EOS camera and Russian Jupiter 9 85mm/f2 lens

[haris]

Hi,

On thread (there was a url link here which no longer exists) I saw link about some Russian lenses, and I found this lens: http://www.lzos.ru/en/jupiter_9.htm. It is Jupiter 9 lens 85mm/f2 and adapter for EOS cameras, http://www.lzos.ru/en/lnad_canon_eos.htm. So, as price is very tempting, I would like to ask if that lens is worth of buying. Price is 75 USD, adapter price is 30USD, so price is not issue, but what performer is that lens? Does anyone has experience with that (or simillar) lens. Next what I would like to ask is how metering is made with that lens+adapter on EOS camera (or if anyone tried that with other autoeverything camera). Does any type of metering (evaluate or spot or average) works with that combination, or metering must be made with handheld meter. And what about focusing, can that combination focus at all distances (including infinit an near focus distance)

I belive it is simmilar like Leica lens on EOS camera, that is lens must be stopped down to working aperure, but as I have read with Leica lens+adapter on EOS camera, cameras spot mettering works, and focus on infinity can't be made, but nearer focus distance are OK.

So, to make this short, is this lens (Jupiter 9, 85mm/f2) any good, is it worth of buying , and how it works on autoeverything cameras. One note, I have EOS500n and EOS3 cameras.

And last question, how reliable dealer(s) of that lens is(are), especially is official manufacturer, http://www.lzos.ru/en/main.htm, reliable dealer, on theire site is option to buy from them directly.


Please, if anyone can aswer this...

Thank you.

 

[srs5694]

I don't have a Jupiter-9, so I can't comment on it specifically. I wouldn't expect Leica quality out of it, but Russian lenses in general are good values, in the sense that to get similar performance from other manufacturers' lenses would require spending more money. (Russian cameras tend to be flaky, but there's less to go mechanically wrong with lenses.)

You might want to check out RuGift. They've got the Jupiter-9 with a Canon FD mount adapter for US$109. I've dealt with this company before and they seem good, although shipping from Russia to the USA is understandably slow.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Haris, the one thing that made me wary of buying directly from LZOS was the fact that he accepted only Western Union transfers, and that I could get the lens a bit cheaper on the auction site. I've heard some people on APUG suggesting that they weren't a very reliable seller either (search the forums for "LZOS").

I eventually got one in M42 mount for my Pentax, and it is a very nice lens. I've printed some 8x10 on Tri-X and the tones are good, details sharp, and the focal almost ideal.

Of course, that deal wasn't perfect either: there was some lube marks on the aperture blades (not a big worry since it's a preset lens), and the seller incorrectly called an unpaid strike on me. I told him to walk off and showed my bill, and the strike was removed. He never left me feedback.

 

[silentsignal]

I have 2 samples of this lens. One from the 1950's and one from the late 90's. They are decent little lenses. They are a pain to shoot with though. As mentioned they are pre-sets and slow to use. I tend to prefer them with b@w film. The older lens has coating that tends to warm up slides quite a bit.

As with almost all fsu gear every lens varies. You can get a gem for peanuts, or get a dog. Really just depends if the people that put it together were hungover or not.

I am curious why you want to stick it on an eos body. With the price of used 35mm gear you could pick up a manual focus body for the price of the adapter and use it on it. I think it would be easier to focus with than trying to manually focus on an af body.

 

[DBP]

I use a Jupiter 9 in LTM and wouldn't part with it (unless somebody wants to trade me a real 85/2 Sonnar - any takers?). But I would skip the adapter and buy a screw mount body. Old Ricoh TLS go for about $10. I'm pretty sure the M42 Jupiter 9s are all presets, so you might as well use a camera designed for stop down metering. Or you could pick up a Fed, Zorki, or Kiev while you are at it and enter the wonderful world of rangefinders.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Ju-9 rules!

I'm with DBP on this. The J-9 is indeed a wonderful lens. It's compact and light. It may tend to flare (the non-MC versions) but this could be largely cured with the use of a good lens hood. I like the lens so much, that there was a time that I had 14(!) J-9s in various mounts and vintages.

The J-9's charms are not in terms of sharpness or contrast. Many of the more advanced lenses would do better than the J-9. However, the J-9 on the other hand is capable of doing things which the newer ones can't. Bokeh, colour rendering, and shifting to "soft" to "sharp" with one flick (the p/s ring) are just among a few of these.

The P/S diaphragm may be hard to do at first, and it is a skill easily learned. It also becomes second-nature -you'll do it without even thinking anymore like shifting gears in a stick-shift automobile- in no time at all.

Likewise, as DBP said, the J-9 may not be best used on an EOS camera. I'd be concerned with focusing issues. The screens on many AF cameras -particularly the Canon- are not designed for manual focusing. Visual confirmation of focus is hard to do in many Canon EOS screens. These screens were designed mostly for composing. Focusing manually on them wasn't a primary consideration since EOS lenses are AF and manual focusing with them links an electronic RF which confirms focus by blinking and beeping.

A manual focus M42 SLR may be better to use. They're not too expensive. I use the J-9 mostly on Zenit, sometimes on Praktica, or on Canon dSLRs. Speaking of prices, you may be able to get the J-9 for less from eBay.

A J-9 example, shot with a Zenit on Fujicolor film:

 

[haris]

Thank you all. One Zenit will be mounted on that lens I think. Or if I find something lighter, I worked with Zenit and it is heavy...

Thanks againg, best regards.

 

[DBP]

Thank you all. One Zenit will be mounted on that lens I think. Or if I find something lighter, I worked with Zenit and it is heavy...

Thanks againg, best regards.

The old Fujica ST screwmounts are smaller and lighter, really beautiful little cameras, and still not terribly expensive. Or, as I noted earlier, you could go the rangefinder route and put the camera and 50mm in one large pocket and 85mm and finder in the other.

 

[ZorkiKat]

........ Or, as I noted earlier, you could go the rangefinder route and put the camera and 50mm in one large pocket and 85mm and finder in the other.

The J-9 does great work on RFs too. But the J-9 has a somewhat spotty reputation in the LTM version. Too many have been serviced with an earnest intent to make them work "better" as they aged, but often the service work does more harm than others. The problems lie in the focus helicals, which when improperly reassembled often leads to focusing errors.

But if you get a great working one, you'd never want anything else. I like using mine on the Leica M3 since its got a built in frameline in the VF. The 90mm frame works fine with the 85mm. You'd have to get an accessory finder too, if you use the J-9 in FSU RFs since almost all of these had VFs whose fields exclusively covered the 50mm.

Jay

 

[DBP]

The J-9 does great work on RFs too. But the J-9 has a somewhat spotty reputation in the LTM version. Too many have been serviced with an earnest intent to make them work "better" as they aged, but often the service work does more harm than others. The problems lie in the focus helicals, which when improperly reassembled often leads to focusing errors.

But if you get a great working one, you'd never want anything else. I like using mine on the Leica M3 since its got a built in frameline in the VF. The 90mm frame works fine with the 85mm. You'd have to get an accessory finder too, if you use the J-9 in FSU RFs since almost all of these had VFs whose fields exclusively covered the 50mm.

Jay

Mine was focusing about a foot and a half (half a meter) in front of where it was aimed, but was only $70 to fix - worth every penny.

 

[Uncle Bill]

I have a friend over in Eastern Euope for the next 6 months and he is keeping an eye out for Jupiter 9's in both M-39 and M-42 screwmount, hopefully pick up on my behalf.

Bill