Leica film camera and Jupiter 8 lens

[erniethemilk]

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I picked up an M6 a couple of months ago, which I am totally in love with and have a 35mm Nokton for it  

I was thinking about a Jupiter 8 for it as I quite like 50mm focal length and the physical size and dimensions of the Jupiter 8 is very appealing. 

Price makes it a no brainer, wondering about its shortcomings. I've read a couple of reviews of the lens elsewhere which make it sound a viable option for a cheap, lightweight 50mm. 

Has anyone much experience shooting with this lens and think it's a good option to use with the M6.

[a.noctilux]

Have a look here, RFF

I have Jupiter 8 (and 3) and use them very rarely.

The round aperture at all stops is lovely for background spots.

All aluminium is light but some flaws in focussing or rangefinder coupling in my unit,

not as reliable than say Canon LTM 1.8/50 (which is a better choice for a bit more money).

talks about Canon 1.8/50

Edited December 17, 2019 by a.noctilux

[Ko.Fe.]

J8 is in use on Leica M for well over decade now. Here are dozens of reviews and all kind of info if you Google it.

But if it is something too hard...

 

I have tried many 50mm lenses on my Ms. From Summar to latest CV 50 1.5 ASPH and bunch of J8 included.

For now I have J3 instead of all of of Leitz, Leica, Canon, CV, CZ lenses. 

But to get to this conclusion and choice I have to do following:

1. Re-lube (means washing out old gunk completely, not just using q-tips which are only good for the years channels).

2. Re-shim FSU lens (almost all of then needed it).

Again, information for how to is available on the internet. Including instructions with images in form of the pdf files.

If it is white, no collar or black J8 or any J3 you could add wire tie and use it as focus tab. 

 

 Once it is done the lens is as smooth to focus as Leica made lens and better than Cosina made CV/CZ). And it is also sharp wide open.

You also need to decide which film you are about to use most.

Color - stay with black J8. BW - old, "white" variants of J3/J8. 

J8 after it was shimmed for M4-2.

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[erniethemilk]

8 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

Have a look here, RFF

I have Jupiter 8 (and 3) and use them very rarely.

The round aperture at all stops is lovely for background spots.

All aluminium is light but some flaws in focussing or rangefinder coupling in my unit,

not as reliable than say Canon LTM 1.8/50 (which is a better choice for a bit more money).

talks about Canon 1.8/50

Thanks for those links. Looks a good option for about £30 or so! 

[Ko.Fe.]

1 minute ago, erniethemilk said:

Thanks for those links. Looks a good option for about £30 or so! 

At your service!

As for Canon 50 1.8 been "reliable"... it has first chrome version and it is OK lens. Second version is notorious for often non removable (between glued elements) fog.

I have second of this trouble version now (as gift from know RF enthusiast). Needed shimming to be in focus, just as first one I had (with non removable fog).

None of the FSU lenses I had (went through dozen+ of them) has fog issues. Even now it is very easy to find clean J8. They were made until 1991 or so. But even from fifties, J8/J3 are easier to find with clean glass comparing to old Canon LTM or even old Leitz.

 

[erniethemilk]

Just dropped £30 for one, so hopefully all good. It’s a black one so I’m guessing a later model. No chrome for me 😁
For £30 it’s a bit of a no brainier to try out. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by erniethemilk

[opton]

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I have both - the Jupiter 8 and the Canon 50 mm 1.8. I acquired the Canon recently and I don't think it's too hard to find one in good condition. 

While the pictures from the Jupiter 8 can be quite good (at least with black & white film) it has some downsides. First, there is a slight focussing error that comes from a small difference in rangefinder coupling - it can only be seen with the aperture wide open and near focussing distances. Not such a big deal, but it makes the lens less usable for available light shooting indoors. And the other thing is that aperture ring has no click stops and, even worse, turns with the focusing ring. At least for me this is really annoying because you always have to take the camera down when changing the aperture and you can't be sure if you don't accidently move the ring when shooting.

The Canon 50 mm 1.8 has a nice build quality and also click stops. There is an infinity lock, but it can be removed if it gets in the way too much. Think it is definitely worth the money for the better build quality and ergonomics and also the image quality looks pretty good (I have only shot one film with it so far).

 

[Ko.Fe.]

"White" J8 versions do not rotate, some even have focus tab.

De-clicked aperture ring is the blessing for camera like M6.

To avoid focus errors, we re-shim the lens at minimal focus distance at maximum aperture.  Once it is done, the greater distance is compensated by DOF.

 

Jupiter-3 wide open at one meter. Focus is where I wanted it :).

 

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