Spring time on the waterfront

[nikonbob]

I just had to go out and take some photos to try out the Jupiter 12 and 9 on the Contax II. I had some good company too as Curt was along. I don't think I will be looking for Contax lenses anytime soon, the Jupiters seem good enough. You have to wonder about the grain/food shortage when you see the ships loading here.

Bob





New member of the float plane community.





They're getting the commercial boats ready



Not exactly on the waterfront

[mickeyobe]

Great pictures. Excellent lenses.

Mickey

[GeneW]

Bob, I echo what Mickey says. Crisp detail, sharp, and lovely.

Gene

[nikonbob]

Thanks guys, I like to post photos taken with FSU lenses especially since they have a bad rep which I have yet to see in Kiev mount anyway. I did have to get a J-3 re shimmed to work on a Leica SM but it too once done worked like a charm. They have a very good value to price ratio.

Bob

[PeterW]

Bob,

I've never had any argument with FSU lenses. I used to use Helios lenses a lot when I was more into M42 SLRs, and they performed very well.

I believe the very early ones got a reputation for mis-aligned elements, but my earliest is a 1959 Industar 50, and that's fine. My 300mm Tair (ex-Photosniper) is absolutely brilliant, as are the Jupiters on my Zorki 4s and Kiev.

I haven't found FSU lenses to suffer from the same lack of quality control as some of the cameras.

Maybe the earlier reputation stuck in some quarters.

PeterW

[nikonbob]

PeterW

You may have a point on the lenses and where they got a bad rap and I'd be inclined to agree with the bodies being more troublesome. I have never had much luck with the FSU bodies I have had.

Bob

[GeneW]

May 2, 2008 9:52:23 GMT -5 PeterW said:

Bob,

I've never had any argument with FSU lenses. I used to use Helios lenses a lot when I was more into M42 SLRs, and they performed very well.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents: Same here!

I have a special fondness for the ubiquitous Jupiter 8, the Industar 61, and the amazing Helios 103.

Gene

[Deleted]

Peter:

Quality control is the main issue on FSU lenses and bodies. It's interesting, however, that I don't think I have ever encountered a really bad Jupiter 8. Maybe that design is just hard to screw up! Jupiter 12s (35mm f2.8) tend to be decent, too. My experience has been that the Jupiter 3 (50mm 1.5) is the least consistent from a quality standpoint. I know people who swear by their J3s but I have owned three and the all were junk. Good Jupiter 9s (85mm f2) are hard to find because grease in them hardened up and then amateurs took them apart to solve that problem and could get them back together properly. I'm not a fan of the Jupiter 11 either but all those M39 135mm lenses (including the Japanese models) just never looked good on a rangefinder camera.

[PeterW]

Gene, I'd forgotten about my Industar 61, but I'll agree it's a very nice lens. Mine sits on the front of a 1985 FED 4. I quite liked using that camera when I first got it some years ago. It's never given any problems, even the meter still works, but I had a few niggles.

I like a diopter adjustment on a viewfinder, but turning the eyepiece on the FED 4 isn't as convenient as using a lever because you can't look through it while you're adjusting it. Also it doesn't have strap lugs, and I don't like using a camera in the bottom half of its ER case.

But the main reason I stopped using it was the silly sidewinder thumbwheel for rewinding. I found it slow and finger aching. Anyone else got any opinions on the FED 4? They don't fetch much these days, even in excellent condition.

Wayne, Like most people who get a few FSU cameras I've had my fair share of poor quality bodies. But they're so cheap in the UK, and there's loads of them still about, that the bad ones I've had I put on ebay for spares or repair with an opening bid of 49 pence (just under $1) and listed all the faults. They all sold, sometimes for more than I expected, so someone had faith in being able to fix them.

I agree with you about the quality of grease in the helicoids of FSU lenses. It goes to the consistency of hard soap and makes focusing accurately almost impossible. The only Jupiters I've had have been Jupiter 8s, so I can't comment on other focal lengths.

PeterW