Jupiter 8M 50mm f2 - Vintage Soviet Lens Test - Retrotech
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- čas přidán 22. 12. 2020
- In this video we're taking a look at a vintage Jupiter-8M 50mm f2 camera lens, made is the USSR in the 1970s. The Jupiter 8 is a Soviet made copy of a German Carl Zeiss "Sonnar" 50mm lens - the Jupiter version being made mostly in the KMZ factory (or Krasnogorski Mekhanicheskii Zavod - I've seen this spelt in multiple different ways so forgive me if I picked the wrong one!!!). Additional information since the filming of this video, the "8M" version of the lens was made in the Arsenal Factory located in Kiev. The lens came in L39 (also known as M39 or LTM for Leica Thread Mount) and a bayonet version to fit the German Contax rangefinder camera and the Soviet Kiev version of it.
I had intended to get one of the L39 screw mount versions but somehow I ended up with a bayonet version - on the Contax/Kiev camera, the focusing helicoid is part of the camera body so I had to track down an adaptor which had the focusing mount from a Kiev camera grafted onto a Micro Four Thirds mount - it's not a particularly good conversion, and the entire lens can fall off if you try to focus too close!!!
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Intro Music
"As Yet Untitled"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.bandcamp.com/
Incidental Music
"Jupiter Moods"
by GrumpyTim
www.grumpytim.com - Věda a technologie
Hello Tim.
KMZ (the accent of mehanichesky falls in the middle on the "ni") is the factory that produced 18 different versions of the M39 Zorki Jupiter-8, but is located in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow.
All Jupiter-8M lenses were made for the Kiev (Contax) camera and were produced instead (as you can see from the mark on your lens) by the Arsenal factory, of course located in Kiev.
This "M"odification (probably the meaning of the additional letter M) shares the same optical scheme, same focal length (52,4mm) but has a slightly different diaphragm construction and of course no focusing mechanism. The color of the coating on the lenses produced in the 70s should be in the amber/rose/purplish tones.
Merry Christmas.
Awesome, thanks Patrizio - I figured I'd pronounce the name incorrectly but I couldn't find an audio recording of anyone saying it to check, so I just gave it my best try!!!
I did intend to say that not all the Jupiter 8 lenses were made by KMZ but somehow that bit got lost in recording the voice over for the video (I'll put a little correction in the description). I didn't know which mark indicated which factory - thanks for the additional info about this, I'll know for the future.
I might try to pick up one of the other models of Jupiter 8 at some point, just to see how differently it performs.
Have a great Christmas.
@@GrumpyTim Hey Tim! The Arsenal factory logo looks like a cut gem. For your future reference, you can check these sites in English:
camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Soviet_Factory_Logos
cameras.alfredklomp.com/logos/
(P.S: you can use the short form Pat)
(PPS If you do not know Russian, for the correct pronounciation you can always try google translate: write mechanical factory in the English section, select Russian as the second language and click on the loudspeaker icon under the translation in cyrillic to hear it. In most cases they get it right - would not completely trust google's pronounciation of Russian family names )
@@GrumpyTim The comparisons I saw showed some very slight advantage to the Kiev-Contax version vs the KMZ version.
It would be interesting to see if you find the same (objectively, without bias from the previous statement...).
Thanks Pat, you're a star - I've bookmarked those Soviet factory logo pages for future reference.
I'm rather fond of old Soviet equipment, for a couple of reasons - when I was growing up there was lots of mystery and intrigue surrounding anything Russian or Soviet and I still retain that fascination - I've never been there and clearly I don't know how to speak the language but I've watched plenty of videos and the old Soviet countries look really interesting places to visit. Also, when I was at school, there was a certain amount of camera and lens snobbery regarding cameras and lenses made in the USSR - it's really nice to see that people are now rushing out to buy old Helios 44 lenses etc and they're gaining a cult status.
I'll definitely have a look at one of the KMZ versions of the Jupiter 8 at some point and do a comparison - I'll need to try to take into consideration the physical condition of the optics on each lens too - my Jupiter 8M isn't perfect, there are a few marks which show up in the bokeh balls as I rotate the lens to focus. I might not buy one of the KMZ ones for a little while because I need to earn a little money before I spend more - 2020 hasn't been the best year for earning money, but I'll definitely get one at some point.
The end credits are brilliant.
Cheers Mark, glad you liked them and thanks for watching.
This vid was both educational and entertaining, well done!
Cheers ohjajohh, I enjoyed making this one - it ended up closer to the length I was aiming for - I never like it when my videos end up too long.
Hi Tim (may I call you Grumpy?),
Beautiful videos and nice repairs. I am especially impressed with the lens repairs and your test videos.
Hi Roelf, yes, of course you can call me Grumpy!!! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, it's very much appreciated. There will hopefully be another lens test video along soon, although I'm a bit busy working on another project at the moment, so I'll need to find time to film the video.
Great video! I keep seeing these things pop up when I'm looking around ebay for my next bargain. Some great info here, especially about the mount types😊👍
I kind of goofed when I bought mine, because once I'd bought the adaptor it wasn't such a bargain any more. The only benefit I did get (and I forgot to mention this in the video) is that as far as I'm aware, the standard Jupiter 8 can only focus down to about 1 metre, any closer and you'll need to use close up tubes or one of those dioptre filters on the front. My cobbled together mount allows much closer focusing - I haven't measured how close but it's probably half that of the standard lens........and then the lens falls right off due to the lack of an end stop on the helicoid!!!!
@@GrumpyTim I kinda did a similar thing with the 28mm f2.8 I just bought. Got the lens for £15, but didn't realise it was a Pentax K mount, I thought it was m42, so I had to buy a £20 adapter to be able to use it🤦♂️😂
Very easily done, but on the plus side, you now have that adaptor so it allows you to pick from a wider range of bargain lenses - feed that addiction - must have more lenses.........
Getting a 1957 p version tomorrow 😍😁
Ah, you should have a lot of fun with that, they're an awesome little lens.
Great video👍
Cheers Sumas, glad you liked it.
10:18 10:49
Love that soap bubble bokeh. Priceless.
Cheers Sam, I'm a bit of a fan of the Jupiter 8, and I love a bit of good old soap bubble bokeh. I've also got one of the later black bodied Jupiter 8's with the L39 thread - when I eventually get round to cleaning it I'm looking forward to seeing how much (if any) difference there is between the two versions. And along the same lines I've got an Industar 61 and it's predecessor the Industar 26M - I did a video using only the Industar 61 which contains even more soap bubble bokeh czcams.com/video/y_83-v-XxJ0/video.html
Nice work and nice video work. Also I see the count is ticking up. Keep up the good work. Which reminds me I have some films to develop. (From my Bronica ETRS and my Yashica 124G.)
Coo, films to develop - I have one film in an old Contaflex camera I'm planning to do a video on (once I've finished the film) and also I bought a vintage lens recently which came complete with an old camera that had a roll of film in it - it's very tempting to get that roll developed in case there's anything on it but I might just be throwing money away.
I've been amazed by the way the count has been ticking up recently - exciting times!!!!
@@GrumpyTim It is. I might also make a machine to make old glass plates.
Sorry for the slow reply - Christmas and all that........making your own glass plates, as in photographic plates? wow!!!
@@GrumpyTim Colour ones. Not black and white... We had a chap pop around to our club who explained it because he wanted to build a machine to do it but he hasn't been back since.
We made suggestions as to how he could make such a machine.
That would be a really interesting project, not something I'd ever thought about doing. It would make a great video series if you ever got round to it.
Hello everyone, could you help me with a link to order an adapter from jupiter 8m 2/53 to sony e mount? THANKS!!
I've no idea how good these 3D printed mount adapters are David, but there are some sold on EBAY, search for "Kiev RF to Sony E Mount Adapter" - they do have a focusing helicoid but again it's 3D printed so I'd bet that the adjustment isn't very fine. There are also still people selling adapters like mine that use the actual focusing helicoid from a Kiev camera, grafted onto another adapter to fit the Sony, but those are more expensive.
Hi! Your video was grate!! I bought Jupiter-8 (2/53mm) and i am looking for an adapter for my canon 800d (t7i) did you know what to look for?... to mount this lens to my camera!?...
Hi Giannis, is your Jupiter 8 the standard one with the L39 screw thread (also known as M39) that has the focusing helicoid in the lens itself, or is yours the Jupiter 8M Contax/Kiev version that just has a bayonet and no focusing helicoid? If you've got the L39 version, then you should be able to search Amazon or for a L39 to Canon EOS adapter - I've never tried using vintage lenses on Canon cameras so I'm not sure if there are any issues with the back of the lens interfering with the mirror or loss of infinity focus and so on. If you have the Jupiter 8M you might need to search EBAY for "Contax/Kiev to Canon EOS", there are usually some sellers in Ukraine who make adapters for this purpose, but if you're doing this you might want to check with the seller that it is the mount that you need, I have a feeling that they do different adapters for the external and internal bayonet lenses that could fit on the Kiev cameras.
I will have a newer model in few days , your video whispered me to spend more time with a single lens, "one cat-one women-one lens". thx :)
Hi Turgut, you should have a lot of fun with that lens, I really like the Jupiter 8. It's a really good exercise to limit yourself to a single lens and go out and just take photos. You tend to have to be a bit more creative, particularly when you're used to zoom lenses or having a bag full of kit - it's sometimes frustrating because you'll see a shot that needs a different focal length, but overall it's a really satisfying experience.
Have fun, and thanks for watching.
@@GrumpyTimhiii Thanks alot👌
I just got the same Jupiter 8 contax Kiev silver version. What do I need exactly to make it work on my black magic 4k? I notice you have the Kiev adapter which I’ve seen online but will that be enough or do i need the focus wheel also?
Hi Mykill, I'm not that familiar with the BlackMagic cameras, from a quick search it looks like some if not all, use the Micro 4/3 lens mount. Assuming yours is Micro 4/3, then an adaptor like mine is all that you need - my adaptor was fairly crudely made but it works well enough - the focusing helicoid is part of the camera on the Kiev, and my adaptor is simply that part of the Kiev (complete with the focusing helicoid), hacked off and glued to a L39 to Micro 4/3 adaptor. The adaptor I got is like this one www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154438324384 but as it comes from Ukraine, I've no idea how reliable the supply will be at the moment due to a few problems they are having over there.
The Kiev camera also had an external bayonet for some other lenses and there appear to be some mass produced adaptors available, but these don't have the internal bayonet, so they won't fit the Jupiter 8M - they look like this www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142389218676?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20180816085401%26meid%3D942266785dff428281320c00dfd58316%26pid%3D100970%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D154438324384%26itm%3D142389218676%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100970.m5481&_trkparms=pageci%3A66e83a96-cef4-11ec-8619-4ab5725bb43a%7Cparentrq%3Aa4b7ff1f1800a0f39b22555cfffbf1b8%7Ciid%3A4
@@GrumpyTim THANk you So much.. this has been a ride for me but i love learning and thanks to great tutorials like yours its inspiring. this helps alot. so would you say that mine is a L39 also? i thought i just needed it to say "contax/kiev to M3/4" or am i misunderstanding that part still?
Hi Mykill, they just used an L39 to Micro 4/3 adapter to create the bayonet for the home made Contax/Kiev to Micro 4/3 adapter, so you can ignore the L39 bit and just search for "Contax/Kiev to Micro 4/3".
@@GrumpyTim thanks so much.
i was looking for an adapter for my jupiter 8m 50mm contax/kiev lens also ..my camera mount is micro four thirds....i been told about all types of adapters so im confused.. do i look for the contax/kiev to m3/4 or c/y m4/3 0.7x ?
Thanks for this info.
There is one at Etsy for $35, as "vintage soviet lens Jupiter 8M antique lens rare lens old lens collection lens working lens soviet lens USSR lens retro lens optics", that probably doesn't have the focus ring and it's the cheapest on my wishlist, but is it worth buying it, in terms of getting the right focus ring and what should I search for?
Hi dethronerx, the last time I looked (admittedly that was over a year ago) I didn't find anyone selling the hacked Kiev camera focusing mechanism attached to a L39 to micro 4/3 adapter ring (in other words the item that I bought). When I got mine there were a couple of sellers in Ukraine that were lusting them, but they well have other issues at the moment. I would tend to advise looking for a Jupiter 8 with the L39 thread (the 8M version is for the Kiev). Often the cheapest route is to find a cheap Zorki camera complete with lens rather than just searching for the lens itself. The Zorki cameras often came with a Jupiter 8 or Industar 61, so one should turn up with a Jupiter 8 pretty soon. Vintage and flea markets are a good place to look.
@@GrumpyTim Very good idea, thank you!
The first lens you picked up is totally wortless if you do not stick on a 4k camera and even then it is pretty sucky compared to similar lenses of other brands
Hi BurninSven1, I wasn't sure what you meant by "the first lens I picked up" - the only lens I handled in the video was the Jupiter 8M - was it all Jupiter 8's that you didn't like or just that particular version. I kind of like a lot of these vintage lenses because the inherent flaws can produce some really interesting shots, particularly when used for shooting video - they probably wouldn't be my first choice if I was heading out on a commercial shoot, but in those cases I'd be using one of my Nikons with a modern lens attached. Are there any interchangeable lens cameras that don't shoot 4k these days, I'd have thought that nearly everything can shoot in 4k by now.