Leica Lomography brings back the Jupiter-3

Hi,
I'm happy J3 user, got this lens 2 or 3 years ago from Brian. Recently my friend ask me to sell the lens to him, he like my lens very much after did some test with his camera.
I said not for sale, the Brian's J3 is my colllector item..:)
Thanks Brian for introduce me to Sonnar world

~ronni~
 
I end up with a Sonnar formula lens on my cameras most of the time. The J-3 is well worth the effort to make work properly on a Leica. Being able to buy a brand-new Jupiter-3 made in brass: I'm amazed and happy that we have this choice. On a humorous note- the same day I ordered the Jupiter-3Plus I bought a "needs attention" KMZ Jupiter from Ebay for $100. Learned something new on the latter, focus was smooth UNTIL the focus ring was put on it, then it was uneven and would bind. The 60 year old mount had some corrosion in the metal and the underside of the focus ring- just enough to grab. I used a 3M polishing sheet made for fiber-optic connectors. Focus is now "smooth as glass".
 
I end up with a Sonnar formula lens on my cameras most of the time. The J-3 is well worth the effort to make work properly on a Leica. Being able to buy a brand-new Jupiter-3 made in brass: I'm amazed and happy that we have this choice. On a humorous note- the same day I ordered the Jupiter-3Plus I bought a "needs attention" KMZ Jupiter from Ebay for $100. Learned something new on the latter, focus was smooth UNTIL the focus ring was put on it, then it was uneven and would bind. The 60 year old mount had some corrosion in the metal and the underside of the focus ring- just enough to grab. I used a 3M polishing sheet made for fiber-optic connectors. Focus is now "smooth as glass".
Let me know if you decide to sell it. I'd like an old KMZ to go with my old Zomz and new KMZ/Zenit.
 
This KMZ J-3 (The one for $100) is "fiddly", took it apart 4 times this weekend- drove me nuts. Everything smooth until the focus ring was on, then "grinding". Finally took it apart again and polished the inside of the ring again, the rim of the inner helical that passes under the ring, and the focus mount that the ring rotates over. Ended up using 3 small strips of double sticky tape for the screws of the focus ring. The glass is from a 1952 J-3, perfect glass and broken barrel. Set it in a 1950 J-3 alloy barrel that required a 1mm standoff to move the rear triplet out to get the Leica focal length. Set all that in the 1956 KMZ focus mount. Made the 1956 J-3 into Contax mount, the front element had some marks in it and the 1952 glass is perfect. One of those lenses that I keep close as it will likely need more adjusting. It's a good thing I don't charge myself.

The 1952 Jupiter-3, this should have been enough of a clue that the focus ring was grinding against the mount for a long time.

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RIMG0645
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Better now. I spend an average of 4~5 hours getting a J-3 cleaned and adjusted, a lot take 10 hours if running into "can of worms". Some take days of soaking in solvent to get grease, sometimes glue, out of the mechanism to get apart. I got to sample a large number of Jupiters and Sonnars by taking them on. I REALLY appreciate the Jupiter-3 PLUS!
 
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So this picture is with the 1952 Jupiter-3, "Newly Refurbished".



by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

1) Glass from a 1952 Jupiter-3 with a broken barrel;
2) Transplanted to a 1950 Alloy barrel, spacing between front/rear groups adjusted to Leica standard. This meant grinding down the barrel and fixture for rear triplet.
3) 1956 Focus mount-
a) grind down the mount to screw helical in deeper;
b) Clean out all the old grease, use an ultrasonic cleaner
c) Polish corrosion off the the mount, rim of inner helical, and inside of focus ring; used 3M polishing sheet made for fiber connectors
d) lube, re-assemble- re-index focus ring as the helical is deeper in the mount
e) Shim the lens within 0.01mm of where I want it, wide-open use on my M8.
f) re-index aperture ring

I documented the work on the focus mount here:

1952 Jupiter-3

I need to add a tutorial write-up on correcting J-3's that refuse to drive the RF to infinity.

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Optimized for F1.5 on the M8
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

20 hours of work maybe? Grinding the focus mount and polishing the metal surfaces is way beyond a regular CLA. Certainly transplanting the glass into a new barrel set to the Leica standard is beyond what most shops do. I wonder what DAG would charge for this. At one time I tried talking Youxin Ye into offering Jupiter-to-Leica service, but it would not be cost effective for him- the expense of the service would outweigh the cost of the lens.

SO: The vintage Jupiter-3 is a great deal for someone that likes to do their own repair work, and likes to innovate. And, in the case of this lens, some pride into making an image with a lens that was parts-bin junk before working on it. I've had that alloy barrel for almost twelve years trying to do something useful with it.

The Jupiter-3 Plus is ready to go, out of the box. It is better made, has modern coatings, less flare, and the mechanical action on it is smooth. Maybe 1 out of 10 lenses on Ebay is this smooth AFTER a CLA. Then you need to find a different Jupiter-3 with a bad focus mount because it will have good glass to use on the focus mount that came out nice. Because if the focus mount was that good, someone used the lens a lot and the glass shows it. I have two boxes of Jupiter-3 and Jupiter-8 parts, most with bad front elements. That's where I got most of the focus mounts for the Sonnar conversions.
 
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I took a walk this afternoon, got back to the house and a package was waiting at the front door. Looked familiar, it was from Lomography. Turned out to be a J-3 Plus, shipped to me with an invoice for $0.00 and shipping of $0.00, total cost- $0.00.

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Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
J-3Plus, Optimized for Each by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I put one layer of mylar tape on the RF Cam, it is now optimized for the M Monochrom with a Deep-Yellow to Orange filter on it. The Copper tape that I normally use did not adhere to the Brass RF cam of the Jupiter-3+, I left it alone as it was perfect on the M9. BUT- as long as I have Two of them now- I will test this one with the M Monochrom. The tape is ~0.06mm, enough for the systematic difference between the M9 and M Monochrom, and to account for the shift using a deep yellow/orange filter. This one is from the new batch- in the SN500s. My original J-3Plus is SN200. I suspect they are very happy with the sales. If this one was sent for a strip-down report, I will be happy to oblige. If it is a loaner- the tape comes off the cam easily.
 
Wow, they must have REALLY appreciated the good review. Congratulations, maybe you can talk them into offering the brass mounts to fit our older optics.


I took a walk this afternoon, got back to the house and a package was waiting at the front door. Looked familiar, it was from Lomography. Turned out to be a J-3 Plus, shipped to me with an invoice for $0.00 and shipping of $0.00, total cost- $0.00.
mized for Each by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I put one layer of mylar tape on the RF Cam, it is now optimized for the M Monochrom with a Deep-Yellow to Orange filter on it. The Copper tape that I normally use did not adhere to the Brass RF cam of the Jupiter-3+, I left it alone as it was perfect on the M9. BUT- as long as I have Two of them now- I will test this one with the M Monochrom. The tape is ~0.06mm, enough for the systematic difference between the M9 and M Monochrom, and to account for the shift using a deep yellow/orange filter. This one is from the new batch- in the SN500s. My original J-3Plus is SN200. I suspect they are very happy with the sales. If this one was sent for a strip-down report, I will be happy to oblige. If it is a loaner- the tape comes off the cam easily.
 
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