Leica Jupiter-3 5cm F1.5, Various Manufacturers

I took the Two 1950 J-3's that required complete rebuilds to the Skating Rink yesterday.

This is with the KMZ J-3 that is from a 1943 Sonnar,

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All_Clean

This one required 6 hours in Acetone to get the optics module out of the focus mount to correct the focus. It required a 0.48mm shim to be added, it was unusable as recceived. I optimized this lens for the Monochrom.


wide-open at F1.5 on the Monochrom,

Skate and Fun zone

Skate and Fun zone

Skate and Fun zone
 
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I might be the manufacturer of this one!

The glass is transplanted from a 1952 KMZ with an unusable barrel into a 1950 J-3's German alloy barrel that I've had for 12 years, length was wrong- required adding a 2mm standoff to get the Leica focal length, then into a 1956 KMZ focus mount that took me four tries to figure out where the Grinding was coming from every time I put the focus ring on. Some corrosion on the surface of the mount and rim of inner helical hitting against corrosion on the inside of the focus ring, which was too thick and needed to be polished down. Probably had been scraping for decades. I used 3M polishing sheets designed for fiber optic connectors.

At F2 with a Y2 filter on the M Monochrom. I optimized this one for a deep orange filter on the M Monochrom, and F2.8 on the M9. It is perfect at F1.5 on the M8, and replaces a J-3/Sonnar hybrid that I sold to a friend for his M8. THAT particular lens was made form parts of 7 different lenses and was really nice.

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Cold Winter Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Cold Winter Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr


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Cold Winter Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

My deep backyard, a frozen tundra.
 
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The 1952 KMZ Jupiter-3, made from an assortment of parts.

On the Leica M8- the camera that this lens is optimized for at F1.5.

by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Wide-Open, F2 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Close-up, Wide-Open test by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

When rebuilding a lens like this- best to test wide-open and close-up, make sure the focus is repeatable. Some focus mounts are "less tight" than others and have play in them. This one does not.

The C-Sonnar at F1.5 is perfect on the M8 as well, but is best stopped down F2~F2.8 on the M9, and perfect on the M Monochrom wide-open with an Orange filter. This lens matches it.

After shooting with it today in the cold- I ended up taking the barrel out of the mount, taking the aperture ring off, cleaning and lubing under the ring. Required lighter grease than most. Now you can stop it down in the cold without the lens unscrewing from the adapter.
 
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More with the 1952 Jupiter-3, parts from various lenses...

Wide-Open on the M8.

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Warm February Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Warm February Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

1/8000th of a second- great for shooting on a Sunny day at F1.5.

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Warm February Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

At F4,

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Warm February Day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I don't know if it's the lens, or just your mood then, but these are excellent. I've been curious about these lenses, but have lacked a suitable body for them.
 
It was likely my mood when assembling this lens... I wanted one that was a bit softer, with smooth out-of-focus areas. I also wanted one for the M8- to replace the hybrid Sonnar/J-3 that went to a friend at work. My mechanical engineer.
 
Most Jupiter-3 lenses are "less than perfect", cleaning marks usually listed as the main issue. The ones that are perfect were probably not used very much, the reason is they were not manufactured correctly and got thrown into a drawer. Those are my favorites, I have several. Conservation of inconvenience, most required several days of repair, substitution of parts, and trial-and-error alignment. Sometimes you get lucky and the lens was always used with a filter. I have one of those.

This is my 1953 KMZ Jupiter-3 with "less than perfect" front element. Lots of cleaning marks, some look like rub spots on the coating. Looking at it, might make you cringe. I had used the original focus mount from this lens for a Sonnar conversion, put it into the parts bin. I recently got a $30 focus mount that required LOTS (8 hours) of grinding, polishing, cleaning, and rebuilding. Careful optimization for close-up/wide-open. I had to grind the mount down 1 and 1/8 turns for the focus to drive the RF to infinity. In its original state, as built, infinity was at 5m. Also missing screws, and heavy corrosion. Lots of very fine sand paper, including 3M sheets used for fiber optics. I'd call it a User Condition now, was UG-.

For the results:

Wide-Open, close-up.
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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Full res on Flickr.

Tree Line- wide-open

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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Tree Limb, very tip. Focus is Spot-On.
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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr



Wide-Open again, close-up.

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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Bokeh Shot, wide-open. Focus on the near dark spot of the leaf.

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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr
 
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Wide-Open,

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1953 J-3 remount, Wide-Open
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

F2,

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1953 J-3 remount, F2
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

At F4,

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1953 J-3 remount, F4
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I have several "perfect" KMZ J-3's. Looking at these pictures, hard to tell a difference. I use a hood, but these light cleaning marks are hard to see unless looking at an angle. I have some scratched up J-3 optics modules in the parts bin- maybe I'll try a couple of those as well.

Having a "perfect glass" lens is always preferable. When these were under $200, as low as $50 in my collection- something to hold out for. Those lenses are hard to come by. A few "cleaning marks" seem to bring things down to Earth as far as prices go. As per these pictures, might be a good bargain.
 
1984 Valdai, wide-open- after a complete rebuild, which required moving the helical deeper into the mount.

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