| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2010 Location: California Posts: 484
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 15, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | creamy bokeh, razor sharp, solid construction | | Cons: | prone to flare, a bit heavy, finicky preset mechanism | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 5
Value: 10
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This is an excellent lens that can be had for not much money. It has a full metal construction and feels extremely solid, but is a bit on the heavy side. I have the non-multicoated version (i.e. without 'MC' written on the barrel). Using the hood is mandatory, and even then the lens is prone to flare, but where that isn't an issue, one is rewarded by its buttery smooth bokeh. Out-of-focus highlights are smooth courtesy of its 12 aperture blades. Sharpness is outstanding, even wide open, and while I haven't done any direct comparison with other 135mm lenses, I would go out on a limb here by saying that it will be hard to beat. It took me a while to discover the aperture preset feature, since unlike my Helios 44-2, it does not have a dedicated second ring. With the Jupiter, you push the ring towards the body, turn it to the desired preset aperture and release it. I'm not sure it's because of some mechanical wear with my 25-year old copy, but it is a bit finicky and does take some practice.
Singleton by Ludger Solbach, on Flickr
Paddles by Ludger Solbach, on Flickr
Garden Fence by Ludger Solbach, on Flickr
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Prague Posts: 1,199
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 28, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | fine sharpness, bokeh | | Cons: | contrast and flare, heavy and big for what it is | |
I compared this lens with my smc-M 135/3,5 and found it to be sharper wide open with slightly more refined bokeh. But once stopped down a little, both lenses were equally sharp and Pentax had a lot better contrast (of course better contrast also meant the CA were more visible).
M135 is way smaller and lighter, very handy with retractable hood. Hood supplied with Jupiter is screw-on type, impossible to combine with filters.
The Jupiter serves better as a long portrait lens while the M135 is superior for landscape and nature.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: Klaipeda Posts: 78 | | Review Date: November 14, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | natural colors and sharpnes from f4, short focus distance, light | | Cons: | russian mechanism - all lenses need clean, to work good. | |
This is Russian Zenitar lens.
Made in KOMZ, Kazan city, Russia.
Lightest my tested 135mm lense with shortest minimum focusing distance.
I Have my own 3 models - Jupiter37A, Jupiter37AM & MCJupiter37A.
Build maybe not so good, like Asahi, but have wonderful bokeh and natural colors.
Non CA, but flaring.
On f3.5 and f4 more sharpnes in coners, than SMCP-A 135mm f2.8, or Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 HSMII.
I love this lense.
http://gedasst.blogspot.com/2011/02/mysterious-dublin-fog-is-coming.html
http://www.zenitcamera.com/catalog/lenseslist.html
http://gedasst.blogspot.com/2011/04/lasai.html
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 21, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Good IQ, almost as the CZJ where it was copied from. Great for portrait. | | Cons: | None. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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I bought this lens with some other few Russian lenses. I enjoy it very much. I can use it in Av priority and renders a great image. Good for portrait from a safe distance. Almost as good as its originator, the CZJ Sonnar. The same as the CZJ in many cases, almost a tie. Will post pics later.
Jupiter37A135mmf3.5-ehinacea1-2 by Palenquero, on Flickr
Rosa, rosa, tan maravillosa! by Palenquero, on Flickr
Double Delight by Palenquero, on Flickr
Balloon Ride by Palenquero, on Flickr
Just another rose by Palenquero, on Flickr
Just the mother of the roses by Palenquero, on Flickr
My favorite rose by Palenquero, on Flickr
| | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: November, 2009 Location: Southern Ontario Posts: 22 | | Review Date: May 27, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent value for money, sharp from wide open, natural colour, great for portraits | | Cons: | Maximum aperture of 3.5 is the only negative but not an issue for me | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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This is probably my most used 135mm. I prefer it to my Pentacon zebra 135mm 2.8 and CZJ Sonnar 135mm 3.5 which are both much costlier lenses.
I like the look and feel of this lens and its compact size. It is my favourite portrait lens rendering beautiful skin tones straight out of the camera. It is also very sharp from wide open. It is a consistent performer and when I am only taking one lens and know I will be photographing a special event, I will take the Jupiter 37A. I know I can count on a high percentage of 'keepers'.
For the price that you can pick one up for on the used market, I think it is perhaps the best bang for your buck (along with the Helios 44-2).
Since it is a telephoto and doesn't go particularly wide, naturally it performs best in outdoor situations with good available light. It's not a lens I use for shooting indoors. Though there are exceptions (close up portraits when light from nearby window creates good conditions).
If I ever lost this lens or it broke, I would replace it in a heartbeat, even for three or four times what I originally paid for it (a mere $30 plus shipping).
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: June 14, 2012 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Cheap, 12 iris | | Cons: | Bit heavy, M42 (need an adapter), | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I have a copy of 37A. I enjoyed using this lens especially on long range photos. Good for "sniper mode". Great colors and easy to use. Built like a tank so no need to worry too much on inflicting damages to the lens. 
my shots:
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2012 Location: Concepción, Chile Posts: 128 | | Review Date: July 1, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Unexpensive, sturdy | | Cons: | Flaring, coma (but you may like it), stiff focus ring (my copy) | | Sharpness: 6
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 5
Value: 10
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This is a great lens for some purposes, in particular headshots. It is so common, you can probably find it for less than I did, and then, it is great value, too.
Flaring is a bit annoying and, sharpness is ok at the center to poor at the borders and, at least my copy, has ridiculous amounts of coma and astigmatism. This makes this lens, IMO, unsuitable for e.g. wildlife, but at the same time gives it a very nice character for some other uses, like outdoors portraits.
Build quality is a two edged sword with this thing: First, if you drop the camera lens first, you are more likely to break the camera mount than any part of the lens -- it is pure thick (1mm at least) soviet metal. On the other hand, the precision of the focusing helicoid is so-so. Which leads to some handling issues. My copy's focusing ring tightens when focusing away. You may need to clean it if it has been sitting in a shelf for too long.
All in all, I recommend this lens, as long as you know its limitations, and don't expect it to be your all-around tele.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: Berlin Posts: 33 | | Review Date: December 1, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, bokeh, price | | Cons: | doesn't like contra-light situations | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I've had this lens for over a year now and I really like it. It's sharper than the Pentacon 135 and the Pentax-M 135 that I've previously used and overall a better performer than the Vivitar 135, although not by much. It has very good sharpness even at 3,5. In fact, it doesn't gain much IQ when stopped down, the resolution is already there at 3,5. It has some drawbcks though, with no hood you get quite a bit of flare and coma that can get out of control easily. Soem of these problems are down to inner parts of the lens not being painted black and reflecting some of the light. I guess this wasn't a problem back in analogue days, but on digital it is. Also the colours are not quite as bright and saturated as with my Pentax-A 35-105mm. Still, overall a good lens, especially for the price.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2011 Location: Kaliningrad region Posts: 7
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 2, 2013 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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Pentax K-r + Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5
 | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2013 Posts: 3 | | Review Date: January 1, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Perfect handling and build quality, very sharp wide open, you can get it almost for free. | | Cons: | Flare appears too often, a little bit too long on crop, "nervous" bokeh. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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Perfect lens for portraits in soft light. It's microcontrast makes it perfect for conditions with soft and "unimpressive", "flat" light.
I don't know any other lens, wich can provide such a good picture on a cloudy day with a completely diffused light.
But it's virtually unusable in sunny conditions - shadows tend to get too dark and overall contrast decreases significantly.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2013 Posts: 8 | | Review Date: January 11, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great Lens | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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Great Russian Lens... iam using for Panasonic Lumix G3 -micro 4/3 mirrorless camera ..Excellent lens and perfomance for me...
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2014 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: July 5, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | SHARPNESS, continuous aperture with a lot element, smooooth bokeh, quite enough f3.5, very cheap to its performance, surprisingly small and lightweight | | Cons: | a little rugged focus ring | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: D50
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My favourite lens all time, awesome sharpness, lovely bokeh, the perfect cheap lens for portrait.
Although it's well constructed, my copy has a little rugged focusing, need to furbish for a smooth ring.
D50 + Jupiter 37A at f3.5
 | | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2013 Location: Jakarta Posts: 2 | | Review Date: June 1, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | value, very sharp, 12 blades | | Cons: | 'ugly' body paint, handling? | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K5, A7
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this is Russian lens and it's very sharp! even in wide open, mine is non MC version, ergonomic handling feel a bit sturdy and stiff, but still ok
here are the samples shoots:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/roe_groho/sets/72157643407602703 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2015 Posts: 13 | | Review Date: August 30, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Low price, nice "sonnar's" bokeh, sufficient sharpness | | Cons: | aperture f / 3.5, manual | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5, K-3
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Nice lens for the novice photographer. Inexpensive. Pretty sharp at f / 5.6, slightly less sharp wide open. Beautiful bokeh, thanks to the circular aperture and sonnar's scheme. Good for portraits. A small aperture did not reveal the full potential of optics.
Need M42 to PK adapter
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2015 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: September 19, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp as a knife, vivid colours, small and rugged built. One of the best lens in this category, one of the best Russian lens overall. | | Cons: | None, just strange preset aperture lens mechanism (not easy to use). | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax ist DS
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Sharp as a knife, maybe at full aperture is a bit more "human" (and also more natural), vivid & saturated colours, small and rugged built. One of the best lens in its category (surclasses some of the original Sonnars from which is derivated), one of the best Russian lens overall.
Russian swappable T-mount make it easy to use with different camera brands (needs dedicated adapter).
Absolutely the best portrait lens I've encountered in many years, maybe some item is better (or worst) than average production due the lack of
a strict quality control selection in Russian factories: try to select the best lens beetwen 3-4 items (if you could...).
Absolutely recommended!
P.s: be aware this is a Preset Aperture lens, but its strange activation mechanism is not easy to handle when you are in hurry (turn ring at F22, pull the ring towards the body, turn to the desired preset aperture and release; use it as a normal Preset Aperture ring; then pull again and turn at F22 to cancel preset...)
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