[Banjo]

Helios 40 pics with a relubed focus helicoil.
[IMGWIDELEFT]http://www.xjgarage.org/photos/qvmarket3/slides/PICT2003.JPG[/IMGWIDELEFT]

Nicely done, again!

[Jools]

Wow! Some fantastic examples from Soviet glass. Never get tired at looking at this thread.
After the holidays and with the wife's approval, I'm getting me a Zenitar 16mm.
Love the quality images it seems to produce and not a bad price either.

[kuuan]

the object separation, 3D of your Tair is outstanding jezza
I bet you gonna love this lens!

your photos made me post, but to add a photo of a Soviet lens
Mir 47K 20mm f2.5

[brkl]

How do you like that lens? I'm about to receive (at least I hope so :P) a different Soviet 20mm lens, this one a f3.5. I'll be using it for film though.

[kuuan]

How do you like that lens? I'm about to receive (at least I hope so :P) a different Soviet 20mm lens, this one a f3.5. I'll be using it for film though.

reasonably well..for an old manual 20mm. Other recommendable 20mm are the Flektogons which may not outperform the Mirs but usually sell for more money. At very wide angels modern AF lenses may outperform though, there are various Olympus OM 21mm and Nikkor 20mm which are said to be better too but they are also more dear.

[brkl]

Yeah, I couldn't spent that kind of money on it. It's been on it's way for quite a while, so I'm hoping to get it early next week before Christmas Eve.

[mel]

Got out the Helios 44m (a replacement one for the original 6 I had that got stolen) to play for a bit today (and figures the thread needed a bit of a bump . . . )

[geauxpez]

Nice shot Mel - did that take a bunch of trial runs? I started to set up to do something similar a couple of weeks ago, but it was WAY too late in the evening to commit.

[mel]

Thanks and yeah. I planned to shoot until my memory card was full (it was partially full already. I took maybe 160 or so shots and got a goodsized handful of keepers. Timing is everything really and with using a flash I could't exactly shoot in burst mode. I thought this one was cool with the cone and the ball. Here's another I thought was pretty cool:

[ducdao]

My early tests with Helios 44M both wide open.

[brkl]

I found my Jupiter 9 at my parents' place!


K10D ISO400, f5.6-f8

[brkl]

And now my Mir-20M arrived! Look at that monster:



Of course, 20mm doesn't look like much mounted on an APS-C body:



I'll be using it on that Spot F though. The pin is problematic, as it's about a millimeter too long. I guess I'll have to file it a bit.

[mr. jef]

Dear Pentax Friends,

I'm considering buying something in the 65 to 90 mm range to replace my 135 mm (which i find hard to use on my k20). I want a lens that does not go over 150 euros, has nice bokeh and would be good for (as a start) concert photography and portraits. And with an acceptable short focus distance (the 1.70 meter of the M 135 is a bit nasty).
<br>
So i'm obviously very much drawn to the Jupiter 85mm. Are there different versions out there and is there one to recommend? And how much of a pain in the ass is the preset diaphragm (i have a high pain threshold). And are there any good competitors within the same limits? Thanks for your response!

[stevebrot]

Dear Pentax Friends,

I'm considering buying something in the 65 to 90 mm range to replace my 135 mm (which i find hard to use on my k20). I want a lens that does not go over 150 euros, has nice bokeh and would be good for (as a start) concert photography and portraits. And with an acceptable short focus distance (the 1.70 meter of the M 135 is a bit nasty).
<br>
So i'm obviously very much drawn to the Jupiter 85mm. Are there different versions out there and is there one to recommend? And how much of a pain in the ass is the preset diaphragm (i have a high pain threshold). And are there any good competitors within the same limits? Thanks for your response!

Here is a good place to start:

PentaxForums.com Third-Party Pentax Lens Review Database - MC 85mm f/2 M-42

There are multiple versions of the J-9 in multiple mounts. Your best bet (IMHO) is to get the black version in M42 mount (MC preferred), made by LZOS (triangle/circle makers mark). The first two digits of the serial number is the year of manufacture.

The preset aperture is not too much of a pain. At least it is no worse than any other M42 lens on a Pentax dSLR. Use Av mode and use the pre-set ring to dial in your desired shutter speed. Apply 1.5-2 stops exposure compensation at the wide end.

As for competition in the same focal length range and similar price point...that is a tall order. Pentax-M 85/2? The Pentax has a good reputation and can sometimes be had for not too much more than a new J-9. Another good bet might be any of the Tamron SP 90/2.8 macro. The Adaptal-2 versions with 1:2 macro are not too much money and have excellent image quality.

Steve

[estudleon]

Dear Pentax Friends,

I'm considering buying something in the 65 to 90 mm range to replace my 135 mm (which i find hard to use on my k20). I want a lens that does not go over 150 euros, has nice bokeh and would be good for (as a start) concert photography and portraits. And with an acceptable short focus distance (the 1.70 meter of the M 135 is a bit nasty).
<br>
So i'm obviously very much drawn to the Jupiter 85mm. Are there different versions out there and is there one to recommend? And how much of a pain in the ass is the preset diaphragm (i have a high pain threshold). And are there any good competitors within the same limits? Thanks for your response!

Yes, there are a lot of J-9 out there. MC version, for somebody the best option; and the not MC. In this version, someone told me that I have to look for the N° 72xxxxx (1972 year). I did it and found a great copy (not very common) of the lens. Very sharp from F/4 and the best at F/8 (not clean marks).