupiter-11 135mm f4.5

So comrades, post your pictures taken with Russian lenses (or any other weird and wonderful Leica L or M lenses but not the standard CV, Leica or Zeiss).

The forum software decided to hide most of my post in the signature block so above is the full post.

The lens used is in the description for each picture.

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Cristian Sorega Photography

One day, one picture.

ricoh-gr-diary.blogspot.com

cristian.sorega

Explore cristian.sorega’s 35,286 photos on Flickr!

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http://jpgmag.com/people/Cristian

 

[VladimirV]

lenseye wrote:

Nice lens Vladimir... I have always wanted one but all the ones I see are Kiev mount! I have given up looking for now as I don't know of any Kiev to M adapters!

The lens seems to produce a nice bokeh as well or is that your technique!

The bokeh of all the Russian lenses is quite nice, nothing special done from my end and a simple RAW conversion with RAW Therapee for all the pictures.

It's not always easy to fin the L/M39 mount versions of these lenses but you can sometimes find them if you search for the Zorki-4 camera, some people bundle the lenses with the cameras.

 

[yonsarh]

Very nice. The image quality seems to be pretty good.

 

[VladimirV]

yonsarh wrote:

Very nice. The image quality seems to be pretty good.

The lenses are not always the sharpest wide open but certainly not worse than any Leica or Zeiss lens from that time and are very sharp and contrasty stopped down a bit.

 

[Zagato]

My Jupiter-12 35mm/2.8 has the Kiev/Contax mount. I'm using it with a Nikon (S) to L/M adapter on the Ricoh GXR M. Except that it doesn't quite focus quite up to infinity (set to infinty) when using it for landscape shots, for shorter distances it works perfectly.



Michael (Vienna)

 

[Zagato]

Foarte frumos !

Love your Russians with each one of them displaying a different character. Great shots!

I have a few one as well, MIR, Jupiter, Helios but haven't really had the chance this winter to try them out properly. Hopefully this longlasting dismal weather will change for the better soon.

Brgds
Michael (Vienna)

 

[Tom Caldwell]

lenseye wrote:

Nice lens Vladimir... I have always wanted one but all the ones I see are Kiev mount! I have given up looking for now as I don't know of any Kiev to M adapters!

The lens seems to produce a nice bokeh as well or is that your technique!

b

I have dealt with a number of Russian and Ukrainian vendors over eBay. Most are reliable enough but there are a few out and out rogues. The lenses have always arrived, but shipping ex-Ukraine in particular is very slow. From tracking information the packages can sit in a customs/export hall 7-14 days alone and often they seem to be shipped out via Moscow anyway. I have learned to avoid lenses assured to be serviced by a "repairman" or with obvious distorted screw slots or significant surface damage. Best to get one that looks "untouched" a sort of homily for regular eBay users on how to suck eggs. I have even found rogue vendors in the USA - usaully guys who buy up stuff from deceased estates and profess (probably honestly) that they "know nothing" about cameras but even "Blind Freddy" could have seen something was wrong but they still expect the going rate for something that would embarrass a true photographic vendor.

That said, I admit to a few mistakes, but those that never have made a mistake have never tried. Moscowphoto (example only) seem always to have up to 10 Jupiter-12 lenses for sale in M39 mount. The silver ones are all right, but the black finished ones always look better. I have bought a few lenses from there, his descriptions are fair, but he does not guarantee anything more than a corrrect description and you must inspect the photographs carefully. His prices seem middle of the road and he usually ships same day - prices generally include freight. There are others but there are more here there and everywhere for the Jupiter-12 specifically. A search has always turned up quite a few. Outside the Eastern block a Jupiter-12 LTM in good condition is rare and will always cost more (fact of life). The Contax/Kiev mount lenses are always cheaper - a good source of spare parts if you ever need them?

Prices seem to have risen since I was buying. I presume that many are realising that Russian lenses are not universally bad and that the bottomless stocks of old lenses must be that much closer to the bottom. As Cristian suggests - you can buy a camera with lens fitted for not much more. There must be a huge landfill of lensless camera bodies. Seeing I had such a collection of Russian glass I have also bought a few body/lens combinations. When buying bodies you can be very selective and can get them in virtually unused condition if you are careful with your selection.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Cristian

Thanks for your words of support, you are a better photographer than this lens collector could ever hope to be.

Your excellent photographs illustrate well that these Russian lenses are not quite as bad as their popular reputation makes them out to be.

Now I must sort through my "far out" Russian lens collection. I do have a "prototype" numbered battered old Russar MR-2 which might actually be worth something. But also a "new" MR-2 in black which I actually think was in fact "new". A beautiful lens, but I might as well have bought a Leica lens at the price I paid (grin).

One of the few lenses of the era that was designed and made in Russia. Of Topogon configuration and initially an lens for aerial photography. It has little distortion.

 

[FFF]

Tom,

The Contax/Kiev mount lenses are always cheaper - a good source of spare parts if you ever need them?

pfmji- just to get this streight: "Kiev" mount = "Contax/Yashica" mount? That would be lucky, as i have a nicely made C/Y adapter here ;-)

TIA

Karl

 

[Tom Caldwell]

FFF wrote:

Tom,

The Contax/Kiev mount lenses are always cheaper - a good source of spare parts if you ever need them?
pfmji- just to get this streight: "Kiev" mount = "Contax/Yashica" mount? That would be lucky, as i have a nicely made C/Y adapter here ;-)
TIAKarl

Karl

Right on the boundary of my knowledge I am afraid. I think there was a Contax/Yashika C(?) mount that might have been different. This would be the original pre-war Contax mount as the Zavod Arsenal factory in Kiev assembled pre-war Zeiiss Ikon from about 1948 before starting to make an identical clone. As Michael notes Nikon used the same mount as the Nikon-S with a few changes. But don't rely on me as I don't know enough to give you a properly informed opinion. Either research it properly (Wikipedia?) or someone else might be able to knowledgeable reply.

I have a limited number of Russian camera bodies. One is a back bodied Kiev-4am - a very late model. This one came from one of my less-liked Ukrainian vendors and was quite dirty, I suppose "excellent+" means "it works", but it is a complex camera - there were revered, so the complexity must have worked. The point is that the Kiev mount only Helios-103 1.8/53mm lens is very nicely built fairly compact lens.

I am going to get my camera body technician "spurs" one day when I partially disassemble the body to properly clean it. I have 4/5 other bodies and they are all in top condition

 

[FFF]

Tom,
i think there was a Contax/Yashika C(?) mount that might have been different. This would be the original pre-war Contax mount as the Zavod Arsenal factory in Kiev assembled pre-war Zeiiss Ikon from about 1948 before starting to make an identical clone.

i did a quick round to wikipedia, and it seems you are right, Kiev uses "pre war" contax mount. As my adaptor suits well on my Yashica lens from about 1980, i fear i'll have no luck here ;-(

Did i alreadey say, i hate the new editor? Can't find how to force it to "re-quote" text.... sorry for answering on the wrong lines.

Karl

 

[Tom Caldwell]

I have taken some Russar MR-2 images, just trying to find the time to put a couple up.

 

[VladimirV]

Tom Caldwell wrote:

Cristian

Thanks for your words of support, you are a better photographer than this lens collector could ever hope to be.

Your excellent photographs illustrate well that these Russian lenses are not quite as bad as their popular reputation makes them out to be.

Tom, I saw your posts about these lenses and thought a post to show some pictures taken with them might be good and help illustrate that these lenses are much more capable than their reputation might suggest.

--

Cristian Sorega Photography

One day, one picture.

ricoh-gr-diary.blogspot.com

cristian.sorega

Explore cristian.sorega’s 35,286 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

http://jpgmag.com/people/Cristian

 

[VladimirV]

Zagato wrote:

Foarte frumos !

Multam!

 

[Tom Caldwell]

[ATTACH alt="Fitted to GXR - Cyrillic "P" = Roman "R" hence the confusion "]105020[/ATTACH]
Fitted to GXR - Cyrillic "P" = Roman "R" hence the confusion











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Tom Caldwell

 

[Zagato]

Tom,

glad to see you posting some shots with a rather exotic lens out of your huge "reservoir". Exotic in the way that it is hardly offered on ebay and even the people in 2 large shops here in Vienna selling numerous mf lenses of all brands didn't know anything about the Russar.

The Russar MR-2 seems to perform very nicely, the slight unsharpness towards the sides is not disturbing the great overall impression at all and, anyway is almost inevitable using 20mm lenses. My Nikkor 20mm/2.8 does not perform better than this.

What adapter are you using for the Ricoh GXR M?

Thanks for posting!

Brgds
Michael (Vienna)

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Tom,

glad to see you posting some shots with a rather exotic lens out of your huge "reservoir". Exotic in the way that it is hardly offered on ebay and even the people in 2 large shops here in Vienna selling numerous mf lenses of all brands didn't know anything about the Russar.

The Russar MR-2 seems to perform very nicely, the slight unsharpness towards the sides is not disturbing the great overall impression at all and, anyway is almost inevitable using 20mm lenses. My Nikkor 20mm/2.8 does not perform better than this.

What adapter are you using for the Ricoh GXR M?

Thanks for posting!

Brgds
Michael (Vienna)

Thanks Michael, Russian wide-angles are not common the Jupiter-12 is only "mild-wide" but probably the greatest overall of their ltm mount lenses and an absolute bargain at it's going rate most probably because it fits in few cameras "outside Leica bodies and close clones" the rear protrusion is simply too much. The rear protrusion on the MR-2 is something similar. However the J-12 was "almost" mass-produced compared to the limited production of the MR-2. The latter is hard to get and the new one I found at "huge cost" was #32 of the 1985 production. Probably not many more were made that year. Forgotten but not unloved. They are a bit of a cult lens and regarded as quite good, but I am hardly the person to get the very best out of it. I simply went for a walk around the fishing harbour and marina and took a few images (as one does). They were mostly f8 or f11 because of the very bright light so I just put the camera on infinity and pointed. Little skill involved.

I have a much more battered silver MR-2 that I had bought much earlier including the original adjustable viewfinder. It works well but it is more of the "well-used but lovingly" style. I think it more-special intrinsically as it is numbered "00363" which according to my sources is the identification of a prototype batch and therefore would be a very early manufacture. As the MR-2 was made from "circa" 1958 (possibly 1957) it must date from then. Russian lenses other than prototypes usually had the year of manufacture as the first two digits of the serial number and only a prototype batch started with "00".

In any case according to "Princelle" the (one of two actually made) Kometa cameras shown at the 1958 Brussels World Fair was fitted with the Russar MR-2 serial number 00011. The Kometa was considered of great interest at the time as it was more advanced even than the Leica of the day but was huge, mistaken for a medium format camera, and 'pug-ugly'. Prototypes shown off for propaganda purposes it never was produced commercially. It did take a standard LTM mount lens and no doubt the rest of the prototype batch of Russar lenses found it's way into Zorki and FED bodies.

The Russar is a nice compact lens on the GXR-M, but like the J-12 it is M mount module, Leica, Zorki, FED, or bust with that deep rear protrusion - no way it is going on to a NEX or M4/3 camera body. It is also the widest angle ltm mount lens that the Russians made commercially.

It is rare therefore it is expensive to buy.

I have Jean Loup Princelle's second edition "The Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras" #273/500 and personally signed on the inserted card. As my Russian lens collection expanded I needed this well researched authoritive guide to their lenses as it is otherwise a very mystifying subject. There are not nearly as many LTM (or even M42) lenses available as their confusing naming/numbering system might indicate. So it is possible to get up all but the most rare and exotic as a "full collection" without spending too much.

The book was still available from several vendors but their pricing varied considerably. I was lucky to get a new copy reasonably priced. There is a first edition but the second is considerably revised and extended and worth while having. Besides Mr Princelle's good help makes me seem smarter and more authoritive than I really am (grin).

I just bought a heap of cheap LTM->LM adpapter rings and fitted them to all my LTM lenses. Bought from RJ in Shanghai they work acceptably well and can be left mounted, even though a few of them are tricky to slip into the mount and require a tongue protruding through my teeth to enable just the right amount of concentration due to tight tolerence to the point of being almost ridiculous. However they all slip in and they do demount quite easily. I could not possibly afford so many of these adapters made in the Voigtlander brand. I have a couple and they are truly very well made and finished but they actually cost more than many of my Russian lenses did.

 

[Zagato]

Tom,

many thanks again for your valuable information which already in the past has repeatedly contributed to enjoy the GXR with rather not so common lenses. Through your hints as to which adapters may be obtained and used the field has opened up considerably.

I found the book about Soviet cameras and lenses in the internet and some years ago a copy via pdf was available for download but presently the links are dead, nevertheless it is still available on amazon for about € 50.-, even the 2nd edition. I think I shall add it to my library of photographic books.

Hope everything is OK in the northeast of NSW and no hurricanes like the ones in Victoria yesterday!

Thanks again!

Brgds
Michael (Vienna)