$8 lens, $3 Meter

<p>The camera is a Kiev 4 rangefinder made in 1965, bought from a Russian seller in L.A. for about $25.00. The original lens was a fungus etched Jupiter 8 which I tossed after one test roll. The camera operates beautifully however and I decided to find the cheapest Jupiter 8 available on you know what auction site. Found an honest seller in the Ukraine who was selling scruffy but functional Jupiter 8 lenses for $8 each! You could even pick the serial numbers you wanted. So for the price I picked two lenses; one made in 1961 which is the year I was born. The other from 1963. The lenses arrived in two weeks, and although a bit scruffy, all were mechanically sound and fungus free.<br>

I'm posting the test roll I shot on Fujichrome Astia this past week. I also used a Weston II meter I got for $3. The selenium cell functions perfectly. It was fun to use two cold war "enemies" on the same photo outing.</p>

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<p>Old St. Marcus Cemetery after a snowfall</p><div></div>

<p>A well built Masonic tomb.</p><div></div>

<p>The Vandals took her head.</p>

<p>Here is the photo from the previous post.</p>

<p>Street Scene shot from car window.</p><div></div>

<p>Lens flare used on purpose. Not bad for no lens hood, and the bloom is where I wanted it.</p><div></div>

<p>I REALLY like J-8M. I have got one made on 1975.</p><div></div>

<p>I would say that it combines both good portet lenses at while they are open. And they are pretty sharp if they are stopped down.</p>

<p>Lovely swirls in the foreground snow of the Cemetery. Nice lens with a variety of potentials. Regards, sp</p>

Very nice ! I too have a Weston Meter. Which I have been using this past year pretty regularly.

It seems to agree more or less with the other in-camera meters when there, I just find it hard to read those little numbers and the "click" to set the film speed is sometimes lifted by the other dial.

I think your Jupiter 8 is real fine. Is this representative of both, or is one here clearly the winner?

<p>Boy Russ, nice photographic quality for darn cheap! The train shot just POPS.</p>

<p>Thanks Louis, but Kozma posted the train photo. I agree, it's a superb photo and the Jupiter 8 is a versatile lens. I have not yet tested the other $8 Jupiter 8 but will report back when I do. It has a few more problems with front glass, but for $8 I won't complain! Attached is a portrait shot with the J8</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Russ</strong> , what a cool post! I have a Weston that unfortunately isn't functional, but the GE meter that's been sitting on my bookshelf for the last 3 years works beautifully, Ive just recently discovered. That lens looks like a gem and well worth the shopping time on the big auction site. I think it's very cool that you used the two together to create some very nice photos.</p>

<p><strong>Kozma</strong> --<em>Love</em> the train shot! I have a soft spot for trains and a good friend of mine is an engineer for CSX, so I'm loving this shot. Very nice photo.</p>

<p>Thanks, Andy.<br /> I have got that Kiev and a set of lenses for it, and I have never regret ever since. I am planning to post a separate topic on each lenses. I simply fall in love with J-9. By my opinion it so much better than my Nikkor 85/1.8. I also got a great results with J-12. I have never expected such a performance from a bitten up Soviet lenses.</p>

<p><strong>Kozma</strong> (and everyone else with Russian cameras)--I don't have any Russian cameras yet, but after seeing so many great results with them I'm certainly going to get one soon. I may be asking for advice on lenses when that time comes.</p>

<p>Andy,<br>

That may be a problematic. I got mine from an Ukrainian dealer, which does not speak any English. He was recommended to me by the Russian rangefinder community and he apparently made a great job. People who sell stuff on that big-auction-site are not match for him, most of them never test the camera. Although I bought something from another guy from Ukraine and had no problem with the purchass the result was never as good as from that guy.</p>

<p>Hey Russ, chiming in a little late here, but wanted to add that it is a nice series you have shared with us and your cemetery shots are most impressive. I am using a J8 in ltm mount and was very impressed with the sharpness and resolution, the only lens that beats in the Kiev mount would be the modern Helios-103 which has impressed me tremendously even wide open.<br>

 

<p>Andy - I have a few Russian cameras and lenses, and in all my dealings, the best has been a vendor by the name of Altai, you pay a little extra for his gear but believe me it is well worth it, because they are extremely clean, well tested and fully functional. I bought my Kiev 4AM with two lenses and a turret finder from him and it is still ticking today perfectly. Did I mention all the items I got from him are super clean? Here is a recent item sold by him, you be the judge: <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250346363718">Zorki S</a>. You also need to consider whether you are going for a Kiev or a Zorki/Fed type camera as they are two totally different cameras, Zorki/Fed are Leica copies, while Kiev is a pre-war Contax II/III copy. I recommend a Zorki 4K which has a very bright rangefinder and full range of shutter speeds, or an older Kiev II from mid 50s to early 60s as the word is that they tend to be better made than the later ones and were truer to the original Contax.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the tips Ralf. I really know nothing about Russian cameras or where to begin to learn, so this info is helpful.</p>