Jupiter lenses vs. the more normal Japanese ones

[avidone]

Guys if I am not mistaken those Kiev contax mount Jupiter lenses lack a focusing helicoid which is in the camera bodies. There are adapters which focus but rather expensive since more technically complicated

 

[Brian S]

This past weekend's project, converting a 1936 Sonnar to Leica Mount using a J-3. J-3 had damaged glass.

View attachment 185039
czjsonnar_sn190_3 by zeiss_sonnar, on Flickr

View attachment 185040
czjsonnar_sn190_5 by zeiss_sonnar, on Flickr

View attachment 185041
Sonnar190_grass_f15 by zeiss_sonnar, on Flickr

 

[oldnikkor]

Guys if I am not mistaken those Kiev contax mount Jupiter lenses lack a focusing helicoid which is in the camera bodies. There are adapters which focus but rather expensive since more technically complicated

This is true, but there is something special about using an old rangefinder lens on M 4/3. I have the Amedeo adapter which seems to work better with Nikon RF lenses than Contax/Kiev, and the Kipon Advanced Contax adapter, which works better with the Contax/Kiev for some reason. A bit pricier than your normal adapter because of the focusing helical, but worth the trouble.

 

[avidone]

This is true, but there is something special about using an old rangefinder lens on M 4/3. I have the Amedeo adapter which seems to work better with Nikon RF lenses than Contax/Kiev, and the Kipon Advanced Contax adapter, which works better with the Contax/Kiev for some reason. A bit pricier than your normal adapter because of the focusing helical, but worth the trouble.

I agree there is something special about using old rangefinder lenses on m43; just saying it is easier to use ltm/m39 mount ones than contax/kiev mount ones.
On the other hand, I guess if you got one focusing adapter, then you could collect several of the contax/kiev mount lenses probably at better prices, since the demand is lower... I may do a little research on that on the Bay...

any pointers to best place to order the adapters? for someone in Europe?

 

[oldnikkor]

I agree there is something special about using old rangefinder lenses on m43; just saying it is easier to use ltm/m39 mount ones than contax/kiev mount ones.
On the other hand, I guess if you got one focusing adapter, then you could collect several of the contax/kiev mount lenses probably at better prices, since the demand is lower... I may do a little research on that on the Bay...

any pointers to best place to order the adapters? for someone in Europe?

I could swear there is an Italian guy who makes Contax RF adapters too. I don't remember his name. The Kipon adapter can be found from Hong Kong on ebay from seller "bondscamera". They are very good. Got mine fairly quickly from Hong Kong to the US. Amedeo is in Venezuela and I'm not sure he's making them anymore but shipping from there is VERY slow.

 

[zacster]

Rainbow Imaging has a Nikon S/Contax RF adapter. I think that's the same one. I also saw a Nikon version of the 85/f2 Sonnar somewhere. It looks just like the Zeiss and Jupiter.

 

[oldnikkor]

Rainbow Imaging has a Nikon S/Contax RF adapter. I think that's the same one. I also saw a Nikon version of the 85/f2 Sonnar somewhere. It looks just like the Zeiss and Jupiter.

I think the Rainbow Imaging only has the adapter for Nikon S Contax RF lenses that have their own focusing helicals. They don't have the one for the 5cm lenses. bondscamera is the only seller I've seen that has it. Goes for around $185.

 

[zacster]

That's more than the lens. The whole point of looking at the Jupiters was that they look to be a bargain.

At this point I'll be happy to use the few Pentax lenses I have from the old days. And besides, it isn't even my camera, I bought it for my daughter. She may never go beyond the kit zoom. It will be her first serious camera, which I guess is the point of the E-PM1, to take P&S users to the next level.

 

[oldnikkor]

I could swear there is an Italian guy who makes Contax RF adapters too. I don't remember his name. The Kipon adapter can be found from Hong Kong on ebay from seller "bondscamera". They are very good. Got mine fairly quickly from Hong Kong to the US. Amedeo is in Venezuela and I'm not sure he's making them anymore but shipping from there is VERY slow.

Ahah, I found the page I knew I'd seen. The Contax to m4/3 adapter looks a lot like the Kipon one I have. his name is

Adriano Lolli

 

[zacster]

And to put an end to the thread, long after it was over, I bought a Pentax-M 50 1.4 K mount instead. I already have a Pentax K adapter, and this was cheaper than any Jupiter 3 that I could find. Maybe at some point in the future I'll buy a Jupiter to see what it's like and sell the one my daughter likes less. She's still just figuring out how to use the camera so it may be some time before she can decide, but her initial results look promising. I showed my wife her pictures (that she hasn't actually shared with us but posted online) and she was wowed.

That's the good thing about buying used, you can always sell it for what you paid, especially a popular item.

 

[API75]

Contax RF adapter

I apologize if I am not allowed to do this, but it may be of interest in this conversation that I'm selling my Contax RF adapter on eBay (EU only), item 190620901574.