SOLD: 1951 Jupiter-3 5cm F1.5, shimmed for Leica Mount

[Brian S]

For sale is a 1951 KMZ 5cm F1.5 Jupiter-3, freshly Cleaned and Lubed, and custom shimmed for use on a Leica. The early KMZ Jupiter-3’s used German parts, this one has an alloy optics fixture like those used in the wartime Sonnars. See the close-up of the filter threads. The glass is German, the original uncoated rear triplet was fogged on this one. I replaced it with a rear triplet from a pre-war Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnar. Now, the Glass is near perfect. The rear triplet is uncoated, and is an exact match of the original used in the lens. I disassembled this lens, flood-cleaned the aperture blades, lubed the helical, and shimmed it for close-up and wide-open for the Leica. The aperture blades look good, focus is smooth. Example pictures are with my M9. This lens is optimized for close-up and wide-open on the Leica. Distance shots at F1.5 are good out to about 100ft, stop down to f2 for infinity: Sonnar focus shift works in your favor. Includes plastic front and rear caps.


Robert Chisholm posted an article on two Jupiter lenses that I worked on here:

JUPI-WHAT? Shooting Jupiter Lenses on the Leica M9 by Robert Chisholm | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS

Price: $340 shipped within the United States Priority Mail, $365 anywhere else via International Priority Mail. Paypal, Personal Check, Money Order. I reserve the right to hold shipment until check/MO clears. Return policy: returns must be made within 10 days, refund for the price of the item will be given after receipt. Postage cost is not refundable.









Glass has bubbles, common in lenses of this era.





Close-up at F1.5:



100% crop



F1.5:



100% crop:



Distance at F1.5:



F1.5



F4

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

shouldn't this one have 'ears' on the f-stop ring, like the old sonnars?

 

[Brian S]

Answering: I have seen 1951 Jupiter-3's both ways, "ears and no ears". The ZK's have ears, and the 1950 J-3's have ears. The SN is a bit higher on this one, and I believe it is one of the first without the ears.

I have a steady progression of Sonnars. 1934 with Nickel finish, 1935 with a coated front element, 1936 COATED(!!) not with a "T", 1938 Sonnar "T", 272xxxx Wartime Chrome Nose, 285xxxx Wartime, 286xxxx "one of a kind" (same SN block as my 1950 J-3 rear triplet!), ZK Sonnar, 1950 J-3, 1953 KMZ, 1954 KMZ, and 1956 KMZ. Small changes on each progression.

Here is what a 1950 J-3 looks like, taken apart:

http://www.seriouscompacts.com/f96/1950-kmz-j-3-first-infocus-images-very-early-jupiter-8364/

The focal Length was Too Short on the 1950 lens. My other 1950 J-3 - focal length was much too long. I also worked on an early 1951 J-3 that the optics module was too long, and the optics had to be transferred to a different mount.

This 1951 J-3: later SN and looks like they figured out.

JUST FOR A COMPARISON!

I also took some pictures with my 1938 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar "T" 5cm F1.5 while testing the Jupiter. This is my best Sonnar. One of the first Sonnars marked "T", my 1936 Sonnar is factory coated- but no "T".

1938 Sonnar "T" at F1.5:





1938 Sonnar "T" at F1.5:
100% crop:



Note the actual focus is slightly behind the J-3 shot. We are way past acceptable DOF at this 100% pixel-peep.

I have 3 original Zeiss 5cm F1.5 Sonnars in Leica mount, 4 pre-war F1.5 Sonnars that I converted to Leica mount, and a ZK Sonnar in LTM.

This Jupiter-3 is within a hair of the best of the Sonnars for sharpness, and gives a slightly warmer cast to the colors. Both lenses had a UV filter on them. The 1938 Sonnar is coated on all surfaces, the Jupiter-3 has an uncoated rear triplet.

 

[Brian S]

This lens is Sold.

 

[Brian S]

Lens is sold, on it's way over the Atlantic.

I found a good source for Jupiter-3 versions:

Soviet and Russian Cameras - Jupiter-3 (Zorki)

This source states that the switch-over from "ears" on the aperture ring to plain occurred in 1951, at around 5102xxx. This lens is well past that.

I also note a change in the threading of the rear fixture from the move to KMZ to ZOMZ. The location of the threads changed, shape of the triplet changed, and cannot be interchanged. I've interchanged the front element and front triplet on J-3's with good results. I picked up a 54003xx lens- last with german glass, damaged optical fixture. Everything transplanted into a 1951 alloy optical fixture, but the rear triplet would not go into a 1957 fixture.

 

[lamlux]

Wow that is awesome. Thanks for the link.