Leica "As seen on Leica Rumors"... new lenses from Zenit...

[Brian]

New KMZ-Zenit lenses for rangefinder cameras (L39 / M mounts) | Leica Rumors

I was hoping a J-9 from Zenit/Lomography would come along. The original is very difficult to get to work wit a Leica, really needs the internal translation cam to be redone. The J-9 held to the original 7/3 optical layout and did not simplify to the 5/3 used by Nikon and Zeiss after the war. My opinion- the Bokeh on the original is smoother than either.

This J-9 is one-of-a-kind, 1950s Optics repositioned in a 1975 barrel, placed in a 1960s focus mount.

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Spring 2016 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Focus is good from 1.15m to ~30m. Lots of time.

I'll be saving for the new J-9...

 

[Hap]

I have not shot much with my J9. I did a bit of working with focus on a gg and a magnifier. It seems to back focus wide open and I think I have a rube Goldberg plan to nudge the focus forward about 1-2mm on the focus ring to get it right.

 

[Brian]

I have never been able to get a J-9 to work wide-open across full-range, 1.15m to infinity. This would require changing the arch of an internal cam that translates movement of the helical to the RF cam. The J-9 assumes the rangefinder is calibrated for 52.4mm, but the Leica is calibrated for 51.6mm. Shortening the focal length of the J-9 helps close the gap, but there is not enough room in the barrel to move the full required amount. I was able to get the one above to focus wide-open and close-up by trading infinity focus. Infinity is now ~30m.

The Jupiter-9+ would solve the problem by using a different arch for the 51.6mm standard. Similar to what Nikon did with the 'C'ontax versions of their telephoto lenses.

 

[asiafish]

Wow, I will definitely buy one if at or near $1000.

 

[Hap]

A J9 is a pretty substantial hunk of metal and glass. If I had known that it wasn't a good user friendly match for Leica camera, I probably would have saved the money for something else. Perhaps on a digital camera it might be pretty good. Given how many factories and variations over time, like many other Russian lenses, you never know what you might get, hence, having the expertise and motivation to modify at will (like Brian) adds a dimension of creativity and fun. But for mere mortals it could be that a brand new J9, engineered for the Leica standard and with tighter quality controls, could be a big winner.

 

[VINCETAN]

Had a great time using it with the Sony A7

DSC00449.jpg by VINCE, on Flickr

DSC00441.jpg by VINCE, on Flickr

DSC00491.jpg by VINCE, on Flickr

DSC00488.jpg by VINCE, on Flickr